better-bear

Overview

Better-bear is a Swift-based MCP server that connects to Bear notes through iCloud, providing both a CLI interface and MCP protocol integration. It features a unique context library system that allows users to curate notes specifically for LLM consumption, following Karpathy's knowledge base pattern. The server offers 34 tools for managing notes, tags, attachments, and search functionality, with support for both Claude Desktop and Claude Code integration.

Try asking AI

After installing, here are 5 things you can ask your AI assistant:

• list_notes

  List all notes in Bear

  Try:Show me all my notesTry:List my recent notes
• search_notes

  Search notes with full-text query

  Try:Search for notes about 'project deadline'Try:Find all notes with 'meeting' in them
• create_note

  Create a new note in Bear

  Try:Create a new note titled 'Ideas' with content 'brainstorming session notes'Try:Make a new note called 'Shopping list'
• edit_note

  Edit an existing note

  Try:Append 'follow up next week' to note with ID 123Try:Update the note titled 'Project Plan'
• list_tags

  List all available tags

  Try:Show me all my tagsTry:What tags are available in my notes
• attach_file

  Attach a file to a note

  Try:Attach document.pdf to note 123Try:Add image.jpg to my meeting notes
• get_stats

  Get library statistics

  Try:Show me statistics about my notesTry:How many notes do I have total
• health_check

  Perform a health check

  Try:Check the health of my Bear connectionTry:Verify sync status
• context_init

  Initialize the context library

  Try:Set up a context libraryTry:Initialize the synced context folder
• context_sync

  Sync notes to the context library

  Try:Sync notes to my context libraryTry:Update my context folder with tagged notes
• context_add

  Add a note to the context library

  Try:Add note 123 to my context library with tag 'research'Try:Include this note in my context folder
• context_status

  Check context library status

  Try:Show context library statusTry:Check my context folder health

Note: Tool names were inferred from CLI commands, not from direct MCP tool documentation. The README mentions 34 tools but doesn't list them directly.

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Installation

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KuvopLLC/better-bear/main/install.sh | bash
bcli auth
bcli mcp install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "better-bear": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "better-bear"]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

What is the context library feature?

It's a curated folder of notes optimized for LLM consumption, allowing AI assistants to efficiently retrieve relevant information without loading all notes.

Which Bear features are supported?

The MCP server supports notes, tags, TODOs, attachments, full-text search, front matter, statistics, and health checks through 34 different tools.

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