---
title: "How to connect your notes to AI tools with MCP"
author: Pedro Thomaz
source: https://coffeetext.app/blog/connect-notes-to-ai-mcp
---

# How to connect your notes to AI tools with MCP

> Checked November 2026 against modelcontextprotocol.io and the Claude Code and Cursor documentation linked below. Coffee isn't affiliated with any of them.

Tell your AI app to start an MCP server that can reach your notes, by adding it to the app's settings file or with one command. The free way is the reference filesystem server, pointed at your notes folder. Coffee includes its own server, which you turn on in Settings and connect with one click for Claude or Cursor. Either way, what the app reads goes to its AI service.

## What MCP is

The [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/getting-started/intro) is an open standard for connecting AI applications to outside data and tools. An AI app, such as Claude Desktop, connects to one or more MCP servers, which are programs offering things it can use. [Tools](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/2026-07-28/learn/architecture) are actions the app can call, and resources are data it can read.

A local server runs on your computer and talks to the app over standard input and output, with no network involved between them. That's the kind you want for notes. The AI service behind the app is a different matter: the app sends it whatever it reads, as it would any other text you gave it.

## The free way, without Coffee

The MCP project's own [guide](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/develop/connect-local-servers) connects Claude Desktop to its Filesystem Server, and it's a good fit for a folder of Markdown. It needs Node.js.

1. In Claude Desktop, open Settings from the Claude menu in the menu bar, then Developer, then Edit Config. On a Mac, that opens `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`.
2. Add the server, with the folders it may reach:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/yourname/Notes"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

3. Quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again.

The guide says Claude asks for your approval before each file operation. It also warns that the server runs with your user account's permissions, so list only folders you're happy for Claude to read and change. If it doesn't appear, the logs are in `~/Library/Logs/Claude`.

This route treats your notes as files, with reading, writing, moving and searching. It works with any plain text and costs nothing beyond the AI app.

## The same idea in other apps

Each app stores its list of servers in its own place.

**[Claude Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp)** has a command. Everything after `--` is what gets run:

```
claude mcp add --transport stdio --scope user notes -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/yourname/Notes
```

`--scope user` makes it available in all your projects. Check it with `claude mcp list`, or `/mcp` in a session, and take it away with `claude mcp remove notes`. For notes alone, you may not need MCP here at all, since Claude Code can work directly on files in the folder you start it in.

**[Cursor](https://cursor.com/docs/context/mcp)** reads `~/.cursor/mcp.json` for servers available everywhere, or `.cursor/mcp.json` in a project. The format is similar, with `"type": "stdio"` alongside `command` and `args`. By default Cursor asks before using MCP tools, and how that behaves depends on its [Run Mode](https://cursor.com/docs/agent/security/run-modes): under Auto-review, allowlisted tools run straight away.

Claude Code's documentation adds a sensible warning: only connect servers you trust, because one that fetches outside content can expose you to prompt injection. Don't mix a server with write access to your notes and one that reads web pages without thinking about that.

## How it works in Coffee

Coffee includes a helper called `coffee-mcp` inside the app. It talks to the AI app over standard input and output, with no network listener, and speaks both the current protocol version, 2026-07-28, and the older handshake that apps still use.

To set it up:

1. Move Coffee to your Applications folder. Coffee won't connect from a disk image, since the path would disappear.
2. Open Settings and turn on **Connect AI apps**. It's off until you do.
3. Pick your app:
   - **Claude:** press Connect, then quit and reopen Claude.
   - **Cursor:** press Connect, then reopen Cursor.
   - **Claude Code:** press Copy command and paste it into Terminal.
   - **Another app that supports MCP:** press Copy settings and paste them into its MCP settings.
4. Try asking "What did I write about the Lisbon trip?"

