How to Connect Apple Notes to Claude with an MCP Server (2026)
Let Claude search and read your Apple Notes during a conversation. Here are the three real ways to do it, from a local MCP server to a no-terminal option, with the setup and the privacy trade-offs spelled out.
By Ram Velmurugan, Founder & Lead Developer, 1dot.ai
Quick Answer
To connect Apple Notes to Claude, run a local MCP server on your Mac and add it to Claude Desktop’s config file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude. The server reads your local Notes database so Claude can search and reference your notes mid-conversation. Most Apple Notes MCP servers are read only and run entirely on your Mac. If you would rather not touch the terminal, an app with a built-in MCP server, or exporting your notes to Markdown and attaching them to a Claude Project, gets you to the same place with no scripting.
You have a few years of Apple Notes sitting on your Mac. Meeting notes, research, half-finished ideas, that one recipe. It would be genuinely useful if you could ask Claude a question and have it pull the answer straight from those notes instead of you hunting through the sidebar. That is exactly what a Model Context Protocol server lets you do.
The tricky part is that Apple Notes has no official way in. There is no public API and no share button that says "send to Claude." So every method below works around that in a slightly different way, and each one makes a different trade between how live the connection is, how much setup it needs, and how much of your data leaves your Mac.
This guide covers all three routes in plain language: a local MCP server you wire up yourself, an app that ships its own MCP server so you never open a terminal, and the simplest option of all, exporting your notes and handing them to Claude directly. By the end you will know which one fits how you actually work.
What connecting Apple Notes to Claude actually means
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It is an open standard Anthropic released in late 2024 that lets Claude talk to outside tools and data through small helper programs called servers. A server can run on your own machine or in the cloud. When Claude needs something the server provides, it calls the server, gets the answer back, and uses it in its reply.
An Apple Notes MCP server is one of those small programs. It runs on your Mac, reads your notes, and offers Claude a short list of actions such as list my notes, read a specific note, and search my notes. Claude decides when to call them based on what you ask. You do not write any code to use one. You install it once and point Claude at it.
Because Apple gives no official access to Notes, these servers get at your notes one of two ways. Some read the local Notes database file directly, which lives deep inside your Library folder. Others drive the Notes app with AppleScript, the built-in macOS automation language. Either way the reading happens on your Mac. The only thing that reaches Anthropic is the specific note text Claude pulls in to answer you, which is the same as if you had pasted that text into the chat yourself.
The three ways to connect
Route 1: set up a local MCP server
This is the true live connection and the one most people mean by connecting Apple Notes to Claude. You install a small open-source server, give it access to your notes, and register it with Claude Desktop. From then on Claude can search and read your notes whenever a question calls for it. Here is the whole process.
1. Pick an Apple Notes MCP server and its runtime
Several free, open-source Apple Notes MCP servers exist. Some read your local Notes database for fast search, some add semantic search so Claude can find notes by meaning rather than exact words. Each one lists a runtime it needs, usually Node.js, or a Python runner like uv, or Bun. Read the server’s README, then install the runtime it asks for. If you have never installed one, the README almost always has a one-line command.
2. Install the server and grant it access to your notes
Follow the server’s install steps, usually a single command or a clone-and-install pair. Servers that read the Notes database directly need Full Disk Access, because the database sits in a protected part of your Library folder. Grant it under System Settings, Privacy and Security, Full Disk Access, and only to a server whose code you can see and trust. Servers that use AppleScript will instead ask for permission to control the Notes app the first time they run.
3. Open Claude Desktop’s config file
Local MCP servers connect through Claude Desktop, the Mac app, not the web version. Open Claude Desktop, go to Settings, then the Developer tab, then click Edit Config. That opens, or creates, a file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. This small JSON file is the list of servers Claude is allowed to talk to.
4. Add the server to the mcpServers list
Inside the file there is an mcpServers section. Add an entry for your server using the exact command and arguments from its README. The example below shows the shape. Give your server any short name you like as the key, then set command to the runner and args to what the README specifies. Keep the JSON valid, matching brackets and commas, or Claude will skip the file.
