🏠 / Guides / Claude Code with Apple Notes

Unlock the power of AI with your Apple Notes

Getting Started

1

Install alto.index

Download alto.index from the Mac App Store and grant it Full Disk Access permission in System Settings.

2

Connect Apple Notes

Open alto.index and click "Connect" next to Apple Notes. The app will begin syncing your notes to ~/Documents/altoindex/notes/

3

Wait for Initial Sync

The first sync may take a few minutes depending on how many notes you have. Each note is converted to markdown with attachments preserved.

4

Open Claude Code

Launch Claude Code and navigate to your alto.index folder:

cd ~/Documents/altoindex
5

Start Querying

You can now ask Claude Code to search, analyze, and work with your notes using natural language!

Real-World Examples

Here are actual examples of how to use Claude Code with your Apple Notes:

🎨 Finding Design Notes

You:

give me links to design notes on interior design

Claude:

I'll search for interior design notes specifically...

Search(pattern: "interior|furniture|chair|room|space|decor|home", include: "*.md")

Found links to interior design notes:

  • Interior/Chairs - notes://showNote?identifier=3717bf51-b5ab-4cff-8bcd-e2cf75493a6d
  • Interior Inspirations - notes://showNote?identifier=2064fba0-1f20-49dc-b349-5c1c6fc8f655

🎵 Music Collection Search

You:

find me ukulele songs I want to learn

Claude:

I'll search for ukulele songs in your notes...

Search(pattern: "ukulele|uke", path: "music", include: "*.md")

Here's a list of ukulele songs you want to learn:

  • Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish
  • L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole
  • Dream a Little Dream
  • Fly Me to the Moon
  • And 20+ more songs with tabs and tutorials!

📊 Data Analysis

You:

can you plot number of notes created by day in the past 90 days?

Claude:

I'll analyze the notes to plot creation dates over the past 90 days...

Summary Statistics:

  • Total notes: 267 notes
  • Active days: 79 out of 91 days (87%)
  • Daily average: 2.93 notes overall
  • Most productive day: May 13, 2025 (14 notes)

Data saved to /tmp/notes_creation_data.csv for visualization

✈️ Travel Information

You:

find my flights

Claude:

I'll search for flight-related information...

Search(pattern: "flight|airline|airport|boarding", include: "*.md")

Found your recent flight:

  • JFK-WAW (New York to Warsaw)
  • LOT Polish Airlines boarding pass
  • Link: notes://showNote?identifier=b0307087-b161-428f-834f-ec24e684cfe9

Pro Tips

💡 Use Native Links

alto.index preserves Apple Notes links. You can open any note directly in Apple Notes using the notes:// URLs that Claude Code finds.

💡 Folder Structure

Your notes maintain their folder structure from Apple Notes, making it easy to navigate: ~/Documents/altoindex/notes/[folder]/[note-title].md

💡 Search Patterns

Claude Code uses regex patterns for searching. Use the pipe symbol (|) for OR searches: "design|architecture|interior"

💡 Attachments

Images and files from your notes are saved alongside the markdown files, maintaining the full context of your notes.

Common Commands

find all notes about [topic]

Search for notes containing specific keywords

show me notes created this week

Filter notes by creation date

analyze my note-taking patterns

Get insights about your note-taking habits

open notes://showNote?identifier=[id]

Open a specific note in Apple Notes app