Bear Notes MCP is a free Node.js server tool by Vasylenko, programmed in TypeScript, designed to bridge the Bear note-taking application with AI assistants. It functions as an MCP server, enabling AI tools to interact with your Bear notes directly on macOS. Users can install it via a GitHub Releases extension file for Claude Desktop or by running it locally after cloning the repository. This program offers a powerful way to extend the utility of your Bear notes through AI-driven commands and content analysis, connecting your personal knowledge base to advanced computational capabilities.

What does Bear Notes MCP connect to?

The 'bear-notes-mcp' server tool connects directly to the Bear note-taking application on macOS. It operates as an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, performing read operations by accessing Bear's SQLite database. For write operations, the server utilizes Bear's X-callback-URL API, ensuring a direct and functional interaction with the application. This local approach allows for deep integration with your existing Bear note environment without external dependencies beyond your macOS system and Bear app installation.

Core features and tools

Bear Notes MCP exposes several callable tools for AI interaction. These include bear-capabilities, bear-rename-tag, bear-delete-tag, bear-search-notes (which provides matching snippets and tags), and bear-add-tag (which is idempotent). While 'Creating a note' and 'Open a note by title' are supported actions, their specific tool names are not explicitly provided. The bear-grab-url tool was previously included but later removed due to potential security considerations, focusing the toolset on core note and tag management.

Who is it for?

This tool is for developers, power users, and anyone seeking to connect their Bear notes with AI tools, particularly users of AI assistants such as Claude Desktop. It allows for advanced interaction with personal notes through natural language commands and automated processes. Users who want to apply AI capabilities to their note organization, content creation, and search within Bear will find this program valuable. Skip this if you do not use Bear Notes on macOS.

How to get started

No credentials are required. Communication with compatible AI clients like Claude Desktop strongly implies stdio as the transport protocol.

Use cases

• Performing natural language searches across Bear notes, including titles, bodies, and tags, with relevance-ranked results and filters.
• Creating new notes, adding content to existing notes, and managing tags (adding, renaming, deleting) within the Bear application via AI commands.
• Facilitating content analysis and organization by allowing AI to browse notes by tags, analyze relationships, extract metadata, and execute advanced queries.

Bear Notes MCP provides a practical bridge between your Bear notes and AI tools, enhancing your ability to manage and interact with personal knowledge. Its local operation ensures direct access to your notes, supporting both read and write capabilities through an MCP server. This integration opens new avenues for AI-powered note management and content analysis within the macOS environment. Start by configuring Claude Desktop to point to the server's executable to begin interacting with your Bear notes.