Apple Notes MCP Server: Setup Guide, Use Cases & Limitations

What Is Apple Notes MCP Server?

Apple Notes MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server that enables Claude Desktop to read from and write to Apple Notes on macOS. It is maintained by Rafał Wilinski and published as an npm package under mcp-apple-notes.

Quick Facts

What You Can Do With It

• Read notes: Retrieve the contents of existing Apple Notes entries directly within a Claude conversation.
• Create notes: Instruct Claude to write a new note to Apple Notes without leaving your workflow.
• Capture knowledge: Pipe summaries, research, or generated content straight into Apple Notes for later reference.
• macOS integration: Interact with the native Apple Notes app through Claude, keeping data local to your machine rather than routed through a third-party service.

How to Set It Up

Prerequisites: macOS with the Apple Notes app present, Node.js installed, and Claude Desktop configured.

1. Verify the package runs correctly:

npx mcp-apple-notes
**2. Add the server to your Claude Desktop configuration.**

Open or create `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` and add the following:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-notes": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-apple-notes"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop.

After saving the config file, fully quit and relaunch Claude Desktop. The server should appear as an available tool within the Claude interface.

Note: macOS will likely prompt for permission to allow the process to access Apple Notes data via AppleScript or automation APIs. Accept this prompt — the server requires it to function.

Works Best With

This server is documented for use with Claude Desktop on macOS. It is not listed as compatible with Claude Code (CLI), third-party MCP clients, or web-based Claude interfaces. If you are running a different MCP host, check the GitHub repository for any updates to supported clients before attempting configuration.

Known Limitations

• macOS only: The server relies on macOS-specific automation to interact with Apple Notes. It will not run on Windows or Linux.
• Apple Notes app required: The native Apple Notes app must be installed and accessible. iCloud sync state may affect which notes are visible.
• Automation permissions: macOS Gatekeeper and Privacy & Security settings require explicit user approval for automation access. Denying this prompt will break all functionality.
• No attachment support documented: Based on available documentation, the server handles text-based note content. Handling of attachments, images, or sketches stored in notes is not documented as supported.
• Rate limits: No server-side rate limits are documented; however, excessive AppleScript calls can cause the Notes app to slow or become unresponsive.
• npx cold starts: Running via npx means the package is fetched or verified on each Claude Desktop launch, which can add startup latency on slower connections.

Community Resources

• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/RafalWilinski/mcp-apple-notes
• Issue Tracker: https://github.com/RafalWilinski/mcp-apple-notes/issues — report bugs or check known problems here before troubleshooting locally
• MCP Community Discussion: The r/ClaudeAI subreddit and the Anthropic Discord #mcp channels are active places to ask integration questions