bear-notes-mcp
Provides an MCP server for Claude Desktop to read Bear note data directly from Bear’s SQLite database (read-only) and to write changes via Bear’s x-callback-url API (sync-safe) on macOS.
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
Security posture is mainly local: MCP server runs on the user machine and accesses a local SQLite DB and triggers Bear app actions via x-callback-url. There is no TLS/auth described because it is not a networked service per README. Main risks inferred from README: local file access permissions, potential exposure of note content to the MCP host process/logging, and lack of documented structured audit/redaction controls. Dependency list includes common libraries (sqlite3, winston, zod, dotenv) but no vulnerability/SBOM/CVE status is provided.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
You run Claude Desktop on macOS with Bear installed, and you want an AI assistant to safely manage your own personal note library with fast local reads and sync-safe writes.
Avoid When
You need a hosted SaaS integration with strong, centralized auth; or you cannot grant the executing process file-system access to the Bear database file.
Use Cases
- • Search and retrieve Bear notes (by title, tag, full-text, or advanced criteria)
- • Generate note analytics/insights (tags, relationships, metadata/attachments)
- • Assist with note organization tasks (create/update/archive, tagging/hashtag parsing)
- • Support knowledge-work workflows by letting an AI agent browse and modify a user’s Bear notes
Not For
- • Cross-platform use (appears macOS/Bear-specific)
- • Use in environments where local database access is not allowed
- • Highly regulated scenarios without a review of data flows (local DB reads + app API writes)
- • Using as a public multi-tenant service (no mention of hosted/authenticated deployment)
Interface
Authentication
The README shows local execution via Claude Desktop MCP config; no user auth scheme is described. Authorization is effectively via local machine access and Bear app/x-callback-url behavior.
Pricing
Open-source MIT license; no hosted pricing described.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ Write operations depend on Bear and its x-callback-url functionality; if Bear hasn’t been opened at least once, writes may fail.
- ⚠ Database path assumptions on macOS; users may need BEAR_DB_PATH override.
- ⚠ Large databases may cause slower reads; unconstrained queries can be slow.
- ⚠ Tag sanitization auto-corrects formats and may return warnings; agents should expect canonicalized tags instead of echoing inputs verbatim.
- ⚠ Concurrent writes/updates may be impacted by Bear-side conflict detection; retry behavior is not documented.
Alternatives
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-30.