How to Use Claude Code in Obsidian

If you already use Claude Code in a terminal, you can use the same install inside Obsidian.

SystemSculpt is a free community plugin. It adds a chat pane that runs your own Claude Code in your vault folder, with your login, your settings and your permission rules, and saves each chat as a Markdown note in your vault. You don't need a SystemSculpt account or plan for it, or an MCP server.

The screenshot shows a sample vault: Claude Code read meeting notes and added a Launch day checklist to the Launch plan note.

What you need

• Obsidian on desktop. SystemSculpt runs Claude Code on your computer. Mobile Obsidian chat uses hosted AI; an enabled iPhone handoff can return a desktop agent's result.
• Claude Code, installed and signed in. If you have never signed in, run claude in a terminal once and type /login.
• The latest SystemSculpt release, from Obsidian's Community plugins.

Set it up in 3 steps

1. Install SystemSculpt. In Obsidian, open Settings, then Community plugins, then Browse. Search for SystemSculpt, then select Install and Enable. Or use the SystemSculpt page in the Obsidian plugin directory.

2. Open chat and pick Claude Code. Select the chat icon in the left ribbon, or run Open chat from the command palette. In the run line below the message box, choose Claude Code. New chats can select an available native backend automatically; check the backend and mode before sending.

The line below the message box shows who answers. View the full-size backend screenshot.

3. Ask about your notes. For example: "Read Meetings/2026-10-20 Design sync.md and add an Action items checklist at the end, one line per task with its owner and due date." Claude Code reads the files it needs. Choose Ask before edits if you want to review changes before they apply. When approval is required, SystemSculpt shows the request and available diff inline.

If Claude Code is missing or signed out, the chat says so and shows the command that fixes it.

For a custom Claude Code location, create ~/.config/systemsculpt/claude.json:

{ "binary": "/path/to/claude" }

Model and permissions

With Claude Code selected, the run line offers model and permission controls:

• Model: Claude Code's default, Opus, Sonnet or Haiku.
• Permissions: Auto, Ask before edits, Accept edits, Plan only or Claude Code settings. New chats default to Auto, subject to preserved native preferences; saved chats keep their choices. Auto uses native safety checks, not a promise to ask before every edit. If Auto is unavailable, the plugin falls back to Accept edits and shows Auto unavailable. Claude Code settings uses your own configuration. SystemSculpt does not enable a permission-bypass mode.

A change applies from your next message. When Claude Code asks, the request and available diff appear in the conversation, with Approve and Deny buttons.

Claude Code's edit diff and approval controls. View the full-size approval screenshot.

To tell Claude Code how your vault is organized, or to keep it out of a private folder, add a CLAUDE.md and deny rules at the vault root. Claude Code and your Obsidian vault shows both.

Do I need an MCP server?

No. SystemSculpt starts your installed Claude Code as a local process in your vault folder, so it reads and edits your notes as ordinary files. You don't need to install or configure an MCP server for that.

An MCP server is optional when you want tools beyond file access, such as Obsidian's own search, the open note or its commands. Connecting Claude Desktop is a different setup; Obsidian MCP servers explains those options.

What stays on your machine

• Claude Code runs as a local process in your vault folder, just like running claude in a terminal there. It uses your own Claude login, settings, tools and session history.
• In ordinary desktop Claude Code chat, your messages and the notes the agent reads go to its AI service through your Claude Code account. That chat path does not use SystemSculpt's hosted inference or credits. Separately, hosted tools such as PDF processing or semantic indexing send content through SystemSculpt even while you use a native chat backend. An iPhone handoff also returns the native result text and written file path to SystemSculpt so it can reach the phone.
• The plugin does not read Claude Code credentials or native session-file contents. Detection can list session filenames and timestamps under ~/.claude or your configured Claude directory; Claude Code itself manages its login, settings and session contents.
• Each chat is saved as a Markdown note in your vault. Resuming a native chat also needs its original Claude Code session; the Markdown note alone is not a complete native-session backup.

Codex works the same way

If you use OpenAI's Codex CLI instead, choose Codex in the run line below the message box. It uses your existing Codex login, and its own approval and sandbox settings decide what it may do. Like Claude Code, it is desktop only and needs no SystemSculpt plan. See how to use Codex in Obsidian. Not sure which to use? See Claude Code vs Codex in Obsidian. SystemSculpt doesn't run Gemini CLI; Gemini CLI in Obsidian covers the options for it.

Other ways to use Claude Code with Obsidian

SystemSculpt isn't the only way. These options are free to install; Claude Code still uses your own account and its usage limits.

• Claude Code in a terminal. Run claude in your vault folder. Nothing to install in Obsidian; you switch between the terminal and your notes.
• Claudian. Embeds Claude Code, Codex and other coding agents in an Obsidian sidebar, with inline edit and projects. Desktop only.
• Agent Client. Connects Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI or another Agent Client Protocol agent. It shows the agent's permission requests; auto-allow is opt-in. Desktop only.
• Claude Code IDE. Lets Claude Code in your terminal see the open note and selected text in Obsidian: run /ide and choose Obsidian. Claude Code edits the files directly; the plugin has no diff view.
• Copilot. Its Agent connects your existing Claude Code installation and login, alongside OpenCode and Codex.

Choose SystemSculpt if you also want hosted AI on your phone, audio transcription and related notes in the same plugin. Our comparison of Obsidian AI plugins covers these options in more detail.

When you want hosted AI too

Some SystemSculpt features run on its hosted AI rather than on Claude Code: audio transcription, related-note search across your vault, document processing and video generation.

If Claude Code reaches its usage limit, the chat shows the reset time when Claude Code provides one and offers Use SystemSculpt instead. This starts a new hosted chat and keeps the native chat in your history; it does not automatically send or replay your existing conversation.

Eligible new SystemSculpt accounts can claim 500 one-time starter credits for hosted AI, with no card required. Choose Sign up in Settings, SystemSculpt AI, Account, and follow the eligibility and verification steps. Paid plans are $9 a month or $90 a year, and both include a monthly credit allowance.

Common questions

Does it cost anything? The plugin is free, and Claude Code chat needs no SystemSculpt plan. Claude Code itself runs on your Claude account, as it does in a terminal.

Does it work on iPhone, iPad or Android? Claude Code executes on the desktop, not inside mobile Obsidian. Mobile Obsidian chat uses hosted AI; an enabled iPhone handoff can receive a desktop agent's result.

Can Claude Code change my notes without asking? Yes, depending on the mode. Ask before edits requests approval for edits, but it is not the new-chat default. Auto uses native safety checks and Accept edits permits edits without asking. Choose your mode before the run.

Can I connect the Claude app instead? This guide uses Claude Code, the command-line agent, not the Claude website or desktop app. To connect Claude Desktop to your vault, see Obsidian MCP servers.

Where are the docs? The chat workspace guide covers the chat pane, choose your AI compares the backends, and getting started covers installation.

Install SystemSculpt from the Obsidian plugin directory, then choose Claude Code in the chat run line.

Sources

SystemSculpt behavior checked against plugin 6.18.26. Alternatives: Claudian's README, Agent Client's README, Claude Code IDE's README and Copilot's README.