Obsidian × MCPVault: Read a Note from Any MCP Client

The Stack

Tested Against

Prerequisites

• Node 20+ (MCPVault runs via npx)
• Any MCP client: Claude Desktop, or LM Studio with MCP enabled
• An Obsidian vault folder

Steps

1. 1

   Configure MCPVault for any MCP client, and scaffold a note

   The same MCPVault block works in any MCP host: Claude Desktop or LM Studio. Point the args path at your vault folder; the reader who reported this used a Windows path. CI validates the config and drops a note for read_note to return.

   cat > mcp.json <<'EOF'
   { "mcpServers": { "obsidian": { "command": "npx", "args": ["@bitbonsai/mcpvault@latest", "/path/to/your/Vault"], "env": {} } } }
   EOF
   node -e 'const c=JSON.parse(require("fs").readFileSync("mcp.json","utf8"));const o=c.mcpServers.obsidian;if(o.command==="npx"&&o.args.some(a=>a.indexOf("@bitbonsai/mcpvault")===0)){console.log("config OK: npx -> @bitbonsai/mcpvault")}else{console.log("BAD");process.exit(1)}'
   mkdir -p vault/Inbox
   cat > vault/Inbox/welcome.md <<'EOF'
   # Welcome to your vault
   
   MCPVault reads this note over MCP, from Claude Desktop or LM Studio.
   EOF
   test -s vault/Inbox/welcome.md && echo "note scaffolded: vault/Inbox/welcome.md"

2. 2

   What CI checks: the note is present and readable (what read_note returns)

   read_note is a filesystem read over MCP. CI confirms the note exists at the vault path and its title and body are readable, which is exactly the content read_note hands back. No model, no key, host-agnostic.

   cat > checkread.mjs <<'EOF'
   import { readFileSync, existsSync } from 'node:fs';
   const path = 'vault/Inbox/welcome.md';
   let ok = true;
   function check(label, cond){ console.log(label + ': ' + (cond ? 'yes' : 'NO')); if(!cond) ok=false; }
   check('note exists at vault path', existsSync(path));
   const t = existsSync(path) ? readFileSync(path, 'utf8') : '';
   check('read_note returns the title', t.includes('# Welcome to your vault'));
   check('read_note returns the body', t.includes('MCPVault reads this note over MCP'));
   if(!ok){ console.log('mcpvault read check FAILED'); process.exit(1); }
   console.log('mcpvault read check OK');
   EOF
   node checkread.mjs

3. 3

   Ask your model to read it (the model step, not checked by CI)

   In your MCP client (Claude Desktop, or LM Studio with a local model), ask it to read the note. That call routes through the model, so it is non-deterministic and fenced: CI proves the note is there and readable, never the model's phrasing.