Getting started with Connect Pro

Connect Pro helps ChatGPT and other AI apps use and improve the Obsidian notes you rely on. Start with the ChatGPT plugin for the easiest connection, or choose a compatible desktop app below. Check that your app can read one note you recognize before requesting an improvement to review in Smart Inbox.

Already connected? Go straight to examples. Something is not working? Find your symptom in troubleshooting.

1. Open your vault

Use Obsidian Desktop 1.12.2 or later with Connect Pro enabled and your Pro access active. Open the vault you want to use, then go to Settings > Smart Connect Pro. Keep this vault open while your AI app uses it.

2. Choose your app

Recommended: connect the ChatGPT plugin first. If you use a desktop app, choose its Local MCP instructions instead. The dedicated GPT is a legacy option for existing users. Follow one route, then check the connection with a note you know.

The recommended ChatGPT plugin uses Remote MCP and the shared Connect session. Desktop apps use Local MCP on the same computer as Obsidian; Local MCP works independently. The dedicated Smart Connect Pro GPT is being discontinued as Connect Pro moves to ChatGPT plugins. For new ChatGPT connections, choose the plugin rather than the legacy GPT.

Connect the ChatGPT plugin (recommended)

1. Open Settings > Smart Connect Pro in the intended Obsidian vault. Use Connect in the Connect session row; if its button says Open Pro plugins, resolve sign-in or access there. If ChatGPT plugin says Waiting for Connect, this shared session is the prerequisite. You do not need to open the legacy GPT.
2. Turn on ChatGPT plugin and check its Remote MCP status. If needed, use Retry after the Connect session is connected. Desktop apps (Local MCP) can stay off.
3. Select Setup beside ChatGPT plugin, then Open ChatGPT plugin, or open the Connect Pro for Obsidian ChatGPT plugin directly. The plugin link is also in the Connect Pro status bar menu. Complete any connection prompts in ChatGPT.
4. Check the connection with one read-only request for a note you recognize. Opening the plugin page or seeing a ready status alone does not confirm that ChatGPT reached the intended vault.

Keep the intended vault open in Obsidian while using ChatGPT. If the active Connect session changes, confirm the selected vault before continuing.

This setup view is waiting for its Connect session. Confirm the connection with a read request after setup.

For desktop apps: start Local MCP

Turn on Desktop apps (Local MCP) and wait for Running on this computer. Select Setup beside Desktop apps (Local MCP). The Desktop app setup modal contains this vault's Server URL, suggested server name, and Claude extension.

Use the values from your own settings, not a screenshot. You can also copy the URL or save the extension before starting the server.

Use your vault's URL or save its Claude extension. Local MCP runs independently of the remote Connect session.

Connect ChatGPT desktop

Use a ChatGPT desktop build that offers local MCP server settings.

1. In ChatGPT, open Settings > MCP servers > Add server.
2. Enter the suggested name from Connect Pro, choose Streamable HTTP, and paste this vault's Server URL. Leave bearer-token and custom-header fields blank for this local endpoint.
3. Save, then select Restart. Type /mcp in the composer to inspect the connected servers.

OpenAI's MCP instructions cover the current menu names. If those controls are missing, check your client version and workspace configuration; the hosted connector setup is not a substitute for a local server.

Connect Claude Desktop

1. In Connect Pro settings, select Setup beside Desktop apps (Local MCP), then Save extension under Set up a desktop app. Save the .mcpb file somewhere you can find it.
2. In Claude Desktop, open Settings > Extensions > Advanced settings. Under Extension Developer, select Install Extension... and choose the saved file.
3. Complete the installation and enable the extension for this vault. If its tools do not appear, restart Claude Desktop to refresh the extension registry.

No save dialog? Look for smart-connect-pro-local.mcpb in the vault root; Connect Pro reports when it uses that fallback. Use this vault's generated file, not one from another installation.

Anthropic's local extension guide covers installation and organizational restrictions. Use the desktop extension, not the remote connector URL field: remote connectors run from Anthropic's cloud and cannot reach this computer's local listener directly.

Enable the extension generated for this vault, then keep Obsidian open while using it. This installed state is separate from a successful request.

Connect another MCP app

Add a server in the app's MCP settings using these values:

Reload the app's server or tool list using its documented controls.

The app must make requests from the same computer as Obsidian. A command-only client needs its own supported HTTP bridge; a container, virtual machine, or cloud service may not share the same local network interface. Do not expose the unauthenticated local server publicly as a workaround. Connection troubleshooting.

Legacy: Smart Connect Pro GPT

In Settings > Smart Connect Pro, select Connect in the Connect session row. Once connected, expand Smart Connect Pro GPT and select Open GPT. Local MCP can stay off.

If the button says Open Pro plugins, resolve the sign-in or access requirement there. Reconnect here can replace an active session elsewhere. Follow the status shown in this vault rather than repeatedly reconnecting from competing sessions.

Keep Obsidian open. ChatGPT plugin > Setup > Connect on startup controls automatic startup of the shared remote session used by both the plugin and the legacy GPT.

3. Check the connection

Ask your AI app to fetch the text of one existing note from Obsidian without changing it. This is what the prompt below means by reading a note.

Choose a short, non-sensitive note you are comfortable sharing with the app. Use its full path within the vault, including the file extension, such as Projects/Launch brief.md. The app may receive the whole note even when its response quotes only one sentence.

Replace the two bracketed values and send this in your AI app:

Use only the Connect Pro connection for "[vault name]".
Read "[note path]" with an available read-only tool.
Identify the note and quote one sentence from the returned text.
Do not change anything. If you cannot resolve this exact note or use
its read tool, explain the problem rather than guessing or using
another connection.

Check the app's tool-call details and compare the returned sentence with the note in Obsidian. A result from the right note is your first working connection. A reply from chat memory, a listed server, or an empty count is not the same check.

1. The tool returned this note's text. The prompt named the exact path but did not supply the sentence.

2. Compare the returned note name and sentence with the note in Obsidian.

If the note or read tool is unavailable, check the tool and source rather than enabling unrelated access. Technical users can find the read tool names in the Smart CLI reference.

Use the connection

You are ready to try a useful task. Corrections and moves are optional next steps; learn how Inbox review works before requesting them.

The connection can be disabled at any time. This stops new requests through that connection; it does not undo changes or guarantee cancellation of work already running.

Looking for the earlier review exercise? It is now in Practice one reviewed change, separate from setup.