5. Restart Claude Desktop and confirm the connection
Save the file and fully quit Claude Desktop, then open it again. A new connector or tool should appear, often as a small tools icon in the chat box. If it does not show up, reopen the Developer settings to check the connection status and logs, and double-check the file for a stray comma or a wrong path. A restart is required every time you change the config.
6. Ask Claude to use your notes
Now just ask. With a search or indexing server you might start with "index my notes," then "search my notes for what I decided about the pricing page." Claude will call the server, read the notes it needs, and answer with them. The first time, Claude asks your permission to use the tool. Keep your questions specific so it pulls the right notes instead of everything.
The config entry
Your claude_desktop_config.json should look like this once the server is added. Use the exact command and args your server’s README gives you, the ones below are only an example of the shape.
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-notes": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["apple-notes-mcp"]
}
}
}Some servers use node with a path to an index.js file instead of a runner like uvx or bunx. If you already have other MCP servers listed, add this one as another key inside the same mcpServers object and keep the commas correct between entries.
Route 2: use an app with a built-in MCP server
Not everyone wants to install a runtime and edit a JSON file. If that is you, look for a note app that ships its own MCP server. A good current example is Notes Exporter: Markdown Sync, sold at NotesExporter.app. It keeps a live Markdown mirror of your Apple Notes and includes a built-in local MCP server you switch on in its settings, then point Claude at. No terminal, no separate install.
It is free for up to 100 notes and 4.99 dollars one time for an unlimited library, and it runs on macOS 15 Sequoia and later. That macOS floor is the main catch. If your Mac is on an older version, this route is not available and you are back to a self-installed server or the export route below. But if you are on Sequoia and want a live connection without opening a terminal even once, it is the least fiddly way to get there.
Route 3: export your notes and attach them
The simplest method skips MCP entirely. You export your notes as files, then hand those files to Claude. This works on any Mac going back to macOS 11, on any Claude plan including the web app, and it needs no terminal and no Full Disk Access. You are not opening a live pipe into your whole notes library. You are choosing exactly which notes to share.
Two formats fit Claude well. Markdown keeps your notes readable, with headings and lists intact, which is ideal when you want Claude to summarize or rewrite them. JSONL puts one note per line as structured data, which is the better shape when you are feeding a large batch or building something on top of your notes later. Our guide on exporting notes as JSONL for AI walks through that format in detail.
The best place to put the files is a Claude Project. Add your exported notes to the Project’s knowledge and every conversation inside that Project can draw on them, retrieved as needed rather than pasted in full. That sidesteps a real limit of the live-server route: point Claude at thousands of notes at once and you can overflow the context window, while a Project pulls only the relevant pieces. For a one-off question, attaching the files straight to a single chat is fine too.
This is where Apple Notes Exporter Pro fits. It batch-exports your whole library, or just the folders you choose, to Markdown or JSONL in one pass, keeps your folder structure, and preserves attachments, all on your Mac. It can also run on a schedule, so the snapshot you feed Claude stays current without you re-exporting by hand. For a handful of notes you do not need any of this, the built-in File, Export As in Apple Notes or a quick copy and paste is enough. It earns its place when the library is large or you want the export to refresh itself.
The three routes at a glance
| Local server | Built-in app | Export and attach | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connection | Live, on demand | Live, on demand | Snapshot you refresh |
| Terminal needed | Yes | No | No |
| macOS | Depends on the server | macOS 15 Sequoia+ | macOS 11 Big Sur+ |
| Claude surface | Claude Desktop | Claude Desktop | Desktop or web |
| Cost | Free, open source | Free to 100 notes, then 4.99 | Native free, or a paid exporter |
| Reads / writes | Read only, usually | Read only, usually | You pick the files |
| You control which notes | Whole library | Whole library | Exactly what you export |
| Best for | Tinkerers who want live search | Sequoia users who avoid the terminal | Big libraries and older Macs |
Privacy and safety, honestly
A live MCP server runs on your Mac, and the common Apple Notes servers are read only, so Claude cannot change or delete your notes through them. That is the safe default. Still, three things are worth understanding before you turn one on.
