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Better Bear

Manage Bear notes through MCP, including search, editing, tags, attachments, and a curated context library.

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Install Better Bear

Pick your client, then add it in one click or paste the config.

STDIONode.js
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "better-bear-2": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "better-bear"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Settings → Developer → Edit Config, merge this into mcpServers, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

Automated check passed— started and listed 35 tools correctly (8d ago).

Overview

The better-bear MCP server connects AI agents to Bear notes through CloudKit. It exposes tools for reading, searching, creating, editing, tagging, and managing notes, along with TODOs, attachments, statistics, health checks, and context-library operations. Install the CLI, authenticate with iCloud, and register the server with Claude Desktop or Claude Code. Reach for it when an agent needs to work with Bear content or assemble a focused, synced knowledge set for LLM use.

Use cases

  • Search Bear notes for information
  • Create and edit notes from an agent
  • Manage Bear tags and attachments
  • Build a curated context library
  • Check Bear library health and statistics

Key features

  • Bear note access through CloudKit
  • Full-text note search and editing
  • Tag, TODO, and attachment management
  • Front matter, statistics, and health tools
  • Curated context library with indexed retrieval

Tools35

What Better Bear lets your agent do. Expand a tool for its parameters.

Verified live~4.2k tokens of context

Security & health

What it can reach and how reliably it runs — from our own checks, not the maintainer’s claims.

ActiveLast checked Today

Recent health check succeeded.

8/8 checks healthy over the last 40d

What it can do

From the 35 tools this server returned when we ran it; 35 declare their own safety hints.

Can delete or modify data · 5Handles credentials · 1Makes network requests · 2Read-only tools · 30
Network at startup3 connections
Files written at startupNone
Install scriptsNone
npm provenanceNot published
Package age186 days
Maintainers1

Observed 2026-10-15 in an isolated sandbox. A description of reach, not a security audit.

Supply-chain signal

No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

Critical 0High 0Medium 0Low 0

Scanned 12d ago via OSV.dev · better-bear (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

Factual signals from GitHub, npm, and our automated checks — not a rating.

GitHub stars68Stargazers on the source repository.
npm downloads327Package downloads in the last 30 days.
Last commit6mo agoMost recent push to the default branch.
Availability100%Our rolling endpoint + install checks that succeeded.
Install checkPassedOur sandbox started it and listed its tools.
Tools exposed35Callable tools this server registers over MCP.
Directory activity2 viewsConfig copies, upvotes, and views on AllMCPs.

How Better Bear works

What better-bear MCP server does

The better-bear MCP server gives MCP-compatible agents access to Bear notes through CloudKit. Its tool set covers note retrieval and updates, full-text search, tag operations, TODO handling, attachments, front matter, statistics, and health checks. The project also includes a context library for selecting a subset of notes and making that material easier for an LLM to navigate.

The context library uses notes tagged with #context as its inclusion signal. Selected notes are synchronized into a folder structure with bear/, external/, and inbox/ areas, plus an index.md manifest. This supports index-first retrieval: an agent can locate relevant files before loading the underlying content.

How it works

The repository provides both an MCP server and the bcli command-line interface. Bear data is accessed through CloudKit, while the CLI can also perform the same core operations directly from a terminal. The MCP installation uses npx -y better-bear for a direct Claude Code setup, or the CLI can configure the server for Claude Desktop and Claude Code.

Context-library workflows can be started with bcli context init, followed by bcli context sync. Notes can be included with bcli context add <id> --subtag research, or by adding the #context tag in Bear.

Setup and configuration

Install the CLI with the project’s shell installer, then authenticate with bcli auth. Run bcli mcp install to configure the MCP server. The installer supports separate Claude Desktop and Claude Code targets, JSON configuration output, and a downloadable .mcpb bundle for Claude Desktop.

Useful management commands include bcli mcp status, bcli mcp uninstall, and bcli mcp reinstall. The CLI itself can be upgraded with bcli upgrade. The provided setup instructions do not specify environment variables; authentication is performed through the CLI’s iCloud authentication command.

Tools and capabilities

The better-bear MCP server includes 34 tools, grouped in the README around:

  • Reading, creating, editing, and searching notes
  • Listing and managing tags
  • Working with TODOs and attachments
  • Handling front matter
  • Reporting library statistics
  • Running health checks
  • Initializing and maintaining the context library

The CLI exposes related terminal commands such as ls, search, create, edit, tags, attach, stats, and health. For example, notes can be edited by appending text, and files can be attached to a note by ID.

Limitations and notes

The documented data source is Bear through CloudKit, so this server is intended for workflows built around Bear’s note library rather than a general-purpose document store. It also names Claude Desktop and Claude Code as supported setup targets; other MCP clients are not documented here.

The context library is curated rather than a complete dump of all notes. Inclusion depends on the context tag or explicit context commands, and the design separates synchronized Bear notes from external documents and an inbox for triage.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

Reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions about Better Bear

better-bear is an MCP server that connects AI agents to Bear notes through CloudKit. Its main tools support reading, searching, creating, editing, tagging, and managing notes, plus TODOs, attachments, statistics, health checks, and a curated context library for selected Bear content.

Install the CLI, run `bcli auth`, then run `bcli mcp install`. This authenticates with iCloud and configures the server for Claude Desktop and Claude Code. You can also use `claude mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bear` for a direct Claude Code setup.

Yes, better-bear supports Claude Desktop setup. Run `bcli mcp install`, use `bcli mcp install --desktop-only`, or download the `.mcpb` bundle from the latest release and open it.

Yes, better-bear supports Claude Code. Use `bcli mcp install --code-only` or add it directly with `claude mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bear`.

Run `bcli context init` for initial setup, then `bcli context sync` to pull qualifying notes. Add notes with the `#context` tag in Bear or use `bcli context add <id> --subtag research`; the library includes an index for targeted retrieval.

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