Bear MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude to read notes from the Bear note-taking app. This implementation connects directly to the Bear SQLite database in a read-only mode, ensuring your notes remain safe and unmodified.

Quick Start

Option 1: Install from GitHub (Recommended)

npx github:bart6114/my-bear-mcp-server

That's it! The server will start running and connect to your Bear database.

Option 2: Clone and Run Locally

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/bart6114/my-bear-mcp-server.git
cd my-bear-mcp-server
Install dependencies
npm install
Build and run
npm run build
npm start

Prerequisites

- macOS with Bear app installed
- Node.js 18 or higher

Configuration

For Claude Desktop App

Add this to your configuration file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["github:bart6114/my-bear-mcp-server"],
      "env": {},
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

For Claude VS Code Extension

Add this to your configuration file at ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["github:bart6114/my-bear-mcp-server"],
      "env": {},
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

The Bear MCP server provides these read-only tools (all operations are non-destructive and cannot modify your Bear database):

open_note

Open a note by title or ID.

search_notes

Search for notes by term or tag.

get_tags

Get all tags in Bear.

open_tag

Show all notes with a specific tag.

Example Usage

Here are examples of how to interact with the Bear MCP tools through AI assistants:

Searching for Notes

Ask your AI assistant to search for notes containing specific terms:

Can you find all my notes about "project management"?

Opening a Specific Note

Ask your AI assistant to retrieve a specific note by title:

Show me my note titled "Meeting Notes - March 2025"

Viewing Tags

Ask your AI assistant to list all your Bear tags:

What tags do I have in my Bear notes?

Finding Notes with a Specific Tag

Ask your AI assistant to show notes with a particular tag:

Show me all notes with the #work tag

Advanced Options

If your Bear database is in a non-standard location:

npx github:bart6114/my-bear-mcp-server --db-path /path/to/your/database.sqlite

Technical Details

Read-Only Implementation

This MCP server connects to your Bear SQLite database using a strict read-only connection. This is enforced at the database driver level:

// From src/bear-db.ts
this.db = new Database(dbPath, { readonly: true });

This ensures that:
- No write operations can be performed on your database
- Your notes and tags cannot be modified, deleted, or corrupted
- The database connection will fail if write permissions are attempted

All operations performed by this server are SELECT queries that only retrieve data without modifying it.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.