Critical Risk →

delete_note

Delete a note from the Obsidian vault

How to control delete_note ↓

AI agents call delete_note to permanently remove resources in Obsidian MCP — typically in cleanup and lifecycle workflows. It does its job in a single call, and there is no undo.

Critical Risk

Deletion of notes from a vault cannot be undone and represents permanent data loss. This is a destructive operation that warrants high severity due to the potential loss of important knowledge base content if misused by an AI agent. The confidence is very high given the explicit delete semantics in both name and description.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'delete_note' and description 'Delete a note from the Obsidian vault' explicitly indicate irreversible deletion of data.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access delete_note gives an agent:

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Obsidian MCP, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for delete_note:

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "hide": [
    "delete_note"
  ]
}

delete_note disappears from the agent's tool list entirely, and any attempt to call it is denied. The rest of the server keeps working.

  1. Create a free account and register Obsidian MCP — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
RESTRICT THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

Go deeper

What does the delete_note tool do? +

Delete a note from the Obsidian vault. It is categorised as a Destructive tool in the Obsidian MCP MCP Server, which means it can permanently delete or destroy data. Block by default and require explicit approval.

How do I enforce a policy on delete_note? +

Register the Obsidian MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for delete_note: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Obsidian MCP. Nothing to install.

What risk level is delete_note? +

delete_note is a Destructive tool with critical risk. Critical-risk tools should be blocked by default and only enabled with explicit human approval.

Can I rate-limit delete_note? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the delete_note rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block delete_note completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for delete_note. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides delete_note? +

delete_note is provided by the Obsidian MCP server (newtype-01/obsidian-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Obsidian MCP tool call.

Deterministic rules across all 11 Obsidian MCP tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.

Free to start. No card required.

11 Obsidian MCP tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.

// GET IN TOUCH

Have a question or want to learn more? Send us a message.

Message sent.

We'll get back to you soon.