Apple Notes search & connection-discovery
apple-notes is an MCP server for semantic search and connection-discovery across the
user's own Apple Notes — hybrid search, Swanson-ABC bridges, entity threads, and cited
synthesis over everything they've written. Embeddings, search, BM25, clustering, and
bridges run on-device; only synthesis generation calls an LLM (local OR cloud,
the user's choice).
This skill covers (1) the one-time setup you must walk the user through, and (2) which
tool to reach for, since the server exposes many.
When to Use This Skill
- Use when the user wants to find, recall, or look up something from their own Apple
Notes ("search my notes for X", "what did I write about X", "did I ever note Y").
- Use when the user wants to surface non-obvious connections across their notes
("find bridges/connections across my notes", "what links X and Y", "show related notes").
- Use when the user wants to synthesize a position from their notes ("summarize what I
think about X from my notes", "pull together everything I've written on X").
- Also use for "index my Apple Notes", tag/folder queries, and "what's connected to X".
- Do not use for creating reminders, or for non-Apple-Notes note systems.
First: is the MCP connected?
If apple-notes tools are not available, the server isn't registered yet — do the
Setup below before anything else. If tools exist but a search returns "not indexed"
or empty, run index-notes first (see Ranking caveats).
Setup (walk the user through this — it's the skill's real value)
The server reads Apple Notes' SQLite store directly, so the bun binary needs Full
Disk Access. Steps, in order:
- Install bun (if absent):
brew install oven-sh/bun/bun
- Clone + install deps:
git clone https://github.com/connerkward/mcp-apple-notes
cd mcp-apple-notes
git checkout <reviewed-tag-or-commit>
bun install
- Grant Full Disk Access to bun. Run
which bun, then open System Settings →
Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access, click +, and add that exact bun binary
path (commonly /opt/homebrew/bin/bun or /usr/local/bin/bun). Without this the
server cannot read NoteStore.sqlite and every call fails with a permissions error.
(bun install's postinstall tries to open this pane automatically.)
- Register the MCP server (pick the user's client):
- Restart the client, then tell the user to ask "Index my Apple Notes" (or call
index-notes). First index of ~1,800 notes takes a few seconds.
Tool map — which tool for which job
| Tool |
Use when |
index-notes |
First run, or to force a rebuild. Background job with live progress. |
search-notes |
Default search. Hybrid semantic + BM25, re-ranked. Optional folder, modifiedAfter, modifiedBefore. "What did I write about X." |
find-notes |
Exact substring match (like the Apple Notes search box). Use when the user wants a literal string, not meaning. Optional folder, date range. |
get-note |
Fetch one full note by title (fuzzy fallback). |
list-notes |
Notes by recency. Optional folder, date range, limit. |
list-folders |
All folders + note counts. |
list-tags / search-by-tag |
#hashtag inventory / notes carrying a given tag. |
related-notes |
Notes related to a given one via shared tags, [[wikilinks]], and vector similarity. "Show me related notes." |
bridge-notes |
Swanson-ABC bridges — non-obvious connections: pairs (A, C) not directly similar but both strongly tied to a shared intermediary B. "Find non-obvious connections across my notes." Optional folder, limit. No LLM. |
feed |
Ranked evidence-first connection stream (bridges + abstraction pairs + entity threads) as JSON. Optional limit. |
entity-notes / list-entities |
"Where else do I talk about Mercedes?" Entity chips → notes by mention weight. Needs the optional entity graph db (~/.mcp-apple-notes/layered_graph.db); if absent these report how to generate it. |
get-tables |
Pull pipe/tab tables out of a note. |
create-note / update-note |
Create or edit a note. |
check-changes |
Did notes change since last index? (does not trigger re-index) |
index-health |
Sync status, last-indexed time, note count. Run this if results seem stale. |
For "synthesize what I think about X" the synthesis lives in the web app endpoint
(`GET /api/synthesize?
