How does Apple Notes MCP access my notes?

It reads directly from the local SQLite database stored in your Mac's Library folder. The server requires Full Disk Access permissions to function and keeps all data on-device without cloud round-trips.

Can I create or edit notes using this tool?

No, the server is strictly read-only. It provides tools to list, read, and search existing notes but does not support creating, editing, or appending new content to Apple Notes.

Is Apple Notes MCP compatible with Windows or Linux?

No, it is designed exclusively for macOS. It relies on the specific file structure and SQLite store used by Apple Notes on Mac systems, so it will not work on Windows or Linux.

What features of Apple Notes are not supported?

The tool does not handle password-protected notes, attachments, checklist states, pinned-note filtering, or iCloud sync status. It also uses basic keyword matching for search rather than semantic retrieval.

Apple Notes MCP

Let Claude read your local Apple Notes over the Model Context Protocol.

Free· Free / open-source (MIT). No hosted service; runs locally on your Mac.MCP Servers

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In short

Apple Notes MCP exposes your local Apple Notes database to MCP-compatible clients like Claude Desktop. It allows you to search, list, and read notes directly from your Mac without cloud sync or third-party exports. This tool is best for Mac power-users who want to query personal knowledge locally and securely within AI chats.

Best for

Mac users on Claude Desktop who want their existing Apple Notes searchable and quotable inside chats without exporting to Markdown or a third-party service.

Skip if

Windows or Linux users, teams that need write-back to Notes, or anyone relying on password-protected notes, attachments, or checklist semantics.

Apple Notes MCP is a small, open-source Model Context Protocol server written in Python that exposes your local Apple Notes database to any MCP-compatible client, most obviously Claude Desktop on macOS. Once installed and granted Full Disk Access, it reads directly from the SQLite store that Notes.app keeps under ~/Library and turns each note into something Claude can query on demand. The server ships three tools: get-all-notes to enumerate everything you've ever written, read-note to pull the full body of a specific note, and search-notes to keyword-hunt across the corpus. That surface is deliberately narrow but genuinely useful, because Apple Notes for most people is a decade-deep sedimentary layer of half-written ideas, meeting scraps, recipes, passwords they shouldn't have saved, and travel itineraries; being able to say 'Claude, what did I write about the Lisbon trip?' and have it actually find and quote the note is the moment MCP clicks. It's aimed at Mac power-users, researchers, and anyone building personal-knowledge workflows on top of Claude who wants their existing notes in the context window without exporting to Markdown or piping through a third-party sync service. Installation is a one-liner with uv (uvx apple-notes-mcp) plus a small JSON block in claude_desktop_config.json. Everything stays on-device: no cloud round-trip, no API key, no telemetry — Claude sees only what you ask it to search. The trade-off, which the README is refreshingly honest about, is that the server is read-only and skips several Notes features: encrypted/password-protected notes, pinned-note filtering, cloud-sync status, attachment content, and checklist state are all unhandled, and there is no create-or-edit path. The repository is also now archived by the author, so treat it as a stable reference implementation rather than an actively maintained product.

Editor's take

This is exactly the kind of MCP server the ecosystem needed early on — small, honest, on-device, and solving one concrete personal-context problem well. The archived status stings, but the code is 200 lines of Python you can fork; the read-only scope is the right choice for a first release, and the README's explicit 'Missing Features' list is a model other MCP authors should copy.

— The AI Tool Bible editorial team

Pros

✅ Genuinely local: reads the on-disk SQLite database directly, so notes never leave your Mac
✅ Trivial install via uv/uvx and a short claude_desktop_config.json block
✅ Exposes the three operations that matter most — list, read, search — with a clean MCP surface
✅ MIT-licensed Python, small enough to audit or fork in an afternoon
✅ Works with any MCP client, not just Claude Desktop, so it composes with other servers
✅ No API keys, no subscriptions, no accounts — zero ongoing cost

Cons

⚠️ Read-only: cannot create, edit, or append notes from within Claude
⚠️ Skips password-protected notes entirely (ZISPASSWORDPROTECTED is unhandled)
⚠️ No attachment content, no checklist state, no pinned-note filtering, no iCloud sync awareness
⚠️ macOS-only by design, and requires granting Full Disk Access to the runner
⚠️ Repository is archived by the maintainer — bug fixes and new features are unlikely without a fork
⚠️ Search is basic keyword matching against the SQLite text, not semantic retrieval

Use cases

Personal knowledge retrieval from Apple NotesSearching decade-old meeting notes during a Claude chatPulling travel or recipe notes into a planning conversationSummarising a specific note by titleBuilding a local MCP toolchain alongside filesystem and browser serversReference implementation for writing your own macOS SQLite-backed MCP server

Frequently asked

How does Apple Notes MCP access my notes?: It reads directly from the local SQLite database stored in your Mac's Library folder. The server requires Full Disk Access permissions to function and keeps all data on-device without cloud round-trips.
Can I create or edit notes using this tool?: No, the server is strictly read-only. It provides tools to list, read, and search existing notes but does not support creating, editing, or appending new content to Apple Notes.
Is Apple Notes MCP compatible with Windows or Linux?: No, it is designed exclusively for macOS. It relies on the specific file structure and SQLite store used by Apple Notes on Mac systems, so it will not work on Windows or Linux.
What features of Apple Notes are not supported?: The tool does not handle password-protected notes, attachments, checklist states, pinned-note filtering, or iCloud sync status. It also uses basic keyword matching for search rather than semantic retrieval.
Is the Apple Notes MCP repository actively maintained?: The repository has been archived by the author, meaning it is treated as a stable reference implementation rather than an actively maintained product. Users should expect no new features or bug fixes without forking the code.