Connect edits that app's settings file, and adds the `"type": "stdio"` that Cursor's documentation asks for. A Cursor connection made before Coffee added that line gets it the next time this part of Settings opens. It leaves its other servers alone, keeps a copy with `.before-coffee` on the end the first time, and won't touch a file it can't read. If you move Coffee later, the row says so, and Reconnect fixes it. Disconnect removes it again, and for Claude Code that's `claude mcp remove coffee`.

### What it exposes

These are all the tools the server offers:

| Tool | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| `list_notes` | Lists notes, newest first, optionally by tag | Read notes |
| `search_notes` | Full-text search, with a snippet for each hit | Read notes |
| `read_note` | Returns a note's Markdown | Read notes |
| `list_tags` | Lists all tags | Read notes |
| `create_note` | Creates a note, with optional tags | Edit notes |
| `update_note` | Replaces a note, or appends to it | Edit notes |

It also lists notes as MCP resources for apps that use them. Access stays inside your notes library, and an ID that tries to leave it is refused. The server doesn't offer images, comments, version history or anything else beyond these.

### The three switches

Under Connect AI apps there are three checkboxes, and Coffee reads them on every request, so turning one off applies straight away.

- **Read notes** and **Edit notes** are both on by default once you've turned on the feature. **Untick Edit notes if you only want the app to look.** The edit tools then disappear from the list.
- **Keep Private notes hidden** is on by default, and hides private notes from the note list.

With that last switch on or off, the server won't give an app a private note's text. `read_note` and `update_note` refuse a locked note, and search skips it. Turning the switch off only means a locked note's name, which is its title, can appear in `list_notes`. That's in line with Coffee's own account of [what is and isn't protected](https://coffeetext.app/blog/password-protect-notes-mac): AI apps over MCP don't see a private note's text or images. A note's file name isn't protected, and this applies only over MCP. A tool working directly on the folder is outside Coffee's settings.

### Things to watch

- **`update_note` replaces the whole note by default.** The app sends new text and the old text is gone from the file, so a bad call can lose a lot. If you've read the note in Coffee, [Review](https://coffeetext.app/blog/review-claude-cursor-markdown-changes) shows the difference and lets you undo it. Git is the [firmer safeguard](https://coffeetext.app/blog/keep-ai-from-wrecking-notes).
- **Coffee doesn't add its own approval step.** Whether you're asked before each call is up to the AI app and how you've set it.
- **It's a plain scan.** `search_notes` reads the files each time rather than using Coffee's search index, so it finds notes containing all your words and has no notion of meaning.

## Filesystem server or Coffee's

Choose the filesystem server if you don't use Coffee, or if you want an AI app to move and organise files. Choose Coffee's if your notes are already there and you want tags and note search as tools, one-click setup, separate read and edit switches, and private notes kept out.

Coffee is €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates, [with 14 days free](https://coffeetext.app/#pricing), for Macs on macOS 15 or later.

## Questions

### Do I need to be a developer to use MCP?

Not for this. You edit one settings file, or use a button if the app has one. The filesystem route also needs Node.js installed.

### Does MCP send my notes to the internet?

The connection between a local server and the app stays on your Mac. But the app sends what it reads to its AI service, under that service's terms, so a note it reads leaves your Mac.

### Can an AI app read my private notes through Coffee?

No. The server refuses to return a locked note's text and leaves it out of search. The "Keep Private notes hidden" switch controls whether its title can appear in the list of notes.

### How do I make it read-only?

In Coffee, untick Edit notes under Connect AI apps, and the app no longer sees the tools that create and change notes. The filesystem server's tools include writing, so rely on the app's approval prompts there.

### Why doesn't my server show up?

Quit and reopen the app, as most load their list at launch. Check the JSON for errors and that the paths are absolute. For Claude Desktop, read the logs in `~/Library/Logs/Claude`. In Claude Code, run `claude mcp list`.

---

Written by Pedro Thomaz, who makes Coffee, a Markdown editor for the Mac on macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days with no card or account, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates. More at https://coffeetext.app/llms-full.txt