apple-notes-search

name	apple-notes-search
description	Runs on-device semantic plus keyword search and Swanson-ABC connection-discovery over the user's Apple Notes via the apple-notes MCP. Use when finding, recalling, synthesizing, or bridging notes on macOS. Not for Obsidian, SiYuan, Notion, or Apple Reminders.
version	1.0.1
risk	critical
source	community
source_repo	connerkward/mcp-apple-notes
source_type	community
date_added	2026-06-16
tags	["apple-notes","search","mcp","macos","semantic-search","knowledge"]
tools	["claude-code"]
license	MIT
license_source	https://github.com/connerkward/mcp-apple-notes/blob/main/LICENSE
plugin	{"targets":{"codex":"blocked","claude":"blocked"},"setup":{"type":"manual","summary":"Requires third-party MCP setup and macOS Full Disk Access; keep out of plugin-safe bundles.","docs":"SKILL.md"}}

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).

When to Use

• 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.

Prerequisites

• macOS with Apple Notes.
• bun installed (brew install oven-sh/bun/bun).
• Full Disk Access granted to the bun binary.
• MCP server registered in the client (Claude Code or Claude Desktop).

Procedure

1. Check if the MCP is 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.
2. Setup (walk the user through this): a. Install bun (if absent): brew install oven-sh/bun/bun b. Clone + install deps:

   git clone https://github.com/connerkward/mcp-apple-notes
   cd mcp-apple-notes
   git checkout <reviewed-tag-or-commit>
   bun install
   

   c. 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. d. (pick the user's client):