better-bear — Bear MCP server for Claude Code and more
An MCP server and CLI for Bear notes over CloudKit: read, search, create, edit and tag. Ships a context folder for LLMs.
claude mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bearWhat better-bear does
better-bear connects your Bear notes to an AI agent. Over CloudKit it reads, searches, creates and edits notes, handles tags, attachments, TODOs and front matter — 34 tools in total. The same operations run from the terminal through the bcli binary.
There is also a context library. Tag notes with #context, sync, and the agent reads a small index.md to pick only the files it needs. Three folders make up the layout: bear/ synced from CloudKit, external/ for PDFs and exports, inbox/ for triage. Start with bcli context init, then bcli context sync.
You need iCloud authentication first: bcli auth. Without it the server has no access to your notes. The installer runs via curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KuvopLLC/better-bear/main/install.sh | bash, followed by bcli mcp install, which wires up both Claude Desktop and Claude. For Claude alone there is a direct route: claude mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bear.
What it helps with
- find a note by text without opening Bear
- create a note from an agent reply
- append text to an existing note by id
- build a context folder from selected notes
- attach a file to a note
Example prompts for the agent
- Search my Bear notes for anything about the project architecture
- Create a note titled "Weekly summary" with this list
- Set up a context library from notes tagged
#context
How to install better-bear
Platform CLI
claude mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bearPlatform CLI
codex mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bearConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"better-bear": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"better-bear"
]
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"better-bear": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"better-bear"
]
}
}
}Platform CLI
gemini mcp add better-bear npx -y better-bearStep by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about better-bear
How do I install better-bear in Claude Code?
Install the CLI and authenticate: curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KuvopLLC/better-bear/main/install.sh | bash, then bcli auth. After that run bcli mcp install to register the server in both Claude Desktop and Claude. You can also add it directly with claude mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bear.
What does better-bear do?
It gives an agent access to Bear notes through CloudKit: reading, search, creation, editing, tags, attachments, TODOs and stats. It also builds a context library — selected notes as a folder with an index for LLM use.
What do I need before running better-bear?
iCloud authentication via bcli auth; without it there is no access to your notes. The installer places the bcli binary, and the server itself starts with npx -y better-bear.
