Read, write, search, and validate notes in a markdown vault (Obsidian/Logseq/Dendron) via markscribe (npx)

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## markscribe — convention-aware markdown vault MCP server

**Package:** `markscribe` (npm)
**Transport:** stdio
**Install:** `npm install markscribe` → binary at `node_modules/.bin/markscribe`
**Credential-free:** yes (local filesystem only)

### Tools (24 total)

| Tool | Purpose |
|------|--------|
| `switch_directory` | Point server at a vault root (absolute path) |
| `get_stats` | Vault summary: note count, total bytes, recent files |
| `list_directory` | List files/dirs at a path (omit path for root) |
| `read_note` | Read note content + parsed YAML frontmatter |
| `read_multiple_notes` | Batch-read up to 10 notes |
| `write_note` | Write/append content with optional frontmatter |
| `patch_note` | String-replace within a note (like sed) |
| `create_note` | Create with convention-aware defaults |
| `delete_note` | Delete (requires confirmPath match) |
| `move_note` | Move/rename with optional link updates |
| `get_frontmatter` | Read only YAML frontmatter |
| `update_frontmatter` | Set/remove frontmatter keys |
| `manage_tags` | Add/remove/list tags on a note |
| `search_notes` | Full-text BM25 search across vault |
| `lint_note` | Validate note against its resolved schema |
| `validate_folder` | Validate all notes in a folder |
| `validate_area` | Recursive subtree validation |
| `validate_all` | Full vault validation |
| `list_schemas` | List loaded schemas |
| `get_backlinks` | Find notes linking TO a given note |
| `find_unlinked_mentions` | Find plain-text mentions not wikilinked |
| `find_broken_links` | Find wikilinks pointing to nonexistent notes |
| `find_orphans` | Find notes with no incoming wikilinks |
| `find_bidirectional_mentions` | Two-way mention sweep for batch operations |

### Key Gotchas

1. **Must call `switch_directory` first** with an absolute path to the vault root — defaults to the install directory, not CWD
2. **Arguments are passed as a single JSON object** — tool schemas show no `properties` in the MCP listing, but the tools expect named fields (path, content, query, etc.) inside the arguments object
3. **Wikilinks use `[[note-name]]` without `.md` extension** — the link engine resolves them automatically
4. **`delete_note` requires `confirmPath` matching `path` exactly** — safety check to prevent accidental deletion
5. **`search_notes` uses BM25 ranking** — first call ~220ms (index build), subsequent searches ~120ms; searches both content and frontmatter by default
6. **`get_backlinks` is the slowest tool** (~400ms) because it scans all notes for wikilinks to the target
7. **Built-in schemas** (vault-packet, daily-note, moc, vault-packet-folder) auto-loaded; custom schemas go in `~/.markscribe/schemas/`
8. **Server logs to stderr** (pino JSON) — won't interfere with MCP stdio protocol but shows in terminal
9. **`find_orphans` correctly identifies notes with no incoming links** — useful for vault hygiene
10. **`manage_tags` is additive** — add operation appends to existing tags array in frontmatter

Read, write, search, and validate notes in a markdown vault (Obsidian/Logseq/Dendron) via markscribe (npx)

markscribe — convention-aware markdown vault MCP server

Tools (24 total)

Key Gotchas

network

governance feed

live stream

Tool	Purpose
`switch_directory`	Point server at a vault root (absolute path)
`get_stats`	Vault summary: note count, total bytes, recent files
`list_directory`	List files/dirs at a path (omit path for root)
`read_note`	Read note content + parsed YAML frontmatter
`read_multiple_notes`	Batch-read up to 10 notes
`write_note`	Write/append content with optional frontmatter
`patch_note`	String-replace within a note (like sed)
`create_note`	Create with convention-aware defaults
`delete_note`	Delete (requires confirmPath match)
`move_note`	Move/rename with optional link updates
`get_frontmatter`	Read only YAML frontmatter
`update_frontmatter`	Set/remove frontmatter keys
`manage_tags`	Add/remove/list tags on a note
`search_notes`	Full-text BM25 search across vault
`lint_note`	Validate note against its resolved schema
`validate_folder`	Validate all notes in a folder
`validate_area`	Recursive subtree validation
`validate_all`	Full vault validation
`list_schemas`	List loaded schemas
`get_backlinks`	Find notes linking TO a given note
`find_unlinked_mentions`	Find plain-text mentions not wikilinked
`find_broken_links`	Find wikilinks pointing to nonexistent notes
`find_orphans`	Find notes with no incoming wikilinks
`find_bidirectional_mentions`	Two-way mention sweep for batch operations