Content is user-generated and unverified.

Complete Guide: Connect Your Obsidian Vault to Claude Desktop on Windows

This guide will walk you through connecting your Obsidian vault to Claude Desktop on a fresh Windows PC with no existing tools installed.

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10 or Windows 11
  • Claude Desktop installed (download from claude.ai)
  • An Obsidian vault on your computer
  • Administrator access to install software

Estimated Time: 15-20 minutes

Step 1: Install Git (Required)

Git is needed to download the MCP server code.

  1. Download Git for Windows:
  2. Install Git:
    • Run the downloaded installer
    • Use all default options - just keep clicking "Next"
    • Click "Install" then "Finish"
  3. Verify Git is installed:
    • Press Win + R on your keyboard
    • Type cmd and press Enter
    • In the black window, type: git --version
    • You should see something like git version 2.x.x
    • Type exit to close the window

Step 2: Install uv (Python Package Manager)

uv is a fast, modern Python package manager that will handle Python installation automatically.

  1. Open PowerShell:
    • Press Win + X
    • Click "Windows PowerShell" or "Terminal"
  2. Install uv:
    • Copy and paste this command, then press Enter:
powershell
   powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
  • Wait for it to complete (about 30 seconds)
  1. Close and reopen PowerShell:
    • Close the PowerShell window
    • Open a new PowerShell window (Win + X → Windows PowerShell)
  2. Verify uv is installed:
    • Type: uv --version
    • You should see version information

Step 3: Download the MCP Filesystem Server

This server allows Claude to access your Obsidian vault.

  1. In PowerShell, navigate to your user folder:
powershell
   cd C:\Users\$env:USERNAME
  1. Clone the MCP filesystem server:
powershell
   git clone https://github.com/safurrier/mcp-filesystem.git
  • This creates a folder called mcp-filesystem with the server code
  1. Navigate into the folder:
powershell
   cd mcp-filesystem
  1. Install dependencies:
powershell
   uv sync
  • This will:
    • Download Python automatically if not installed
    • Install all required packages
    • Take 1-2 minutes
  1. Verify it works by testing the server:
powershell
   uv run run_server.py C:\Users\$env:USERNAME\Documents
  • You should see a banner showing "FastMCP" and "Local Filesystem Operations MCP"
  • Press Ctrl+C to stop the server
  • Type exit to close PowerShell

Step 4: Configure Claude Desktop

Now we'll tell Claude Desktop where to find your Obsidian vault.

  1. Find your Obsidian vault path:
    • Open File Explorer
    • Navigate to your Obsidian vault folder
    • Click in the address bar at the top
    • The full path will appear (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\Documents\MyVault)
    • Copy this path (Ctrl+C)
  2. Open Claude Desktop's config file:
    • Press Win + R
    • Type: %APPDATA%\Claude
    • Press Enter
    • Look for a file named claude_desktop_config.json
    • If it doesn't exist, create a new text file and name it exactly claude_desktop_config.json
  3. Edit the config file:
    • Right-click claude_desktop_config.json
    • Choose "Open with" → "Notepad"
    • Delete any existing content
    • Paste this template:
json
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "obsidian": {
         "command": "uv",
         "args": [
           "--directory",
           "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USERNAME\\mcp-filesystem",
           "run",
           "run_server.py",
           "C:\\Path\\To\\Your\\ObsidianVault"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
  1. Customize the config:
    • Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual Windows username
    • Replace C:\\Path\\To\\Your\\ObsidianVault with your vault path from step 1
    • Important: Use double backslashes (\\) instead of single (\)
    • Example: C:\Users\John\Documents\MyVault becomes C:\\Users\\John\\Documents\\MyVault
  2. Example of a complete config:
json
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "obsidian": {
         "command": "uv",
         "args": [
           "--directory",
           "C:\\Users\\John\\mcp-filesystem",
           "run",
           "run_server.py",
           "C:\\Users\\John\\Documents\\ObsidianVault"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
  1. Save and close:
    • File → Save
    • Close Notepad

Step 5: Restart Claude Desktop

  1. Close Claude Desktop completely:
    • Right-click the Claude icon in your taskbar
    • Click "Quit" or "Exit"
    • OR: Press Alt+F4 while Claude is active
  2. Reopen Claude Desktop:
    • Double-click the Claude Desktop icon on your desktop
    • Or search for "Claude" in the Start menu
  3. Wait for startup:
    • Claude Desktop will take 5-10 seconds to start
    • The MCP server will connect automatically in the background

Step 6: Test the Connection

Start a new conversation in Claude Desktop and try these commands:

  1. Test basic access:
   What directories are in my Obsidian vault?
  1. Test file search:
   Search for files about [topic] in my vault
  1. Test reading files:
   Read my note called [filename]

If Claude can respond with actual content from your vault, you're done! 🎉

Troubleshooting

"No result received from client-side tool execution"

Solution: The server might be timing out. Try:

  1. Close Claude Desktop completely
  2. Restart it
  3. Wait 30 seconds before trying commands
  4. Start with simple commands like "list my vault directories"

"Path outside allowed directories" errors

Solution: Check your config file:

  1. Make sure you're using double backslashes (\\)
  2. Verify the vault path is correct by opening it in File Explorer
  3. Make sure there are no typos in the username

MCP server not connecting

Solution: Check the logs:

  1. In Claude Desktop, go to Help → Enable Developer Mode
  2. Then Developer → Open MCP Log File
  3. Look for errors related to "obsidian"
  4. Common issues:
    • Wrong path to mcp-filesystem folder
    • Wrong path to Obsidian vault
    • Missing double backslashes in config

"uv: command not found"

Solution: uv wasn't installed correctly:

  1. Close PowerShell completely
  2. Reopen PowerShell
  3. Try uv --version again
  4. If still not found, repeat Step 2

Git clone fails

Solution:

  1. Make sure you have internet connection
  2. Try again - sometimes GitHub has temporary issues
  3. You can manually download:

What You Can Do Now

With your Obsidian vault connected, you can:

  • Search across all notes: "Find all notes about dragons"
  • Read specific files: "Show me my note about character backstories"
  • Navigate your vault: "What's in my Characters folder?"
  • Get summaries: "Summarize my session notes from last week"
  • Cross-reference: "What NPCs are mentioned in my faction notes?"
  • Analyze structure: "Show me the directory tree of my vault"

Security Notes

  • The MCP server only has access to the specific vault folder you configure
  • It cannot access other parts of your computer
  • All processing happens locally on your machine
  • Claude Desktop manages the connection securely

Updating the MCP Server

If you want to update to the latest version later:

  1. Open PowerShell
  2. Navigate to the server folder:
powershell
   cd C:\Users\$env:USERNAME\mcp-filesystem
  1. Pull the latest updates:
powershell
   git pull
   uv sync
  1. Restart Claude Desktop

Uninstalling

To remove everything:

  1. Delete the config:
    • Press Win + R → %APPDATA%\Claude
    • Delete claude_desktop_config.json
  2. Delete the MCP server folder:
    • Delete C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\mcp-filesystem
  3. Optionally uninstall tools:
    • Control Panel → Programs → Uninstall Git
    • Delete C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\.local (contains uv)
  4. Restart Claude Desktop

Additional Resources

Credits

  • MCP Server: safurrier/mcp-filesystem
  • Guide created: November 2024
  • Tested on: Windows 10 & Windows 11

Questions? Try asking Claude in your connected session: "Help me troubleshoot my Obsidian MCP connection"

Content is user-generated and unverified.
    Connect Obsidian to Claude Desktop on Windows - Complete Guide | Claude