1---2name: apple-notes-search3description: Semantic + keyword search and connection-discovery across the user's own Apple Notes via the apple-notes MCP server. Use when the user wants to find, recall, or synthesize something from their notes,4---567# Apple Notes search & connection-discovery89`apple-notes` is an MCP server for semantic search and connection-discovery across the10user's own Apple Notes — hybrid search, Swanson-ABC bridges, entity threads, and cited11synthesis over everything they've written. Embeddings, search, BM25, clustering, and12bridges run **on-device**; only **synthesis generation** calls an LLM (local OR cloud,13the user's choice).1415This skill covers (1) the one-time setup you must walk the user through, and (2) which16tool to reach for, since the server exposes many.1718## When to Use This Skill1920- Use when the user wants to **find, recall, or look up** something from their own Apple21 Notes ("search my notes for X", "what did I write about X", "did I ever note Y").22- Use when the user wants to surface **non-obvious connections** across their notes23 ("find bridges/connections across my notes", "what links X and Y", "show related notes").24- Use when the user wants to **synthesize a position** from their notes ("summarize what I25 think about X from my notes", "pull together everything I've written on X").26- Also use for "index my Apple Notes", tag/folder queries, and "what's connected to X".27- Do **not** use for creating reminders, or for non-Apple-Notes note systems.2829## First: is the MCP connected?3031If `apple-notes` tools are not available, the server isn't registered yet — do the32**Setup** below before anything else. If tools exist but a search returns "not indexed"33or empty, run `index-notes` first (see Ranking caveats).3435## Setup (walk the user through this — it's the skill's real value)3637The server reads Apple Notes' SQLite store directly, so the **bun** binary needs Full38Disk Access. Steps, in order:39401. **Install bun** (if absent): `brew install oven-sh/bun/bun`412. **Clone + install deps:**42 ```bash43 git clone https://github.com/connerkward/mcp-apple-notes44 cd mcp-apple-notes45 git checkout <reviewed-tag-or-commit>46 bun install47 ```483. **Grant Full Disk Access to bun.** Run `which bun`, then open System Settings →49 Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access, click `+`, and add that exact `bun` binary50 path (commonly `/opt/homebrew/bin/bun` or `/usr/local/bin/bun`). Without this the51 server cannot read NoteStore.sqlite and every call fails with a permissions error.52 (`bun install`'s postinstall tries to open this pane automatically.)534. **Register the MCP server** (pick the user's client):54 - Claude Code: `claude mcp add apple-notes -- bun /absolute/path/to/mcp-apple-notes/index.ts --stdio`55 - Claude Desktop: add to `claude_desktop_config.json`:56 ```json57 { "mcpServers": { "apple-notes": {58 "command": "/Users/<you>/.bun/bin/bun",59 "args": ["/Users/<you>/mcp-apple-notes/index.ts", "--stdio"] } } }60 ```61 - As a Claude Code plugin (bundles this skill too): `/plugin marketplace add connerkward/ckw-skills` then `/plugin install apple-notes@connerkward`.625. **Restart the client**, then tell the user to ask **"Index my Apple Notes"** (or call63 `index-notes`). First index of ~1,800 notes takes a few seconds.6465## Tool map — which tool for which job6667| Tool | Use when |68|------|----------|69| `index-notes` | First run, or to force a rebuild. Background job with live progress. |70| `search-notes` | **Default search.** Hybrid semantic + BM25, re-ranked. Optional `folder`, `modifiedAfter`, `modifiedBefore`. "What did I write about X." |71| `find-notes` | Exact substring match (like the Apple Notes search box). Use when the user wants a literal string, not meaning. Optional `folder`, date range. |72| `get-note` | Fetch one full note by title (fuzzy fallback). |73| `list-notes` | Notes by recency. Optional `folder`, date range, `limit`. |74| `list-folders` | All folders + note counts. |75| `list-tags` / `search-by-tag` | `#hashtag` inventory / notes carrying a given tag. |76| `related-notes` | Notes related to a given one via shared tags, `[[wikilinks]]`, and vector similarity. "Show me related notes." |77| `bridge-notes` | **Swanson-ABC bridges** — non-obvious connections: pairs (A, C) not directly similar but both strongly tied to a shared intermediary B. "Find non-obvious connections across my notes." Optional `folder`, `limit`. No LLM. |78| `feed` | Ranked evidence-first connection stream (bridges + abstraction pairs + entity threads) as JSON. Optional `limit`. |79| `entity-notes` / `list-entities` | "Where else do I talk about Mercedes?" Entity chips → notes by mention weight. **Needs the optional entity graph db** (`~/.mcp-apple-notes/layered_graph.db`); if absent these report how to generate it. |80| `get-tables` | Pull pipe/tab tables out of a note. |81| `create-note` / `update-note` | Create or edit a note. |82| `check-changes` | Did notes change since last index? (does not trigger re-index) |83| `index-health` | Sync status, last-indexed time, note count. Run this if results seem stale. |8485For "synthesize what I think about X" the synthesis lives in the **web app** endpoint86(`GET /api/synthesize?
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