How to Connect Obsidian to YouMind with MCP
Date Published
Your Obsidian vault may already contain everything you need for your next project: research, plans, reading notes, and unfinished tasks. Connecting it to YouMind lets you turn those notes into something you can use, with a natural-language request.
In this guide, you’ll connect a local Obsidian vault to YouMind, ask YouMind to read and organize a set of notes, and save the result back to Obsidian. The example uses five notes about anti-inflammatory eating to create an action plan with links to the original sources.
Before you start
You’ll need:
- The desktop version of Obsidian and a vault you can edit.
- A YouMind account with access to custom connectors.
- An ngrok account. We’ll use ngrok to give your local MCP server an HTTPS address that YouMind can reach.
- A few notes to work with. You can use your own research, project notes, or meal-planning notes.
The connection works like this:
YouMind → ngrok HTTPS address → MCP Connector → your Obsidian vault
MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, lets an AI application use tools provided by another application. The Obsidian plugin exposes tools for working with your vault, and YouMind uses them to carry out your request.
Keep your computer awake and connected to the internet, with Obsidian, the connected vault, and ngrok running whenever you use this connection. The local address 127.0.0.1 only points to your own computer, so YouMind needs the ngrok address to reach it.
The connector can read or change notes according to the permissions you give it. Keep its token private, and use the plugin’s tool permissions and hidden-folder settings to control access. Content used in a task passes through ngrok and YouMind; connecting a vault does not automatically sync the whole vault.
Screenshots show the workflow on macOS. Some account details have been removed or replaced with example values.
1. Allow community plugins in Obsidian
Open Settings → Community plugins in Obsidian.
If your vault is in Restricted mode, click Exit Restricted mode to allow community plugins.
Click Browse to open the community plugin directory.
2. Install and enable MCP Connector
Search for MCP Connector and select the plugin by istefox. Check the author’s name, since the directory includes plugins with similar names.
Open its details and click Install.
After installation, click Enable.
Open MCP Connector in Obsidian’s settings to configure its local server and access token. You can find more information on the plugin’s directory page.
3. Set a fixed server port
Find Fixed port, enter 27200, and click Save.
The Server port section should now show:
A fixed port keeps your ngrok connection pointing to the same local service. If port 27200 is already in use, choose an available port and use that number in the ngrok command below.
4. Create a token for YouMind
In Access Control, click Add token.
Name the new token YouMind so you can recognize it later.
Click Copy on that token’s row. You’ll paste it into YouMind in a later step.
Each token can have its own tool permissions. This example needs permission to read notes and create a new note. The screenshots use the plugin’s All 52 tools configuration; the number of available tools can change with the plugin version and your settings.
Treat the token like a password for the access it grants. You don’t need to paste it into an AI chat.
5. Start an ngrok tunnel
If you haven’t installed ngrok yet, follow the official setup instructions. On macOS, if you already use Homebrew, install it with:
brew install ngrok
Add the authtoken from your ngrok dashboard:
ngrok config add-authtoken YOUR_NGROK_AUTHTOKEN
The ngrok authtoken connects ngrok to your account. The Obsidian token from the previous step gives YouMind access to your vault. Keep these two credentials separate.
In Terminal, run:
ngrok httphttp://127.0.0.1:27200
Keep this terminal session running. Once Session Status reads online, copy the HTTPS address shown on the Forwarding line.
Add /mcp to the end of that address. Your final connector URL should have this structure:
https://YOUR_NGROK_DOMAIN/mcp
Use the actual domain shown in your own ngrok session. The domain in the screenshot is an example. If your forwarding address changes later, update the saved address in YouMind too.
6. Add the custom connector in YouMind
In YouMind, open Settings → Connectors and click Add custom connector.
Enter a name, such as obsidian, and paste your ngrok address with /mcp at the end. Expand Advanced settings. Under Custom parameters, click Add parameter and configure the following:
Setting | Value |
|---|---|
Name |
|
Server URL | Your ngrok HTTPS address, followed by |
OAuth Client ID | Leave blank |
OAuth Client Secret | Leave blank |
Custom parameter |
|
Parameter value |
|
Secret | On |
Replace YOUR_OBSIDIAN_TOKEN with the complete token you copied from Obsidian. Include a space after Bearer. For example, if your token were example-token, the value would be:
Bearer example-token
This is only a format example. Use your own token in the actual configuration. This connection uses Bearer Token authentication, so leave the two OAuth fields blank.
