Quick Start Guide¶

This guide walks you through setting up the system and creating your first project using AI commands while observing the results visually in Obsidian.

Prerequisites¶

• Obsidian installed
• Node.js 18+ installed
• Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or Cursor IDE
• An empty Obsidian vault (or create a new one)

Step 1: Install MCP Server (5 minutes)¶

The MCP server is a bundled stdio server built from the plugin repository (the same build also produces the plugin — one clone covers both steps):

git clone https://github.com/ostanlabs/obsidian_plugin.git
cd obsidian_plugin
npm install
npm run build        # builds the plugin AND bin/mcp-server.mjs

Then register it, pointing VAULT_PATH at your project folder:

claude mcp add obsidian-mcp \
  -e VAULT_PATH="/absolute/path/to/your/vault" \
  -- node /absolute/path/to/obsidian_plugin/bin/mcp-server.mjs

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/obsidian_plugin/bin/mcp-server.mjs"],
      "env": { "VAULT_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/your/vault" }
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Install Plugin (5 minutes)¶

Choose your installation method:

# From the obsidian_plugin repo built in Step 1
mkdir -p /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/canvas-project-manager
cp main.js manifest.json styles.css \
  /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/canvas-project-manager/

mkdir -p /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/canvas-project-manager
cp ~/Downloads/{main.js,manifest.json,styles.css} \
  /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/canvas-project-manager/

# Install package
npm install @ostanlabs/canvas-project-manager

# Copy to vault
mkdir -p /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/canvas-project-manager
cp node_modules/@ostanlabs/canvas-project-manager/{main.js,manifest.json,styles.css} \
  /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/canvas-project-manager/

Enable in Obsidian: - Settings → Community Plugins → Enable Canvas Project Manager

Create a canvas file: - Create new file: main.canvas

Step 3: Create Your First Project with AI (5 minutes)¶

Now let's create a simple learning project using AI and watch it appear on the canvas!

3.1 Create the Learning Milestone¶

Ask your AI assistant:

Create a milestone called "Learn Obsidian Project Management" with target date 
one week from today, workstream "learning", and priority "High"

Expected Response:

✓ Created M-001: Learn Obsidian Project Management
  - Target: [date]
  - Workstream: learning
  - Priority: High

3.2 Add Stories¶

Ask your AI:

Create two stories under M-001:
1. "Set up the system" - status "Completed"
2. "Create first real project" - status "Not Started"
Both in workstream "learning"

Expected Response:

✓ Created S-001: Set up the system (parent: M-001)
✓ Created S-002: Create first real project (parent: M-001)

3.3 Add Tasks¶

Ask your AI:

Create three tasks under S-002:
1. "Define project goals" - status "Open"
2. "Break down into milestones" - status "Open"  
3. "Create initial stories" - status "Open"
All in workstream "learning"

Expected Response:

✓ Created T-001: Define project goals (parent: S-002)
✓ Created T-002: Break down into milestones (parent: S-002)
✓ Created T-003: Create initial stories (parent: S-002)

Step 4: Visualize on Canvas (2 minutes)¶

Now let's see what we created!

1. Open main.canvas in Obsidian

2. Run command (Ctrl/Cmd+P):

3. "Project Canvas: Populate from vault"

4. Run command again:

5. "Project Canvas: Reposition nodes"

You should see:

graph TD
    M["M-001: Learn Obsidian PM<br/>Target: date, Priority: High"]
    S1["S-001: Set up<br/>✓ Complete"]
    S2["S-002: Create<br/>Not Started"]
    T1["T-001: Define goals"]
    T2["T-002: Break down"]
    T3["T-003: Create stories"]

    M --> S1
    M --> S2
    S2 --> T1
    S2 --> T2
    S2 --> T3

    style M fill:#e3f2fd
    style S1 fill:#c8e6c9
    style S2 fill:#fff9c4
    style T1 fill:#ffe0b2
    style T2 fill:#ffe0b2
    style T3 fill:#ffe0b2

Step 5: Iterate and Observe (3 minutes)¶

Now let's practice the AI → Visual workflow:

Check Status¶

Ask AI:

What's the status of M-001?

Take Action¶

Ask AI:

Mark T-001 as Complete

Observe Change¶

1. In Obsidian, refresh canvas (close and reopen, or run "Populate from vault" again)
2. See T-001 now shows as complete with different styling

Report Progress¶

Ask AI:

Show me what's left to complete M-001

Move Forward¶

Ask AI:

Mark T-002 as InProgress and assign it to me

Refresh canvas → See T-002 status updated

🎉 Success!¶

You've now:

• Set up MCP Server and Plugin
• Created a 3-tier project structure via AI
• Visualized it on Obsidian canvas
• Iterated: AI action → Visual review

Next Steps¶

Troubleshooting¶

For more help, see FAQ