Vault Cortex MCP Server

Vault Cortex is a standalone MCP server that gives any AI agent hybrid search, task management, structured memory, and read/write access to your Obsidian vault. No plugins, no running Obsidian, no separate bridge. One Docker container, your vault folder, a full tool suite + guided prompts. Run it on a remote server with Obsidian Sync, and the same vault is accessible from your phone, claude.ai, or any remote MCP…. Its 33 documented tools cover vault, note, memory, property.

People who work with vault, note and memory and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-09-18 · ★ 19 · #140 OF 208 MAINTAINED DOCUMENTATION · VERIFIED 2026-09-18

MIT · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Vault Cortex

before you install - you'll need

The README does not document required environment variables for a basic install.

Docker

docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/aliasunder/vault-cortex:0.53.0

Claude Desktop - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aliasunder-vault-cortex": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "ghcr.io/aliasunder/vault-cortex:0.53.0"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as container (OCI image) - can be sandboxed away from your filesystem

license MIT - declared in the repository

registry namespace io.github.aliasunder is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Vault Cortex can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can read a note - full body, properties, outline, or a section, create a note (fails if it already exists, delete a block of lines by short anchors, no full re-quote, and replace a block of lines by short anchors with new content.

The 33 tools it gives your agent

Extracted from the project's README - what Vault Cortex lets an agent do.

vault_read_note: - Read a note - full body, properties, outline, or a section
vault_write_note: - Create a note (fails if it already exists; set overwrite to replace)
vault_patch_note: - Heading-targeted edit (append, prepend, replace with include_children guard, insert)
vault_replace_in_note: - Find-and-replace text in a note (first match or replace_all_occurrences)
vault_delete_span: - Delete a block of lines by short anchors, no full re-quote
vault_replace_span: - Replace a block of lines by short anchors with new content
vault_insert_at_anchor: - Insert content before or after a line identified by a short anchor
vault_list_notes: - List notes with optional glob/folder filter
vault_delete_note: - Delete a note, honoring the vault's trash setting (protected paths enforced)
vault_move_note: - Move or rename a note, rewriting links across the vault
vault_search: - Hybrid search with tag/folder/property/date filters
vault_search_by_tag: - Find notes by tag (exact or prefix match)

show all 33 tools

vault_search_by_folder: - Browse notes in a folder with metadata
vault_recent_notes: - Recently modified or created notes
vault_list_tags: - All tags with usage counts
vault_list_tasks: - Vault-wide task index with sub-task depth - Kanban-aware, date/priority/heading filters
vault_create_task: - Create a correctly-formatted task - dates, priority, recurrence, on_completion, sub-tasks, block_id
vault_update_task: - Edit any task field in one call - completing a recurring task creates its next occurrence
vault_get_memory: - Read structured memory (file, section, or all)
vault_update_memory: - Append a dated entry to a memory section
vault_delete_memory: - Remove a specific memory entry by date
vault_list_memory_files: - Discover memory files, their sections, and each file's entry policy
vault_memory_recall: - Entry-granular hybrid recall of a topic across memory files, oldest-first
vault_list_property_keys: - All property keys with sample values
vault_list_property_values: - Distinct values for a property key
vault_search_by_property: - Find notes by property key-value
vault_update_properties: - Add or update properties without touching the body
vault_get_backlinks: - Notes linking to a given path
vault_get_outgoing_links: - Links from a given note
vault_find_orphans: - Notes with no incoming links
vault_read_file: - Read a non-markdown file - images delivered as images, canvases as readable outlines
vault_list_files: - Browse the vault's non-markdown files with sizes and per-extension counts
vault_get_daily_note: - Today's (or any date's) daily note

Latest releases

v0.53.0 · 2026-09-18

On_or_after date filter + fence-aware entry scans + multi-line delete (#585) · Down-weight file-content legs in RRF fusion (#584) · Add file metadata to note outlines (#583) · Resolve KNN window-boundary ties by path…

v0.52.1 · 2026-09-17

Purge orphaned trash_entries rows at boot (#578) · Bring task docs current and revise README prose, config section, and sibling claims (#579) · Cap CLI README demo GIF at 720px, fix product name casing (#577) · Update…

cli-v0.15.1 · 2026-09-16

v0.15.1 · cap CLI README demo GIF at 720px, fix product name casing (#577) · align client metadata, reject secretless rows and path-prefixed PUBLIC_URL (#575) · honor "Move to system trash" as .trash/ with a retention…

04 · Who maintains Vault Cortex

Vault Cortex is maintained by aliasunder. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to May 2026.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/aliasunder/vault-cortex
website: https://github.com/aliasunder/vault-cortex
category: documentation - ranked #140 of 208 actively-maintained documentation servers as of 2026-09-18.
release cadence: 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-18)
registry: io.github.aliasunder/vault-cortex (active, first published 2026-05-20 · 143 versions)
packages: oci:ghcr.io/aliasunder/vault-cortex:0.53.0

06 · Vault Cortex FAQ

Is Vault Cortex still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-18 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Vault Cortex do?

How do I install Vault Cortex?

Run `docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/aliasunder/vault-cortex:0.53.0`. The README does not document required environment variables for a basic install. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

07 · Alternatives to Vault Cortex

Alternatives to Vault Cortex

Maintained documentation servers if Vault Cortex isn't the fit.

Pairs well with

Servers that cover what Vault Cortex doesn't - only shown when the pairing reason fits the companion.

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