MCP Server

NoteCove ships a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Any MCP-compatible client can interact with your NoteCove data through it.

How it works

The MCP server exposes a single notecove_cli tool that accepts any CLI arguments and returns the output. Agents that understand the CLI get the same interface over MCP.

Stdio mode

The simplest setup. The client spawns notecove mcp as a subprocess and communicates over stdin/stdout.

notecove mcp

Authentication: the subprocess uses the same config lookup as the CLI — current directory → parent directories → ~/.config/notecove/.notecove → ~/.notecove. For clients that launch from unpredictable directories (like Claude Desktop), use notecove init --global.

Get config snippet:

notecove mcp --print-config

Output:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notecove": {
      "command": "/path/to/notecove",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Port mode

HTTP server with bearer token authentication. For headless servers, remote machines, SSH tunnels, or HTTP MCP clients.

# Start on localhost
notecove mcp --port 3456

# Expose on all interfaces
notecove mcp --port 3456 --host 0.0.0.0

# Get config with bearer token
notecove mcp --print-config --port 3456

Config output:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notecove": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3456/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }
    }
  }
}

The bearer token is stored in your .notecove config file, separate from the CLI shared secret.

SSH tunnel example

# On remote machine
notecove mcp --port 3456

# On local machine
ssh -L 3456:localhost:3456 user@remotehost

# Connect client to http://127.0.0.1:3456/mcp

Claude Desktop limitation

Claude Desktop’s remote server UI requires HTTPS on a public hostname and rejects http:// or localhost URLs. Use stdio mode or the .mcpb bundle for Claude Desktop. Port mode works with Claude Code and other HTTP MCP clients.

Claude Code (port mode)

claude mcp add --transport http notecove http://127.0.0.1:3456/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Extension bundle (.mcpb)

Generate a Claude Desktop Extension for one-click install:

notecove mcp --package

Creates notecove-mcp.mcpb — double-click in Claude Desktop to install. Uses stdio mode under the hood.

Remote MCP via notecove serve

You can project the CLI to a remote machine with notecove serve --ssh user@host, then use any of the MCP options from the remote side. This lets you run an MCP server on a remote machine that connects back to your local NoteCove desktop app. See Access NoteCove remotely for the full walkthrough.

Command reference

notecove mcp [options]

Flag	Description
--port <number>	Start in port mode on specified port
--host <address>	Bind address (default: 127.0.0.1)
--print-config	Print MCP config JSON snippet
--package	Generate .mcpb extension bundle