Click Add, then find obsidian in the connector list and click Connect.
You should see Connected next to its name.
Now let’s check the connection with a task that reads notes and writes a new one.
7. Prepare a few related notes
YouMind needs actual content to work with. For this example, the vault contains five English notes:
Note | What it contains |
|---|---|
Anti-Inflammatory Eating Basics | General eating principles and goals for the first week |
Anti-Inflammatory Grocery List | A shopping list and ingredient substitutions |
7-Day Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan | A week of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners |
Simple Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep | Preparation steps, simple recipes, and storage notes |
Anti-Inflammatory Weekly Review | A review template and unfinished follow-up tasks |
These notes are sample material for demonstrating the workflow. They are not a personalized medical or nutrition plan.
You can use a different topic. For example, combine reading notes into a study guide, turn project notes into a next-steps list, or organize travel research into an itinerary. Update the topic in the prompt to match the notes in your vault.
8. Ask YouMind to read, organize, and save
Start a new task in YouMind and enter:
Review my Obsidian notes about anti-inflammatory eating. Summarize the key principles, connect the grocery list with the meal plan, and identify three outstanding tasks.
Save the result in English as a new Obsidian note titled "Anti-Inflammatory Eating Action Plan", with internal links to the source notes.
The prompt tells YouMind which notes to read, how to organize the information, which tasks to identify, and where to save the result. It also names the new note and asks for links to the sources, making the output easy to check.
Submit the task. YouMind will use the connector to find and read the relevant notes, then put the result together. You can follow its progress in the conversation.
9. Open the new note in Obsidian
In this example, YouMind returned:
- A summary of the principles in the introductory note.
- Connections between the grocery list and the meal plan, including which ingredients appear in multiple meals.
- Three outstanding tasks: plan the shopping trip, choose lunches and prep sessions, and complete the review afterward.
- A new note titled Anti-Inflammatory Eating Action Plan, with internal links to the original five notes.
All to-dos completed refers to YouMind’s reading, organizing, and writing task. Shopping and meal preparation remain follow-up actions for the person using the plan.
Switch back to Obsidian and open Anti-Inflammatory Eating Action Plan.
The new note appears in the file list, and its contents are saved in your vault. In this run, it also includes tags and clickable links to the original notes. Graph view shows those connections alongside the existing notes.
You can now keep editing in Obsidian or ask YouMind to continue with a more specific request, such as expanding a section or updating the plan using another note.
Troubleshooting
Why do I see 401 Unauthorized?
Check the Authorization parameter. Its value must be Bearer, followed by one space and your complete Obsidian token. Make sure you copied the token from MCP Connector. If you regenerated or revoked it, update the value in YouMind.
Why do I see “OAuth authorization server metadata discovery failed (404)”?
An unsuccessful token check can cause the client to attempt OAuth discovery. This plugin connection uses a Bearer Token, so first check the Authorization header and keep the OAuth Client ID and Secret fields blank. A missing Bearer prefix can produce this error.
Why does opening the /mcp URL in a browser return 405?
The plugin’s MCP endpoint accepts MCP requests through POST. Opening a URL in a browser’s address bar normally sends GET, which can return 405 Method Not Allowed. Verify the connection through YouMind and an actual task.
Why did a working connection stop responding?
Check that your computer is awake and online, Obsidian has the correct vault open, the plugin is enabled, and ngrok still shows online. Then compare the local port and ngrok URL with the values saved in YouMind.
What if I can’t find the new note?
Search the connected vault for the title you specified in the prompt. Check that the token permits creating notes. You can also ask YouMind for the exact vault-relative path of the file it created, then open that path in Obsidian.
Ready to try it with your own notes? Open YouMind and ask it to turn a few related notes into a useful new page in your vault.