Vault Cortex is a standalone MCP server that gives any AI agent hybrid search, structured memory, and read/write access to your Obsidian vault. No plugins, no running Obsidian, no separate bridge. One Docker container, your vault folder, 25 tools + 3 guided prompts. Deploy on a VPS with Obsidian Sync and the same vault is accessible from your phone, claude.ai, or any remote MCP client, secured with OAuth 2.1.
Contents — What you get · Quick Start · How It Works · Hybrid Search · Tools · Prompts · Config · Auth · Deployment
What you get
| Search the vault | Reason over notes | Write back to Obsidian |
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All three demos run on Claude mobile. The vault is on a remote server, not the phone.
- Remote access — works from your phone, a remote server, or any MCP client via OAuth 2.1. Deploy on a VPS with Obsidian Sync for access from anywhere.
- Plugin-free — Obsidian doesn't need to be running. The server works directly with
.mdfiles on disk. Headless sync keeps the vault current. - Hybrid search — FTS5 keyword matching + vector semantic similarity via RRF fusion, refined by cross-encoder reranking for intent-heavy queries. Keywords stay precise on exact terms and jargon; vectors find notes even when your words differ from the vault's.
- Structured memory — dated entries, section targeting, auto-initialization for AI personalization
- Link graph — backlinks, outgoing links, and orphan detection across the vault
- Obsidian-native — understands frontmatter, wikilinks, tags, headings, and daily notes
- Guided workflows — three built-in prompts for vault health, memory review, and daily reconciliation — assembled from live vault data each time
