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Claude Desktop Extension Bear Notes

by vasylenko

Search, read, create, edit, tag, and archive local Bear notes from MCP-compatible AI clients.

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Install Claude Desktop Extension Bear Notes

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": {
    "vasylenko-claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "bear-notes-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

We couldn’t confirm it starts correctly

We ran the install command but it didn't respond within our test window — this can mean a slow first-time install rather than a real problem.

npx -y bear-notes-mcp@latest

No response to initialize.

This is an experimental automated check and can have false negatives — missing environment variables, a slow cold install, etc. It doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong. Last checked 25d ago.

Overview

vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes connects MCP-compatible AI clients to a local Bear Notes library. It ranks searches across note titles, bodies, tags, and OCR text, while reads use Bear’s SQLite database and writes use Bear’s URL handler. Reach for it when you need private, offline-first note retrieval or controlled note and tag management from Claude, Cursor, or another supported client.

Use cases

  • Search a large Bear library by topic, tag, date, or pinned status
  • Open notes and use OCR text from attached images or PDFs
  • Append decisions to a specific section of an existing note
  • Organize a library by renaming or deleting tags across notes
  • Archive notes without deleting them

Key features

  • Relevance-ranked note search with snippets
  • Direct local SQLite reads
  • Section-level text insertion and replacement
  • Hierarchical tag management
  • OCR-aware file attachments up to 25 MB
  • Read-only default with optional Edit Mode

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.

20/21 checks healthy over the last 79d

Supply-chain signal

No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

Critical 0High 0Medium 0Low 0

Scanned 10d ago via OSV.dev · bear-notes-mcp@latest (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

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

GitHub stars206Stargazers on the source repository.
npm downloads235Package downloads in the last 30 days.
Last commit3mo agoMost recent push to the default branch.
Install checkInconclusiveDidn't respond in our test window — often a slow first install.
Directory activity3 viewsConfig copies, upvotes, and views on AllMCPs.

How Claude Desktop Extension Bear Notes works

What vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes does

vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes exposes Bear Notes through MCP tools for searching, reading, creating, editing, tagging, archiving, and attaching files. It belongs in the 🧠 Knowledge & Memory category and is intended for developers who want an AI client to work with an existing Bear library on a Mac.

Search uses relevance ranking rather than simple substring matching. Matches can come from titles, note content, hierarchical tags, or OCR-extracted text from attached images and PDFs. Search also supports date ranges, relative date descriptions, pinned-only filtering, and tag-based browsing. Results include context snippets.

How it works

Read operations query Bear’s local SQLite database directly, so Bear does not need to be open for searches and note reads. Changes take a different path: write operations go through Bear’s URL handler, allowing Bear to validate and apply them atomically.

The server starts in read-only mode. Four read tools remain available by default, while Edit Mode unlocks creation and modification features. Text changes can target an entire note or a section identified by its heading. Modification tools require the note’s current revision token; stale revisions are rejected and require reading the note again before retrying.

vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes makes no network calls or telemetry connections. Processing takes place locally on the Mac, apart from information sent to the AI provider by the client using the server.

Setup and configuration

The Claude Desktop extension requires both Bear and Claude Desktop. Download the latest .mcpb release, open it while Claude Desktop is running, and accept the installation prompt. If opening the file does not work, install it through Claude’s Settings, Extensions, and Advanced Settings screens.

The standalone package requires Node.js 24.13.0 or later. Claude Code can register it with claude mcp add -s user bear-notes -- npx -y bear-notes-mcp@latest. Other MCP clients can use an entry that runs npx -y bear-notes-mcp@latest.

Standalone debug logging is enabled with UI_DEBUG_TOGGLE=true. Claude Desktop exposes the same setting through the extension configuration interface. A separate new-note convention can place tags below the title instead of at the bottom of newly created notes.

Tools and capabilities

vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes provides tools to:

  • Search notes by relevance, tags, dates, and pinned status.
  • Open full note content, including OCR text from supported attachments.
  • Create notes and add or replace text at note or section level.
  • Attach local images, PDFs, and documents up to 25 MB.
  • Add tags, list the tag hierarchy, rename tags globally, or delete tags globally.
  • Find untagged notes and archive notes without deleting them.
  • Report whether the server is in read-only mode or Edit Mode.

Limitations and notes

Bear must be installed for the integration, and the extension workflow also requires Claude Desktop. The standalone package is intended for Node.js 24.13.0 or newer. File attachments are limited to 25 MB, and symbolic links are rejected.

Writes require a current revision token and can fail when the note has changed since it was last read. The server is unofficial and opinionated, so it may be unnecessary for small libraries where basic note lookup is sufficient. vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes is local-first, but prompts and returned note data can still be sent to the AI provider selected in the MCP client.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

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Frequently Asked Questions about Claude Desktop Extension Bear Notes

vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes is an MCP server that connects AI clients to a local Bear Notes library. Its main tools search and open notes, create and edit content, manage tags, attach files, find untagged notes, and archive notes, with reads using Bear’s SQLite database.

Install the Claude Desktop extension from a released `.mcpb` file, or run the standalone package with Node.js 24.13.0 or newer. Claude Code can use `claude mcp add -s user bear-notes -- npx -y bear-notes-mcp@latest`; other clients can add the equivalent npx command to their MCP configuration.

Yes, vasylenko/claude-desktop-extension-bear-notes works with Cursor through its standalone MCP configuration. Use the server command `npx -y bear-notes-mcp@latest` and ensure Node.js 24.13.0 or newer is installed.

Set `UI_DEBUG_TOGGLE=true` for the standalone server. In Claude Desktop, open the Bear Notes extension configuration, enable Debug Logging, save the change, and restart Claude.

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