Tool examples

Each tab shows a prompt, the MCP tool request, its response, and the resulting file operation.

MCP client - MCPVault connected

Connected

You

Add the equation for energy-mass equivalence to my physics notes

MCPVault: Using patch_note...

Request:

{
  "path": "Physics/Relativity.md",
  "oldString": "## Energy and Mass",
  "newString": "## Energy and Mass\n\nE = mc²"
}


Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "path": "Physics/Relativity.md",
  "message": "Successfully replaced 1 occurrence",
  "matchCount": 1
}


Added Einstein's equation to your notes.
Only the matching section was changed.

Technical details

patch_note replaces an exact text match

Surrounding content and frontmatter remain unchanged

replaceAll defaults to false and returns an error when multiple matches exist

You

Create a quick note about today's meeting

MCPVault: Using write_note...

Request:

{
  "path": "Meetings/Team Sync.md",
  "content": "# Team Sync\n\n- Discussed Q1 goals\n- Action items assigned"
}


Response:
Successfully wrote note: Meetings/Team Sync.md (mode: overwrite)

Created the meeting note.

Technical details

write_note wrote the complete note to disk

Supports overwrite, append, and prepend modes

The new file is available in Obsidian

You

Read all my book club notes and give me a summary

MCPVault: Using read_multiple_notes...

Request:

{
  "paths": [
    "Reading/The Phoenix Project.md",
    "Reading/Atomic Habits.md",
    "Reading/Deep Work.md"
  ],
  "prettyPrint": true
}


Response:

{
  "ok": [
    {
      "path": "Reading/The Phoenix Project.md",
      "content": "...",
      "frontmatter": {...}
    }
  ],
  "err": []
}


Done. I've read all 3 notes. Here's a summary:
Common themes across these books: systems thinking, habit formation, and focus. All emphasize the importance of intentional work practices and continuous improvement.

Technical details

MCP server read multiple files in one request (max 10)

Returns ok (successful) and err (failed) arrays

The client can summarize the returned documents

prettyPrint defaults to false for compact output

You

Update the status and add tags to my project planning note

MCPVault: Using update_frontmatter...

Request:

{
  "path": "Projects/Website Redesign.md",
  "frontmatter": {
    "tags": [
      "project",
      "web-design",
      "priority-high"
    ],
    "status": "in-progress",
    "created": "2025-01-15",
    "updated": "2025-01-20"
  }
}


Response:
Successfully updated frontmatter for: Projects/Website Redesign.md

Updated the frontmatter with the new status and tags.

Technical details

Frontmatter merges with existing fields by default (merge: true)

Unchanged fields keep their existing formatting

Note content remains untouched

MCPVault validates YAML before writing

You

Search for "React hooks" in my notes

MCPVault: Using search_notes...

Request:

{
  "query": "React hooks",
  "limit": 10,
  "prettyPrint": true
}


Response:

[
  {
    "p": "Development/React Best Practices.md",
    "t": "React Best Practices",
    "ex": "...State **React hooks** provide...",
    "mc": 8,
    "ln": 42
  },
  {
    "p": "Learning/Modern JavaScript.md",
    "t": "Modern JavaScript",
    "ex": "...useEffect are common **React hooks**...",
    "mc": 3,
    "ln": 156
  }
]


Done. Found 2 notes with 11 total matches across your vault.

Technical details

MCP server performed full-text search across vault

Token-optimized response: p=path, t=title, ex=excerpt, mc=matchCount, ln=lineNumber

Returns 21-char context excerpts around matches

AI can then read specific files for more details

prettyPrint defaults to false for minimal token usage

Use these examples after connecting MCPVault to your client.

Installation