Bear Notes MCP Server

An MCP server that gives AI assistants read/write access to your Bear notes. Search, read, create notes, and browse by tag — all through the Model Context Protocol.

Why?

Bear stores everything in a local SQLite database. This server reads it directly (read-only) for instant search and retrieval. Note creation uses Bear's bear:// URL scheme so your data stays consistent.

No API keys needed for basic use. No cloud dependency. Your notes never leave your machine.

Tools

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | search_notes | Full-text search across titles and body text | | read_note | Get full content of a note by title or UUID | | create_note | Create a new note with title, body, and tags | | list_by_tag | Browse notes by tag (supports nested tags) | | list_tags | List all tags with note counts |

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• macOS (Bear is Mac/iOS only)
• Bear installed with at least one note
• Bun runtime

Install

git clone https://github.com/autonomee/bear-mcp.git
cd bear-mcp
bun install

Connect to Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (~/.claude.json or project settings):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bear-notes": {
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["run", "/path/to/bear-mcp/src/index.ts"]
    }
  }
}

Then in Claude Code:

> Search my Bear notes for "project ideas"
> Read my trading journal note
> List all notes tagged with "paperclip"
> Create a note titled "Meeting Notes" with tag "work"

HTTP Mode (with API key auth)

For remote access or multi-client setups:

# Optional: set an API key
export BEAR_MCP_API_KEY="your-secret-key"

# Start HTTP server (default port 3333)
bun run start:http

# Custom port
BEAR_MCP_PORT=8080 bun run start:http

Clients must send Authorization: Bearer your-secret-key header with every request.

Health check: GET /health MCP endpoint: POST /mcp

How It Works

• Read operations query Bear's SQLite database directly at ~/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/Application Data/database.sqlite (read-only mode)
• Create operations use Bear's bear://x-callback-url/create URL scheme, which Bear handles natively
• Timestamps are converted from Core Foundation epoch (2001-01-01) to ISO 8601
• Nested tags are fully supported — searching for tag projects also returns notes tagged projects/tutoria

Configuration

| Env Variable | Default | Description | |-------------|---------|-------------| | BEAR_MCP_API_KEY | (none) | API key for HTTP mode auth | | BEAR_MCP_PORT | 3333 | HTTP server port |

Compatibility

• Bear 2.x (current) — tested
• Bear 1.x — should work (same SQLite schema)
• Encrypted notes are excluded from search results (Bear handles decryption internally)

License

MIT