Dev Notes MCP Server

A lightweight Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets Claude Code save, list, and read markdown notes directly from your conversations — no copy-pasting required.

What It Does & Why It's Useful

This server gives Claude Code three tools:

Instead of manually creating and managing markdown files, you can ask Claude to save notes mid-conversation. Useful for capturing project ideas, debugging notes, meeting summaries, or any reference material you want to persist across sessions.

Related MCP server: briefkasten-mcp

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 or higher

• Claude Code CLI installed

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/al928132/mcp-server.git
   cd mcp-server

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Register the server with Claude Code by adding it to your ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json (or equivalent MCP config):

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "dev-notes-server": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": ["/path/to/mcp-server/index.js"]
       }
     }
   }

4. Restart Claude Code to load the server.

Usage Examples

1. Saving a Note

"Save a note called 'project-ideas' with ideas for my midterm project."

Claude will call save_note and store the content as project-ideas.md in your configured notes directory.

2. Listing All Notes

"List all my saved notes."

Claude will call list_notes and return a list of all .md files with their last-modified dates.

3. Reading a Note

"Read my 'project-ideas' note."

Claude will call read_note and display the full contents of project-ideas.md.

Limitations & Known Issues

• Fixed save directory: Notes are saved to a hardcoded path (C:\al928132\dig4503\week4\dev-notes-server). To change it, update the NOTES_DIR constant in index.js and restart the server.

• No subfolders: All notes are saved flat in a single directory — there is no folder organization or tagging support.

• Title-based lookup only: Notes are retrieved by title slug. If two titles produce the same slug (e.g., "My Note" and "my note"), they will overwrite each other.

• No delete tool: There is currently no tool to delete notes — files must be removed manually.

• Markdown only: The server only handles .md files. Other file types are not supported.