From an earlier video
This is material from an earlier video — the models, prices and limits of AI services have changed since (current Claude models have a much larger context window). The idea and the approach still hold.
Claude MCP connects Claude directly to your Obsidian vault without exporting files.
How to set it up: install the Local REST API and MCP Tools plugins in Obsidian, click “Install server”, restart the Claude desktop app.
Main plus: working with notes in real time, creating artifacts, games and sites based on your data.
Main minus: the context limit gets used up quickly with large vaults, and you may need extra network settings.
Who it suits: for creating interactive content, automating tasks with notes, building on top of your knowledge.
In the previous article we looked at NotebookLM, which requires manually exporting notes. Claude MCP solves this problem — it connects directly to your Obsidian and works with notes in real time.
What Claude MCP is and why you need it
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a new technology from Anthropic that lets Claude connect to external apps and work with their data directly. For Obsidian this means Claude becomes an extension of your vault.
Key differences from NotebookLM:
- ✅ Real time — sees all changes in your notes instantly
- ✅ Internet access — can supplement your knowledge with external information
- ✅ Creating artifacts — generates games, sites, presentations based on your notes
- ✅ Preserving structure — understands the
[[]]links between notes
Step-by-step integration setup
Step 1: Preparing Claude
- Download the Claude desktop app from Anthropic’s official site
- Log into your account — a paid subscription is required for full MCP work
- Do NOT use the web version — MCP only works in the desktop app
Step 2: Installing the plugins in Obsidian
Local REST API:
- Settings → Community plugins → Browse
- Find “Local REST API” → Install → Enable
- In the plugin settings, note the port (usually 27123)
MCP Tools:
- In the same section, find “MCP Tools” → Install → Enable
- Critically important: install MCP Tools specifically, don’t confuse it with other plugins
Step 3: Setting up the connection
- Open the MCP Tools settings in Obsidian
- Click “Install server” — the plugin will set up the connection automatically
- Restart Claude fully (close the app → open it again)
- Check the connection: in Claude, write “Show the structure of my project notes”
Practical capabilities of the integration
1. Real-time analysis of the vault’s structure
Claude sees the whole structure of your notes and can:
- Create MOCs (Maps of Content) for scattered notes
- Find connections between topics in different folders
- Suggest a reorganisation of the vault’s structure
- Generate tables of contents for big projects
Example request: “Analyse my machine-learning notes and create a central note with links to all the subtopics”
2. Creating interactive content
A unique feature: Claude can create games, quizzes and interactive materials based on your notes.
Practical cases:
- Learning games from lecture summaries
- Interactive tests to check your knowledge
- Websites to present research
- Simulators to practise skills
Example: “Create a browser quiz game based on my history notes”
3. Automating work with notes
Claude can perform routine operations:
- Formatting notes to a single standard
- Creating templates based on existing notes
- Grouping similar topics into folders
- Generating daily notes with a progress analysis
4. Research tasks
The combination of your notes + internet access:
- Supplementing summaries with current information
- Fact-checking from your notes
- Finding new sources on the topics you study
- Creating a bibliography for research
Serious downsides and limitations
Quickly running out of context — the main problem
Claude’s context-window limit is ~200,000 tokens. When working with large vaults it fills up fast:
- 200 notes of 1000 words = hitting the limit
- After exceeding it Claude loses access to previously viewed notes
- You have to start a new chat, losing the conversation’s context
In practice: it’s hard to work with a vault of 1000+ notes — you need to be very precise in your requests.
Dependence on extra network settings
Regional restrictions:
- In some regions Claude may require extra network settings
Cost and availability
- A paid Claude subscription is required ($20/month)
- API limits with intensive use
- No free tier for MCP features
Connection stability
Technical problems:
- The connection can suddenly drop
- When updating plugins, you need to reinstall the server
- It doesn’t always work stably across different OSes
Who it suits, who it doesn’t
✅ Worth using if you:
- Are a developer or designer — building prototypes based on notes
- Are a teacher — need interactive materials from summaries
- Are a researcher — need a combination of personal notes + external data
- Are ready to pay $20/month for the extended capabilities
- Work with small-to-medium vaults (up to 500 notes actively)
❌ Not for you if:
- A huge vault with thousands of notes (the context runs out fast)
- No technical skills for configuring network exceptions
- A limited budget — you need a free tool
- You work in a corporate network with strict restrictions
- You only need basic note analysis (NotebookLM is enough)
Comparison with NotebookLM
| Aspect | Claude MCP | NotebookLM |
|---|---|---|
| Synchronisation | Real time | Manual export |
| Cost | $20/month | Free |
| Data size | Limited by context | Up to 25M words |
| Content creation | Games, sites, artifacts | Podcasts, mind maps |
| Internet access | Yes | No |
| Setup | Complex | Simple |
Final recommendation
Claude MCP is an advanced tool for content creators and developers who want to turn their notes into interactive products. If you just need to analyse notes — choose NotebookLM.
The optimal strategy: start with NotebookLM to understand AI note analysis, then move to Claude MCP for creating interactive content.
Testing: set it up on a limited folder of notes (50–100) and assess whether the functionality justifies the setup complexity and the monthly cost.
Next article: Obsidian Copilot: an AI assistant inside your vault — learn about the most integrated way to work with AI right in the Obsidian interface, including free and paid options.