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Connect Claude Desktop via Manual MCP Config

In this tutorial you will configure Claude Desktop to connect to NoteCove by editing its JSON config file directly. This approach gives you full control and is useful when the one-click extension does not fit your setup.

Before you start

You need:

  • NoteCove desktop app installed and running
  • Claude Desktop installed
  • The NoteCove CLI installed — see steps 1–2 of the extension tutorial if you have not done this yet

Step 1: Set up global authentication

notecove init --global \
  --profile <your-profile-id> \
  --tasks-project <your-project-slug> \
  --notes

Approve the request in the NoteCove desktop app. Verify with notecove folder list.

If you have already completed this step from the extension tutorial, skip it — the same global config works for both methods.

Step 2: Get the MCP config snippet

notecove mcp --print-config

This prints a JSON block like:

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

Copy this output.

Step 3: Edit the Claude Desktop config

Open the Claude Desktop configuration file in your editor:

PlatformConfig file path
macOS~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

If the file does not exist, create it. If it already has an mcpServers key, merge the notecove entry into the existing object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "existing-server": { "...": "..." },
    "notecove": {
      "command": "/path/to/notecove",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Save the file.

Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and relaunch Claude Desktop so it picks up the new config.

Step 5: Verify the connection

Open a new conversation and ask:

“List my NoteCove folders”

Claude should invoke the notecove_cli tool and return your folder list.

Using a custom config path

By default the MCP subprocess walks up from its working directory looking for .notecove, then checks ~/.config/notecove/.notecove. If your config is elsewhere, you can set an environment variable in the Claude Desktop config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notecove": {
      "command": "/path/to/notecove",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NOTECOVE_CONFIG": "/full/path/to/.notecove"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

  • “Cannot connect to NoteCove” — The desktop app must be running. Start it and try again.
  • “No .notecove file found” — Run notecove init --global to create the global config.

Next steps