🏠 / Guides / Claude Desktop with Apple Notes

Connect Claude Desktop to your Apple Notes using MCP

Getting Started

1

Install alto.index

Download alto.index from the Mac App Store and sync your Apple Notes to ~/Documents/altoindex/notes

2

Install Claude Desktop

Download Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download if you haven't already.

3

Configure MCP Server

Edit your Claude Desktop configuration file to add the filesystem MCP server. The config file is located at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
4

Add Filesystem Configuration

Update your claude_desktop_config.json with this configuration: 

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/[YOUR_USERNAME]/Documents/altoindex"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace [YOUR_USERNAME] with your actual macOS username.

5

Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and restart Claude Desktop to load the new configuration. You'll see the filesystem tools appear in Claude's interface.

Available Read-Only Tools

Claude Desktop will have access to these read-only filesystem tools to explore your exported notes:

R read_file

Read a single note file

R read_multiple_files

Read multiple notes at once

S search_files

Search across all your notes

L list_directory

Browse note folders

D directory_tree

View folder structure

G get_file_info

Get note metadata

Note: alto.index exports are read-only. Claude can explore and analyze your notes but cannot modify them.

Real-World Examples

🎵 Search for Music Notes

You:

search files about ukulele in notes

Claude:

I'll search for ukulele-related content in your notes...

search_files(path="/Users/[username]/Documents/altoindex/notes", pattern="ukulele")

Found 41 files mentioning ukulele, including songs like "Birds of a Feather", "L-O-V-E", and "Dream a Little Dream".

📝 Read Specific Notes

You:

show me my interior design notes

Claude:

Let me search for interior design related notes...

search_files(path="/Users/[username]/Documents/altoindex/notes", pattern="interior|design|furniture")

I can then read specific files you're interested in.

📊 Analyze Note Patterns

You:

how many notes do I have about travel?

Claude:

I'll search for travel-related content across your notes...

search_files(path="/Users/[username]/Documents/altoindex/notes", pattern="travel|trip|flight|vacation")

You have 87 notes related to travel, including trip planning, flight details, and destination research.

Pro Tips

💡 Natural Language

Just ask Claude naturally - it will automatically use the right tools. You don't need to specify tool names.

💡 Multiple Operations

Claude can chain multiple operations together, like searching for notes and then reading the most relevant ones.

💡 Pattern Matching

The search tool supports regex patterns for more complex searches across your notes.

💡 Privacy First

All processing happens locally on your machine. Your notes never leave your computer.

Troubleshooting

Tools not appearing?

  • Make sure you've restarted Claude Desktop after editing the config
  • Check that the path in your config matches your alto.index folder
  • Verify the JSON syntax is correct (no trailing commas)

Permission errors?

  • Ensure Claude Desktop has file system permissions
  • Check that alto.index has synced your notes successfully
  • Try using the full path without ~ shorthand