Arrowhead

unlocked dependency resolution.

Building

```bash

Build all crates

cargo build

Build release version

cargo build --release

Install CLI + daemon (installs `arrowhead` + `arrowheadd`)

make install PREFIX=$HOME/.local FORCE=1

Quick Start

1. Install Arrowhead.

brew tap totocaster/tap
brew install totocaster/tap/arrowhead

2. Navigate to your Obsidian vault and initialize Arrowhead.

arrowhead init

This command launches and registers the indexer, which watches your files and keeps the index ready to use. Initial indexing might take some time depending on your vault size. Use arrowhead index status for the live TUI, arrowhead index status --json for agent-friendly output, and .arrowhead/daemon/status.json plus .arrowhead/logs/daemon.log for immediate filesystem state while the daemon is still starting.

When you initialise a non-Obsidian workspace, Arrowhead writes .arrowhead/workspace.toml to capture attachments, ignored folders, daily note format, and preferred link style. Use flags such as --attachments-dir, --ignore, --daily-note-format, and --link-style during arrowhead init to pre-populate those values; Obsidian vaults continue to pull the same data from .obsidian. You can inspect or tweak these settings later with arrowhead workspace show and arrowhead workspace set.

3. Start using Arrowhead.

• CLI: Use the CLI when working with coding agents that have terminal access (local Claude Code instances, OpenClaw, Codex CLI) for the best performance.
• MCP: Use the MCP client for local or remote AI agent instances such as Claude.app.

To configure a local MCP client, add this snippet:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arrowhead": {
      "command": "arrowhead",
      "args": ["--mcp"]
    }
  }
}

For remote or headerless clients, launch the HTTP transport instead (keep Arrowhead bound to localhost and put a TLS reverse proxy—or a zero-config mesh like Tailscale—in front if you expose it beyond your machine):

```bash

Usage overview

```bash

Example request

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"mcp.notes.create","params":{"title":"Projects/Test Plan","content":"# Test Plan"}}

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":{"noteId":"Projects/Test Plan","title":"Projects/Test Plan","metadata":{"title":"Projects/Test Plan"},"content":"# Test Plan","relativePath":"Projects/Test Plan.md","fileModifiedAt":"2024-01-18T08:53:00Z"}}

Generate a new token (digest stored in config, raw token printed once)

arrowhead --mcp-server --generate-token

Workspace configuration

Arrowhead still prefers .obsidian metadata when it exists, but any plain Markdown directory can be configured by editing .arrowhead/workspace.toml. The file stores the same levers we usually read from Obsidian:

• attachments_dir: relative folder where binary assets live.
• ignored_folders: directories that should be skipped during indexing.
• daily_note_format: file-name template for daily notes (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD).
• link_style: preferred link behaviour (e.g., relative, absolute, shortest).

Running arrowhead init --attachments-dir Assets --ignore Drafts --daily-note-format "YYYY-MM-DD" populates these values automatically. Later adjustments don’t require a destructive re-initialisation—use arrowhead workspace set --ignore Drafts --ignore Private (and optional --clear-* flags) to update the TOML in place. If both .obsidian and .arrowhead/workspace.toml exist, Arrowhead logs a warning and sticks with the Obsidian settings so you always match what the editor expects.

MCP transport options

• --bind <ADDR> overrides the default bind address (127.0.0.1:3911); ARROWHEAD_MCP_BIND mirrors the flag.
• --auth-mode <bearer|link-token> switches between header-based and path-embedded tokens.
• --token, --token-file, --token-hash supply raw or hashed credentials; ARROWHEAD_MCP_TOKEN adds a raw token from the environment.
• --allow / --allow-file append CIDR ranges to the default localhost allowlist.
• --generate-token mints a random token, persists its digest, prints usage snippets, then exits.

CLI Reference

• arrowhead init — bootstrap a vault, seed configuration, and offer auto-start registration when requested.
• arrowhead index <subcommand> — manage the background indexer (start, stop, restart, status, autostart).
• arrowhead vault <subcommand> — inspect filesystem state or reset Arrowhead caches (status, reset).
• arrowhead search — execute FTS, semantic, or hybrid searches with pipe-friendly output formats.
• arrowhead notes — perform note CRUD operations plus compatibility aliases that forward notes similar / notes surprise to context note.
• arrowhead metrics <subcommand> — inspect metrics files and records and mutate metric rows.
• arrowhead context — retrieve richer day, week, changed, note, metric, and source context views with stable JSON sections.
• arrowhead graph — inspect backlinks, forward links, orphans, unresolved links, or the graph context compatibility alias for context note (--json emits machine-readable payloads).
• arrowhead --mcp[(-server)] — launch the stdio or HTTP MCP transport with shared handlers, token auth, CIDR filtering, and /health readiness probes.

Graph pipelines

arrowhead graph orphans --format ids | head -20 arrowhead graph backlinks "Project Hub" --format ids