obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) vs Task Master AI

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

	obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) Surgical Obsidian vault editing — read, write, search, and patch notes, tags, and frontmatter. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript	Task Master AI AI-powered task-management system for AI-driven development that drops into Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code, and more. Unverified stdio (local) API key JavaScript
Category	Productivity	Productivity
Language	TypeScript	JavaScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	590	28k
Last commit	1 month ago	3 months ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y obsidian-mcp-server@latest`	`npx -y task-master-ai`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

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

Pick Task Master AI if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

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"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Task Master AI

Install / run

npx -y task-master-ai

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "task-master-ai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "task-master-ai"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE",
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY_HERE",
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_KEY_HERE",
        "GOOGLE_API_KEY": "YOUR_GOOGLE_KEY_HERE",
        "MISTRAL_API_KEY": "YOUR_MISTRAL_KEY_HERE",
        "GROQ_API_KEY": "YOUR_GROQ_KEY_HERE",
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_KEY_HERE",
        "XAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_XAI_KEY_HERE",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_AZURE_KEY_HERE",
        "OLLAMA_API_KEY": "YOUR_OLLAMA_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) or Task Master AI — which is better?

Pick obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) if you want a verified, documented setup. Pick Task Master AI if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) and Task Master AI?

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 obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) and Task Master AI work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) →View Task Master AI →More comparisons →