DocsAgent — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
Provides local AI agents with fast search and read access across Zotero libraries, Obsidian vaults, and macOS Apple Notes.
claude mcp add --env DOCSAGENT_CONFIG=<DOCSAGENT_CONFIG> --transport stdio docsagent-zotero-obsidian-apple-notes-mcp-server -- npx -y @docsagent/docsagentWhat DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server does
DocsAgent links your desktop knowledge repositories directly to AI assistants. It indexes papers in Zotero, markdown files in Obsidian, and Apple Notes databases on macOS using a native C++ engine. BM25 search and reciprocal rank passage retrieval run on your own hardware without uploading documents outside.
The package exposes 8 MCP tools covering search and content retrieval. The shell never launches the background core process on its own. You have to start the resident core with npx @docsagent/docsagent start beforehand, or every tool invocation fails immediately.
What it helps with
- search local Zotero PDFs and annotations with BM25 ranking
- inspect notes inside an Obsidian vault without external sync
- query Apple Notes records on macOS devices
- export citations and bibliography metadata in BibTeX format
Example prompts for the agent
- Search my Zotero library for recent papers on reinforcement learning.
- Get the contents and tags from my Obsidian note about deployment architecture.
- List available knowledge sources and their current document counts.
How to install DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server
Platform CLI
claude mcp add --env DOCSAGENT_CONFIG=<DOCSAGENT_CONFIG> --transport stdio docsagent-zotero-obsidian-apple-notes-mcp-server -- npx -y @docsagent/docsagentReplace <…> with your own values
Platform CLI
codex mcp add docsagent-zotero-obsidian-apple-notes-mcp-server --env DOCSAGENT_CONFIG=<DOCSAGENT_CONFIG> -- npx -y @docsagent/docsagentReplace <…> with your own values
Config file
{
"mcpServers": {
"docsagent-zotero-obsidian-apple-notes-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@docsagent/docsagent"
],
"env": {
"DOCSAGENT_CONFIG": "<DOCSAGENT_CONFIG>"
}
}
}
}Replace <…> with your own values
Config file
{
"servers": {
"docsagent-zotero-obsidian-apple-notes-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@docsagent/docsagent"
],
"env": {
"DOCSAGENT_CONFIG": "<DOCSAGENT_CONFIG>"
}
}
}
}Replace <…> with your own values
Platform CLI
gemini mcp add -e DOCSAGENT_CONFIG=<DOCSAGENT_CONFIG> docsagent-zotero-obsidian-apple-notes-mcp-server npx -y @docsagent/docsagentReplace <…> with your own values
Step 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 DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server
How to install DocsAgent in Claude Code?
First start the resident core by running npx @docsagent/docsagent start. Then register the MCP server with claude mcp add docsagent -- npx -y @docsagent/docsagent.
What does DocsAgent do?
It exposes your local Zotero, Obsidian, and Apple Notes collections to AI models through standardized MCP tools. Searches run locally on a C++ index without sending PDFs or notes off your computer.
Can DocsAgent search Apple Notes on Linux or Windows?
No. Apple Notes support relies on the macOS system store and is omitted by the engine on other operating systems.
