Cua Driver vs obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads)

A side-by-side comparison of two Productivity servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Cua Driver Background computer-use MCP server that drives native macOS, Windows, and Linux desktop apps without stealing focus. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Rust	obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) Surgical Obsidian vault editing — read, write, search, and patch notes, tags, and frontmatter. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript
Category	Productivity	Productivity
Language	Rust	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	API key
GitHub stars	19k	590
Last commit	1 month ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/cua-driver/scripts/install.sh)"`	`npx -y obsidian-mcp-server@latest`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Cua Driver if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key.

Pick obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) if you want a verified, documented setup.

Add Cua Driver

Install / run

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/cua-driver/scripts/install.sh)"

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cua-driver": {
      "command": "cua-driver",
      "args": [
        "mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads)

Install / run

npx -y obsidian-mcp-server@latest

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-server-cyanheads": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "obsidian-mcp-server@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your-obsidian-rest-api-key>",
        "OBSIDIAN_BASE_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:27123",
        "OBSIDIAN_VERIFY_SSL": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Cua Driver or obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) — which is better?

Pick Cua Driver if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want zero-setup with no API key. Pick obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) if you want a verified, documented setup.

Can I use both Cua Driver and obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads)?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Cua Driver and obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Cua Driver →View obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) →More comparisons →