First, Full Disk Access is a powerful permission. A server that reads the Notes database asks for it, which also lets that program read a lot more than your notes. Only grant it to an open-source server whose code you or someone you trust can inspect. If a server is a closed binary you cannot see into, be cautious.
Second, locked and encrypted notes stay unreadable. Apple encrypts those, and these servers do not have the key, so any note you have locked simply will not show up. That is a feature, not a bug.
Third, sharing a note with Claude is still sharing. The note text Claude reads to answer you leaves your Mac as part of that conversation, exactly as it would if you pasted it in. The reading is local, the conversation is not. For truly sensitive notes, the export route wins on control, because you decide file by file what Claude ever sees.
Which route should you use?
Common questions
What is an Apple Notes MCP server?
It is a small program that runs on your Mac, reads your Apple Notes, and offers Claude a few actions such as list notes, read a note, and search notes. MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is the open standard from Anthropic that lets Claude call those actions during a conversation. You install the server once and add it to Claude Desktop, and from then on Claude can pull answers from your notes when you ask.
Do I need to be a developer to connect Apple Notes to Claude?
No. The local-server route asks you to run a couple of commands and edit one small config file, which is beginner friendly if you follow the server’s README. If even that feels like too much, an app with a built-in MCP server does it with a toggle, and exporting your notes to Markdown and attaching them to a Claude Project needs no terminal at all. Pick the route that matches your comfort level.
Is it safe to let Claude access my Apple Notes?
It is reasonably safe if you use an open-source server you can inspect. The common Apple Notes MCP servers are read only and run entirely on your Mac, so Claude cannot change your notes and nothing is uploaded except the note text it reads to answer a question. The two things to watch are Full Disk Access, which you should only grant to code you trust, and the fact that any note Claude reads becomes part of your conversation with Claude, just like pasting it in.
Can Claude create or edit my Apple Notes, or only read them?
Almost always read only. The popular Apple Notes MCP servers are built to search and read, not to write, and several list note creation as a planned feature that is not shipped yet. That is deliberate, since read only is far safer. If you specifically want Claude to write back into Notes, you would need a server that supports it, and you should test it carefully on notes you do not mind losing.
Does this work with Claude on the web, or only the desktop app?
Local MCP servers connect through Claude Desktop, the Mac app, because the server runs on your machine and Claude Desktop is what talks to it. The web app cannot reach a program on your Mac. Claude Code, the command-line tool, also supports MCP servers. If you only use Claude in a browser, the export-and-attach route is your path: it works with the web app because you are uploading files rather than opening a live connection.
Why will not the server read my locked or encrypted notes?
Apple encrypts locked notes, and MCP servers do not have your password or the encryption key, so those notes are unreadable to them by design. Everything else in your library is fine. If a note you expected is missing from Claude’s answers, check whether it is locked. This is a privacy protection working as intended, not a bug in the server.
Do I need macOS Sequoia to connect Apple Notes to Claude?
It depends on the route. Self-installed MCP servers set their own macOS requirement, and many run on older versions. The no-terminal app route in this guide needs macOS 15 Sequoia. The export route is the most forgiving, working back to macOS 11 Big Sur, which makes it the reliable choice on an older Mac.
What is the easiest way if I do not want to use the terminal at all?
Export your notes and attach them. Use a batch exporter to save your library as Markdown or JSONL, then add those files to a Claude Project so every chat in that Project can use them. There is no server to install, no config file to edit, and no Full Disk Access to grant. You also get to choose exactly which notes Claude can see, which is the tightest control of any method here.
The no-terminal way to feed Claude your notes
Export your whole Apple Notes library, or just the folders you choose, to Markdown or JSONL in one pass, with attachments and structure intact, then drop it into a Claude Project. Schedule it and the snapshot stays current on its own.