Use Obsidian with Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Grok

How to expose your Obsidian vault to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Grok through Warplet, using the Local REST API with MCP plugin.

Warplet is a macOS app that connects hosted AI clients like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Grok to MCP servers running locally on your Mac. No port forwarding or cloud hosting is required. It runs in your menu bar, opens a secure tunnel, and gives you one URL per local MCP server to paste into any AI client.

Obsidian doesn't ship its own MCP server, but the community plugin Local REST API with MCP adds one, running locally on your Mac. Warplet can expose that local server to hosted AI clients the same way it does for DEVONthink or Beeper. This guide walks through installing the plugin, finding its MCP URL, and connecting it in Warplet.

1. Install the Local REST API with MCP plugin

In Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins → Browse, then search for Local REST API with MCP (by Adam Coddington). Click Install, then enable it.

The Local REST API with MCP plugin listing in Obsidian's community plugin browser, showing the Install button

2. Find your MCP endpoint URL

Open the plugin's settings page (Settings → Community plugins → Local REST API with MCP). Scroll to How to access via MCP. You'll see two endpoint URLs and an API key:

Use the non-encrypted (HTTP) MCP endpoint, http://127.0.0.1:27123/mcp/, unless you've set up a trusted certificate for the encrypted one.
Copy the API key shown just above the REST section. You'll need it in the next step.

The Obsidian Local REST API with MCP plugin settings showing the MCP endpoint URLs

3. Add Obsidian as a server in Warplet

Open Warplet and click Manage Servers, then the + button to add a new server. Fill in:

Name: Obsidian
ID (URL prefix): obsidian
URL: http://127.0.0.1:27123/mcp/
Authorization: check this box and paste the API key you copied from the Obsidian plugin settings into Bearer Token

Click Test Connection to confirm Warplet can reach the plugin, then Add.

The Warplet Add Server form filled in with the Obsidian MCP URL and a Bearer Token under Authorization

4. Copy your Obsidian URL and connect an AI client

Back in the main Warplet window, your Obsidian entry now appears under Use these URLs to connect your favorite LLM. Copy that URL.

The Warplet connected panel listing per-server URLs, including a new Obsidian entry

Add it as a custom connector in your AI client of choice, using the same steps as any other Warplet server:

When the client asks you to authorize, paste the Warplet bearer token. Do not use the Obsidian plugin's API key here; that one stays inside Warplet's server config from step 3.

Things to know

Two separate secrets are involved. The Obsidian plugin's API key authenticates Warplet's request to the local plugin. The Warplet bearer token authenticates the AI client's request to Warplet. Keep them straight: mixing them up will cause 401 errors.
Obsidian and the plugin need to be running. Since this is a local MCP server like any other, Obsidian must be open with the plugin enabled for the tunnel to reach your vault.
Available tools depend on your vault and plugin version. The plugin exposes tools for reading, searching, and patching notes; check the plugin's own documentation for the full list.