The full upstream README, mirrored here for reference. Install config, tool schemas, adoption signals, and an original overview live on the Upnote Lens MCP listing page.
A hybrid MCP server that lets your AI assistant work with your UpNote notes:
Under the hood: reads come from the local UpNote SQLite database (read-only),
so real content comes back as text; writes go through the upnote:// URL scheme
(x-callback-url) and never touch the database.
The write side (URL scheme) is based on chadthornton/upnote-mcp (MIT).
Once it's registered, just talk to your AI assistant in plain language — it picks the right tool for you. No commands or syntax to memorize. For example:
Reading, searching, summarizing, and creating all happen through natural conversation.
%APPDATA%\UpNote\. This path is
not verified by the author — if reads fail, set UPNOTE_LENS_DB (see below).Give your MCP client (Claude, etc.) a link to
llms-install.md and it will run the steps and set everything
up for you.
Pick the first option that fits what you already have. Each option includes how to register it in Claude.
Claude Desktop config file (referenced in each option):
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json- Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Requires uv installed once
(brew install uv, or curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh).
After that there's no package install step — uvx downloads, caches, and
runs upnote-lens-mcp on demand.
Claude Code:
Claude Desktop:
Claude Code:
Claude Desktop:
When you can't use PyPI/pip, install straight from the repo with uv. (No uv yet?
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh.)
Claude Code:
Claude Desktop:
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_notes(query, limit=20) | Substring search over title/body. Returns id, title, updated time, snippet |
get_note(note_id, include_html=False) | Full title + body text of a note (optionally raw HTML) |
list_recent(limit=20) | Most recently updated notes |
list_notebooks() | Notebooks with note counts and parent |
list_notes_in_notebook(notebook_id, limit=50) | Notes inside a notebook |
list_tags() | Tags with note counts |
list_notes_by_tag(tag_title, limit=50) | Notes carrying a tag |
upnote:// URL scheme)| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
create_note(title, content, notebook?, markdown=True, new_window=False) | Create a note. content is Markdown by default. notebook matches by name. Tags can't be set (see below) |
open_note(note_id, new_window=False) | Open an existing note in the app |
open_notebook(notebook_id) | Open a notebook in the app |
Tag limitation: UpNote's
note/newURL scheme has no tag parameter, and hashtags placed in the body stay as plain text rather than becoming real tags (they only convert to tags when typed in the editor). If you need tags, add them manually in the app after the note is created.
If the database isn't in the default location (or you're on Windows), point at it with an environment variable:
Default paths:
~/Library/Containers/com.getupnote.desktop/Data/Library/Application Support/UpNote/upnote.sqlite3%APPDATA%\UpNote\upnote.sqlite3MIT. See LICENSE for details. The URL-scheme formats and launch approach on the write side are adapted from chadthornton/upnote-mcp (MIT).