obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) vs Linear MCP Server (official remote)

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	Linear MCP Server (official remote) Linear's official hosted MCP server — find, create, and update issues, projects, and comments. Verified HTTP (remote) OAuth TypeScript
Category	Productivity	Productivity
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	HTTP (remote)
Auth	API key	OAuth
GitHub stars	590	1.6k
Last commit	6 days ago	1 month ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y obsidian-mcp-server@latest`	`Add remote MCP URL https://mcp.linear.app/mcp and complete OAuth`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine.

Pick Linear MCP Server (official remote) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and 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 Linear MCP Server (official remote)

Install / run

Add remote MCP URL https://mcp.linear.app/mcp and complete OAuth

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linear-mcp-server-official-remote": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.linear.app/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop connects to remote servers through the `mcp-remote` proxy (installed on first run via npx). Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

FAQ

obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) or Linear MCP Server (official remote) — which is better?

Pick obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) if you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine. Pick Linear MCP Server (official remote) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both obsidian-mcp-server (cyanheads) and Linear MCP Server (official remote)?

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 Linear MCP Server (official remote) 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 Linear MCP Server (official remote) →More comparisons →