Yes, Better Bear is free to use.

How do I install Better Bear?

Better Bear is a local plugin. Install it using npm package: better-bear and add the generated configuration snippet to your AI app's MCP config file. Then restart your AI app.

What AI apps work with Better Bear?

Better Bear uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and works with any MCP-compatible AI app, including Claude, ChatGPT / Codex, Gemini, Copilot, Cursor, and more.

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Better Bear MCP Server

by KuvopLLC

Developer ToolsLow Risk10.0MCP RegistryLocal

Free

Server data from the Official MCP Registry

MCP server for Bear notes — read, search, create, edit, tag, and manage notes via CloudKit

About

MCP server for Bear notes — read, search, create, edit, tag, and manage notes via CloudKit

Security Report

10.0

Low Risk10.0Low Risk

Valid MCP server (1 strong, 1 medium validity signals). No known CVEs in dependencies. Package registry verified. Imported from the Official MCP Registry.

6 files analyzed · 1 issue found

Security scores are indicators to help you make informed decisions, not guarantees. Always review permissions before connecting any MCP server.

Permissions Required

This plugin requests these system permissions. Most are normal for its category.

file_system

Check that this permission is expected for this type of plugin.

env_vars

Check that this permission is expected for this type of plugin.

Shell Command Execution

Runs commands on your machine. Be cautious — only use if you trust this plugin.

How to Install

Add this to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-kuvopllc-better-bear": {
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "better-bear"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

Documentation

View on GitHub

From the project's GitHub README.

better bear

MCP server and CLI for Bear notes via CloudKit. Includes a context library — a curated, synced folder of notes optimized for LLM consumption, inspired by Karpathy's LLM Knowledge Base pattern.

Full docs: better-bear.com

Install

Install the CLI, then connect to Claude:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KuvopLLC/better-bear/main/install.sh | bash
bcli auth
bcli mcp install

This installs the bcli binary, authenticates with iCloud, and sets up the MCP server for both Claude Desktop (via .mcpb bundle) and Claude Code.

Other install methods

Method	Command
Claude Desktop only	`bcli mcp install --desktop-only`
Claude Code only	`bcli mcp install --code-only`
Claude Code (direct)	`claude mcp add better-bear -- npx -y better-bear`
Config file	`bcli mcp install --json`
.mcpb bundle	Download from latest release and double-click

Manage

bcli mcp status      # check what's configured
bcli mcp uninstall   # remove from Claude Desktop and Claude Code
bcli mcp reinstall   # clean uninstall + install
bcli upgrade         # upgrade bcli binary

CLI

All commands also work standalone from the terminal:

bcli ls                          # list notes
bcli search "query"              # full-text search
bcli create "Title" -b "Body"    # create a note
bcli edit <id> --append "text"   # append to a note
bcli tags                        # list all tags
bcli attach <id> photo.jpg       # attach a file
bcli stats                       # library statistics
bcli health                      # health check

See better-bear.com for the full command reference.

Context Library

Turn a subset of your Bear notes into a synced, curated context folder that Claude can navigate using index-first retrieval. Tag notes with #context in Bear, sync, and Claude reads a compact index to find relevant files — loading only what it needs, not everything.

bcli context init                          # one-time setup
bcli context sync                          # pull qualifying notes
bcli context add <id> --subtag research    # tag a note for inclusion
bcli context status                        # health check

Or tell Claude: "Set up a context library" — and it handles everything via MCP tools.

The architecture follows Karpathy's three-folder pattern: bear/ (synced from CloudKit), external/ (PDFs, exports, shared docs), and inbox/ (drop zone for triage). An index.md manifest maps everything. See better-bear.com for full documentation.

MCP Tools

34 tools covering notes, tags, TODOs, attachments, search, front matter, stats, health checks, and the context library. See the MCP server README for the full list.

Contributors

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Better Bear MCP Server

About

Security Report

Permissions Required

Findings (1)

How to Install

Documentation

better bear

Install

Other install methods

Manage

CLI

Context Library

MCP Tools

Contributors

Reviews

No reviews yet

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