Joplin MCP server

Joplin MCP Server enables note access through the Model Context Protocol, providing a bridge between your Joplin notes and AI assistants like Claude. This server allows you to search, read, edit, and delete notes programmatically, making your notes accessible to AI tools while maintaining control over your data.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• Joplin Desktop with Web Clipper Service enabled
• uv (Python package manager)

Setup Instructions

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/dweigend/joplin-mcp.git
cd joplin-mcp

# Create and activate virtual environment
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
uv pip install -e .

Configuration

Joplin API Token

1. Open Joplin Desktop
2. Navigate to Tools -> Options -> Web Clipper
3. Enable the Web Clipper Service
4. Copy the API Token

Create a .env file in the project directory:

JOPLIN_TOKEN=your_api_token_here

Claude Desktop Setup

1. Install Claude Desktop

   • Download Claude Desktop
   • Make sure you have the latest version (Menu: Claude -> Check for Updates...)

2. Configure MCP Server

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "joplin": {
         "command": "/PATH/TO/UV/uv",
         "args": [
           "--directory",
           "/PATH/TO/YOUR/PROJECT/joplin_mcp",
           "run",
           "src/mcp/joplin_mcp.py"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

   • Replace /PATH/TO/UV/uv with the absolute path to your uv installation
     • Find the path with: which uv
     • Example macOS: /Users/username/.local/bin/uv
     • Example Windows: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\uv.exe
   • Replace /PATH/TO/YOUR/PROJECT/joplin_mcp with the absolute path to your project

   Important: Claude Desktop requires the full path to uv as it cannot access shell environment variables.

Using the MCP Server

Available Tools

search_notes

Search for notes in Joplin.

Parameters:

• query (string): Search query
• limit (int, optional): Maximum number of results (default: 100)

get_note

Retrieve a specific note by its ID.

Parameters:

• note_id (string): ID of the note

create_note

Create a new note.

Parameters:

• title (string): Note title
• body (string, optional): Note content in Markdown
• parent_id (string, optional): ID of parent folder
• is_todo (boolean, optional): Whether this is a todo item

update_note

Update an existing note.

Parameters:

• note_id (string): ID of note to update
• title (string, optional): New title
• body (string, optional): New content
• parent_id (string, optional): New parent folder ID
• is_todo (boolean, optional): New todo status

delete_note

Delete a note.

Parameters:

• note_id (string): ID of note to delete
• permanent (boolean, optional): If true, permanently delete the note

import_markdown

Import a markdown file as a new note.

Parameters:

• file_path (string): Path to the markdown file

Debug Mode

To test the tools and server functionality:

MCP_LOG_LEVEL=debug mcp dev src/mcp/joplin_mcp.py

This starts the MCP Inspector at http://localhost:5173 where you can test all available tools before using them with Claude.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "joplin" '{"command":"/PATH/TO/UV/uv","args":["--directory","/PATH/TO/YOUR/PROJECT/joplin_mcp","run","src/mcp/joplin_mcp.py"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "joplin": {
            "command": "/PATH/TO/UV/uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/PATH/TO/YOUR/PROJECT/joplin_mcp",
                "run",
                "src/mcp/joplin_mcp.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "joplin": {
            "command": "/PATH/TO/UV/uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/PATH/TO/YOUR/PROJECT/joplin_mcp",
                "run",
                "src/mcp/joplin_mcp.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect