chatgpt-sidebar

# ChatGPT Sidebar [](https://github.com/Faust-Donf/chatgpt-sidebar/stargazers) [](https://github.com/Faust-Donf/chatgpt-sidebar/forks) [](https://github.com/Faust-Donf/chatgpt-sidebar/actions/workflows/validate.yml) [](LICENSE) [](SKILL.md) [](https://obsidian.md) [](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)  把 Obsidian vault 变成 ChatGPT 可直接使用的本地知识工作台：桌面端 ChatGPT 侧边栏、vault 级 MCP server、ngrok 远程访问、安全的文件读写工具，以及可选的 Agent Reach-backed 外部资料发现与读取工具。 ChatGPT Sidebar is a **Codex skill package** for setting up an Obsidian + ChatGPT workflow end to end. It is not a vault backup, not an Obsidian marketplace plugin package, and not a ChatGPT automation scraper. ## Workspace Preview  The intended workflow is visible in one screen: Obsidian keeps the graph, files, and long-term notes on the left, while ChatGPT uses MCP tools on the right to inspect and organize the vault. ## 中文导读 `chatgpt-sidebar` 面向想把 ChatGPT 和 Obsidian 长期知识库连起来的人。它提供一套可复用的安装和维护流程，让 Codex 能在目标 vault 中搭好： - Obsidian 桌面端 ChatGPT 网页侧边栏。 - 清晰的 `raw/`、`wiki/`、`mcp-server/` 知识库结构。 - 让 ChatGPT 读取、搜索和整理 vault 文件的 MCP server。 - 可选的外部学习工具：网页搜索、GitHub 搜索、YouTube 搜索/字幕、RSS 阅读、网页正文读取。 - 通过 ngrok 暴露给 ChatGPT 远程 MCP 的连接方式。 - 默认保护 `.git`、`.obsidian`、`.env`、插件缓存、cookies 和 token 的安全边界。 这个 README 借鉴了热门 Obsidian 项目的常见写法：先说明项目价值，再给出安装、触发方式、功能边界、仓库结构、验证命令和安全模型。 ## Why It Matters Obsidian is great for long-lived knowledge. ChatGPT is great for reasoning and synthesis. The awkward part is the bridge between them: browser tabs, manual copying, random scripts, ngrok URLs, MCP auth, and a lot of small things that are easy to forget. This skill turns that bridge into a repeatable setup: | Need | What this skill sets up | |---|---| | Use ChatGPT while writing in Obsidian | Desktop ChatGPT web sidebar | | Let ChatGPT inspect a vault | Vault-scoped MCP read tools | | Let ChatGPT organize notes | Explicit write, append, move, delete tools | | Let ChatGPT discover new knowledge | Web, GitHub, YouTube, RSS discovery tools | | Connect ChatGPT to local files | ngrok + token-protected SSE endpoint | | Avoid leaking local state | Git ignores, path guards, secret boundaries | ## What Codex Can Build ### ChatGPT Web Sidebar An Obsidian community plugin that opens `https://chatgpt.com` in a desktop sidebar. It deliberately does not: - call the OpenAI API - scrape ChatGPT responses - inject scripts into ChatGPT - automate login, CAPTCHA, clicks, or sending - sync ChatGPT history ### Vault MCP Server A local MCP server based on `Faust-Donf/chatgpt-mcp-server-template`, using Express, the official MCP SDK, SSE transport, and ChatGPT-compatible OAuth/DCR shims. The server can expose controlled vault tools: | Tool | Purpose | |---|---| | `get_vault_structure` | Inspect vault layout | | `list_vault_files` | List exposed files with pagination | | `read_vault_file` | Read a text-like file | | `search_vault` | Search notes with line previews | | `write_vault_file` | Create or overwrite a file with explicit `overwrite=true` | | `append_vault_file` | Append content to a file | | `delete_vault_file` | Delete one file with explicit `confirm=true` | | `move_vault_path` | Move or rename files/directories | | `create_vault_directory` | Create folders for organization | | `runtime_context` | Return MCP server date, time, timezone, and runtime user | The server can also expose optional Agent Reach-backed discovery tools: | Tool | Purpose | |---|---| | `agent_reach_status` | Diagnose Agent Reach and upstream CLI availability | | `web_search` | Search web sources, with optional hostname restriction | | `github_search` | Search GitHub repositories through `gh` | | `youtube_search` | Search YouTube videos through `yt-dlp` | | `rss_read` | Read RSS or Atom feeds | | `read_url` | Read one HTTP(S) page through Jina Reader or direct fallback | | `youtube_transcript` | Extract YouTube subtitles or auto-subtitles | This is intentionally not arbitrary shell access. ChatGPT Web calls narrow MCP tools; those tools run in the MCP server runtime and call Agent Reach or upstream CLIs only through fixed handlers. ### Learning Workflow With the optional discovery tools enabled, ChatGPT can follow this loop: ```text discover: web_search / github_search / youtube_search / rss_read read: read_url / youtube_transcript write: write_vault_file / append_vault_file ``` For time-sensitive prompts such as "latest", "recent", "today", or "this year", ChatGPT should first call `runtime_context()` to get the MCP server's current date, year, and timezone. This avoids relying on stale model memory. ### ngrok Remote Access The skill includes the runbook for exposing the local MCP server through ngrok and connecting ChatGPT to: ```text https://<ngrok-host>/sse?token=<MCP_ACCESS_TOKEN> ``` ## Who This Is For Use this if you want: - a personal Obsidian knowledge base that ChatGPT can search and update - a way for ChatGPT to discover high-quality external sources and save distilled notes - a reproducible setup instead of scattered one-off scripts - a local-first workflow where vault files stay on your machine - explicit read/write tools instead of broad filesystem access - a documented restart path for MCP and ngrok This is not for: - syncing ChatGPT conversation history automatically - bypassing ChatGPT login, rate limits, CAPTCHA, or browser checks - publishing a full Obsidian vault backup - scraping ChatGPT web content - replacing the official Obsidian plugin publishing flow ## Install The Skill Clone this repository into your Codex skills directory: ```bash mkdir -p ~/.codex/skills git clone https://github.com/Faust-Donf/chatgpt-sidebar.git ~/.codex/skills/obsidian-web-mcp ``` Start a new Codex session so the skill is discovered. ## Trigger It Use a prompt like: ```text Use obsidian-web-mcp to set up this Obsidian vault with a ChatGPT web sidebar and an ngrok-exposed MCP server. ``` Other useful prompts: ```text Use obsidian-web-mcp to add write/delete/move MCP tools to this vault safely. ``` ```text Use obsidian-web-mcp to add Agent Reach-backed web_search, youtube_search, rss_read, read_url, and youtube_transcript tools to this vault MCP server. ``` ```text Use obsidian-web-mcp to document how to restart the Obsidian MCP server after shutdown. ``` ```text Use obsidian-web-mcp to prepare this Obsidian MCP setup for GitHub without committing secrets. ``` ## Typical Output After Codex uses this skill on a vault, the target project usually has: ```text .obsidian/plugins/chatgpt-web-sidebar/ mcp-server/ raw/ wiki/ AGENT.md README.md ``` The MCP server has its own: ```text mcp-server/.env.example mcp-server/package.json mcp-server/src/ mcp-server/README.md ``` The real `.env` stays local and ignored by Git. ## Repository Contents ```text chatgpt-sidebar/ ├── SKILL.md # Main workflow used by Codex ├── README.md # Human-facing project page ├── LICENSE ├── CONTRIBUTING.md ├── agents/ │ └── openai.yaml # UI metadata ├── references/ │ └── repo-layout.md # Recommended vault/repo layout └── assets/ └── cover.png # README cover image ``` ## Safety Model The skill tells Codex to keep these boundaries: - never commit `.env`, ngrok tokens, MCP tokens, cookies, or plugin session state - keep MCP file access inside the target vault - exclude `.git`, `.obsidian`, `mcp-server`, `node_modules`, `.env`, and cache files from MCP exposure - require explicit flags for destructive operations - expose external discovery through narrow read-only MCP tools, not arbitrary shell - install Agent Reach only in the same user/container/machine runtime as the MCP server - use `runtime_context` before interpreting "latest" or "recent" - keep ChatGPT tool execution set to ask before running - avoid ChatGPT DOM scraping and automation This matters because a remote MCP tunnel can expose local files if it is built casually. The skill biases toward explicit tools, path guards, token auth, and restart documentation. ## Validate Run the local skill validator: ```bash python3 ~/.codex/skills/.system/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py ~/.codex/skills/obsidian-web-mcp ``` This repository also runs a lightweight GitHub Actions workflow on every push to verify the skill package shape. ## Star History [](https://www.star-history.com/#Faust-Donf/chatgpt-sidebar&Date) ## Status This skill is opinionated and practical. It is designed for personal/local Obsidian workflows where you understand the risk of exposing a local MCP server through a public tunnel. Use private repositories and rotate tokens if you share URLs or screenshots.