Purpose
my-bear-mcp-server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server used to let AI assistants (such as Claude) read note content from the Bear notes app. It connects directly to Bear's SQLite database and operates in read-only mode, ensuring note data is not modified.
Main Capabilities
The server provides the following read-only tools, all operations are non-destructive and cannot modify the Bear database:
- Open a note by title or ID.
- Search notes by keyword or tag.
- Get all tags in Bear.
- Display all notes with a specific tag.
Usage
Installation
There are two installation methods:
- Install from GitHub (recommended): after installation, the server will start and connect to the Bear database.
- Clone and run locally.
Environment Requirements
- macOS with the Bear app installed.
- Node.js 18 or higher.
Configuration
- For the Claude desktop app, add the configuration to
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. - For the Claude VS Code extension, add the configuration to
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json.
Interaction Examples
You can interact with the Bear MCP tools through an AI assistant in the following ways:
- Search for notes containing a specific keyword.
- Retrieve a specific note by title.
- List all Bear tags.
- Display notes with a specific tag.
Advanced Options
If the Bear database is located in a non-standard location, it can be configured accordingly.
Use Cases
Suitable for macOS users who want to let an AI assistant read and retrieve Bear note content, such as searching notes in Claude, finding notes by tag, etc.
Limitations
- Only supports macOS and requires the Bear app to be installed.
- Requires Node.js 18 or higher.
- All operations are read-only; notes and tags cannot be modified, deleted, or corrupted through this server.
- The database connection is enforced as read-only at the driver level; attempting write permissions will cause the connection to fail.
- All operations are SELECT queries, only retrieving data without modifying it.
License
This project uses the MIT License, see the LICENSE file for details.
