Better Bear MCP server

Read from the package source without running it. The installed server may list more.

• bear_add_tag

  Add a tag to an existing Bear note. The tag is inserted into the note's markdown. Hierarchical tags like 'parent/child' also index every ancestor — so the note becomes discoverable under both #parent and #parent/child in Bear's sidebar.

• bear_archive_note

  Archive a Bear note. Archived notes are hidden from the main list but not deleted. Use 'undo' to unarchive.

• bear_attach_file

  Attach a file or image to an existing Bear note. The file is uploaded to iCloud and embedded in the note's markdown. Supports common image formats (jpg, png, gif, webp, heic) and other file types (pdf, zip, etc.). By default the attachment is appended to the end. Use 'after' or 'before' to place it relative to text in the note, or 'prepend' to put it right after the title.

• bear_context_add

  Add a Bear note to the context library by tagging it with #context. Optionally specify a subtag for grouping (e.g., subtag 'jira' → #context/jira). Triggers a sync after tagging.

• bear_context_fetch

  Load the full content of specific files from the context library. Pass relative paths like 'bear/arch-overview.md' or 'external/jira-ticket.md'. Use after reading the index to load only relevant files — never load everything.

• bear_context_import

  Import external content into the context library. Content is written to the external/ directory with YAML front matter (source, group, summary, date). Use this to add non-Bear content like Jira tickets, Slack threads, API docs, or any markdown. The content is passed via stdin and a filename must be provided.

• bear_context_index

  Get the context library index — a structured table of contents of all files (Bear notes, external files, inbox). Read this FIRST before answering questions from context. Use it to identify which files to fetch, rather than loading everything. Includes cache freshness metadata.

• bear_context_ingest

  Scan the inbox/ directory and list all untriaged files. Returns filename, size, content preview (first 500 chars), and any detected YAML front matter for each file. Does NOT modify anything — use bear_context_triage to act on files.

• bear_context_push_to_bear

  Push an external file to Bear as a new note. Creates a Bear note from the file content, tags it with #context (+ optional subtag), and removes the original external file. Use when external content has matured enough to become a permanent Bear note.

• bear_context_removewrite action

  Remove a Bear note from the context library by removing its #context tag. Triggers a sync to delete the local file.

• bear_context_remove_externalwrite action

  Remove a file from the external/ directory in the context library. Deletes the file and regenerates the index. Use when external content is no longer needed.

• bear_context_search

  Full-text search across the entire context library (Bear notes + external files + inbox). Returns matching snippets with filenames and origin labels. Use when the index alone isn't enough to find the right file.

• bear_context_set_prefix

  Change the context library's tag prefix and re-tag every Bear note that currently uses the old prefix. Sub-tags are preserved — `#context/research` becomes `#<new>/research`. Updates both the markdown body and the CloudKit tag index, and persists the new prefix to the context config. Useful when aligning the qualifier tag with a broader naming scheme like Johnny Decimal (e.g. '10-projects'). Run `

• bear_context_setup

  Initialize a context library — a curated, synced folder of Bear notes optimized for LLM consumption. Creates the directory structure and config. After setup, tag Bear notes with #context (or a custom prefix) and use bear_context_sync to pull them in. One-time operation.

• bear_context_status

  Get context library health and stats: Bear note count, external file count, inbox count, total tokens, last sync time, group breakdown, and warnings (stale cache, expired externals, oversized files, untriaged inbox items).

• bear_context_sync

  Sync qualifying Bear notes to the local context library. Adds new notes, updates changed notes, and removes notes that no longer qualify (tag removed, trashed, etc.). Regenerates the index. Only touches the bear/ directory — external/ and inbox/ are untouched. Call this when the user asks to sync, refresh, or update their context.

• bear_context_triage

  Triage a file in the inbox. Three actions: 'keep' moves it to external/ with optional group/summary metadata. 'push_to_bear' creates a Bear note tagged #context (+ optional subtag) and deletes the inbox file. 'discard' deletes the file. All actions regenerate the index.

• bear_create_notewrite action

  Create a new Bear note with a title, optional body text, tags, and YAML front matter. Hashtags written inline in the body (e.g. '#my_tag' or '#parent/child') are extracted and registered as real tags on the note, matching Bear's desktop-app behaviour. Tags from the 'tags' array are indexed regardless of whether they appear in the body. Hierarchical tags like '#parent/child' also index every ancest

• bear_delete_tagwrite action

  Delete a tag from all Bear notes. The tag text is removed but notes are preserved.

• bear_edit_note

  Edit an existing Bear note. Provide 'append_text' to add text, 'body' to replace content, or 'set_frontmatter'/'remove_frontmatter' to edit YAML front matter fields. Front matter edits can be combined with each other but not with body/append.

• bear_find_duplicates

  Find notes with duplicate titles. Returns groups of notes sharing the same title with their IDs and modification dates. Useful for cleaning up after imports or sync conflicts.

• bear_find_untagged

  List Bear notes that have no tags assigned.

• bear_get_note

  Get a single Bear note's full content and metadata by ID. Returns the note title, tags, full markdown text, and dates. The response includes 'tags' (CloudKit index, may contain ancestor tags like 'parent' for a note tagged '#parent/child') and 'attached_tags' (leaves only). If the note is locked/private, 'locked: true' will be included in the response. Use the 'raw' option to get just the markdown

• bear_get_tags

  Get the full tag hierarchy from Bear. Returns all tags with their note counts and pin status. Useful for understanding how notes are organized.

• bear_get_todos

  Get all TODO items from a specific Bear note. Returns each item's text, completion status, and index number (use the index with bear_toggle_todo to toggle items).

• bear_health_checkwrite action

  Run a health check on the Bear notes library. Reports duplicate titles, empty notes, notes stuck in trash, sync conflicts, orphaned tags, untagged notes, and oversized notes. Use this to identify cleanup opportunities or diagnose sync issues.

• bear_list_notes

  List Bear notes with optional tag filtering. Returns an array of notes with IDs, titles, tags, pin status, and modification dates. Each note includes two tag fields: 'tags' mirrors Bear's CloudKit index verbatim (includes ancestor expansions — a note tagged #parent/child will show both 'parent' and 'parent/child'); 'attached_tags' shows only leaf tags (the most-specific tag on each branch). Notes

• bear_list_todos

  List Bear notes that have incomplete TODO items (markdown checkboxes like '- [ ]'). Returns each note's title, tags, and counts of complete/incomplete items.

• bear_note_stats

  Get statistics about the Bear notes library: total notes, words, tags, pinned, archived, trashed, notes with TODOs, oldest/newest dates, and top 10 tags by note count.

• bear_remove_tagwrite action

  Remove a tag from a specific Bear note. Works on any tag visible in 'tags' on the note — including ancestor tags like 'parent' that exist only as hierarchical expansions. Removing a hierarchical leaf like 'parent/child' also drops orphaned ancestors from the tag index.

• bear_rename_tag

  Rename a tag across all Bear notes. Every note containing the old tag will be updated.

• bear_search

  Full-text search across Bear note titles, tags, and body content. Returns matching notes ranked by relevance (title matches first, then tag, then body). Body matches include a text snippet with surrounding context. Locked/private notes will match by title but may not match body searches — results include 'locked: true' for these notes. If you can't find content you expect, try listing notes to che

• bear_sync

  Trigger a sync of Bear notes from iCloud. Normally an incremental sync fetching only changes. Use 'full' to force a complete re-sync. Most read operations auto-sync when the cache is stale, so manual sync is rarely needed.

• bear_toggle_todo

  Toggle a specific TODO item in a Bear note between complete and incomplete. The item_index is 1-based — use bear_get_todos first to see the list with index numbers.

• bear_trash_note

  Move a Bear note to the trash. This is a soft delete — the note can be recovered from Bear's trash. The note is identified by its ID.

• Code scan7 source files scanned25/25
• –Live reliabilityno gateway calls yet and no remote to proben/a
• –Tool poisoningtools not inspected (local package is not executed); not countedn/a
• Auth qualitylocal package, no credentials required12/15
• Maintenancelast push 158 days ago8/15
• Maintainer identityregistry namespace matches repository owner7/10

Safety score

80/100

higher than 65% of 3,470 Web search servers

Tools

35

the typical Web search server has 5

Tools that change things

17%

typical: 0%. Fewer write tools means less an agent can break

GitHub stars

66

more than 93% of 1,786 Web search servers

Downloads a week

108

more than 58% of 827 Web search servers with a package

Better Bear: common questions

Is Better Bear MCP server safe?

Mostly: it is graded B (80/100). Read the Better Bear safety report

How do I install Better Bear?

It runs on your machine. Copy the Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code or Claude Desktop config from the install section.

Does Better Bear need an API key?

Not as far as the registry entry and our scan can tell: no credentials are declared or required.

Is Better Bear maintained?

The last commit was 195 days ago (2026-04-23). The latest release is v0.4.26.

What can I use instead of Better Bear?

Servers from other publishers that do the same job: Apple Notes MCP server, Vadivam Icons MCP server and Silica Core MCP server.

How does Better Bear compare with other Web search MCP servers?

safety score 80/100 (higher than 65% of 3,470 Web search servers); tools 35 (the typical Web search server has 5); tools that change things 17% (typical: 0%. Fewer write tools means less an agent can break). Full comparison.