notesnook-mcp-server

MCP server bridging Notesnook with OpenClaw. Syncs notes hourly via the filesystem and exposes bidirectional note operations over HTTP/SSE.

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 22
• Notesnook desktop app (Linux)

Installation

./install.sh

The installer will:

1. Check Node.js version
2. Run npm install and npm run build
3. Prompt for your sync folder path
4. Create export/ and import/ subdirectories
5. Install and enable the systemd user service
6. Run the first-run wizard to configure notebook access

Sync Model

Notesnook App (GUI)
    │
    │  Export all notes → Markdown → save zip to {SYNC_ROOT}/export/
    │
    ▼
{SYNC_ROOT}/
├── export/          ← Notesnook drops .zip exports here
│   └── extracted/  ← MCP server extracts zips here (auto-managed)
├── import/          ← MCP server writes new/updated .md files here
│   └── {notebook}/ ← One subfolder per notebook
└── notesnook.db     ← SQLite index maintained by MCP server

notesnook-mcp-server (HTTP/SSE daemon on :3457)
    ├── Sync Engine (hourly cron + chokidar watcher)
    │     ├── Unzips latest export → parses Markdown
    │     ├── Derives notebook from folder structure
    │     ├── Diffs against SQLite index (last-write-wins)
    │     └── Writes agent notes to import/{notebook}/*.md
    │
    └── MCP HTTP/SSE server
          └── 9 tools (search, get, create, update, notebooks, todo, sync)

Export from Notesnook

1. Open Notesnook desktop
2. Go to Settings → Backup & Export
3. Choose Export all notes → Markdown
4. Save the .zip file to {SYNC_ROOT}/export/

The server will detect the new zip within seconds (chokidar watcher) or at the next hourly cron tick.

Import to Notesnook

Notes created or updated by OpenClaw are written to {SYNC_ROOT}/import/{notebook}/. Notesnook will pick them up on the next app open.

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
NOTESNOOK_SYNC_ROOT	Yes	—	Path to your sync folder
PORT	No	3457	HTTP server port

config.json

Stored at {SYNC_ROOT}/config.json. Edited via the first-run wizard or notesnook_configure_notebook_access tool.

{
  "syncRoot": "/path/to/sync",
  "enabledNotebooks": ["daily survival", "art stuff"],
  "firstRunComplete": true,
  "lastSyncAt": "2025-01-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

OpenClaw Integration

Add to your openclaw.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "list": [{
      "id": "main",
      "mcp": {
        "servers": [{
          "name": "notesnook",
          "type": "sse",
          "url": "http://localhost:3457/sse"
        }]
      }
    }]
  }
}

The server must be running (started automatically by systemd after installation).

Available Tools

Tool	Description
notesnook_search_notes	Search notes by keyword, notebook, or tag
notesnook_get_note	Retrieve full content of a note by ID
notesnook_create_note	Create a new note
notesnook_update_note	Update a note's content, title, or tags
notesnook_list_notebooks	List notebooks and their access status
notesnook_configure_notebook_access	Enable or disable notebook access
notesnook_get_todo	Get the daily to-do list
notesnook_update_todo	Add, complete, or remove to-do items
notesnook_trigger_sync	Force an immediate sync

Note Format

Notes are plain Markdown with no YAML front matter:

# Note Title

Note body content here...

- [ ] Incomplete item
- [x] Completed item

Notebooks are represented by folder names in the export zip.

License

MIT + Commons Clause — non-commercial use only. See LICENSE.