Inkra MCP Server

Drive a native macOS Markdown editor from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client.

This is the official Model Context Protocol bridge for Inkra — a native macOS Markdown editor (SwiftUI + AppKit, not Electron) with live KaTeX/Mermaid preview and a built-in AI assistant.

You need the Inkra app installed and running, with Inkra Pro. This MCP server is a stdio→HTTP bridge — Inkra owns the document state, undo stack, syntax highlighting, and rendering. The MCP server and the REST API are part of Inkra Pro; the free trial includes them. Get Inkra at store.juergenkoller.software/apps/inkra.

The Inkra version from the website already contains this bridge as inkra-mcp-server. Inkra → Settings → API → Copy MCP Config gives you a ready-made configuration. Build from this repository only if you want to audit or modify the bridge.

What you can do

"Claude, open ~/Notes/2026-thesis.md, find every heading that contains 'TODO', add a checkbox after it, and save."

"Cursor, list all files in the current folder, bookmark the H2 'Methodology', and switch to Focus Mode."

The MCP server exposes 18 tools across these categories:

Every tool operates on the currently open document in the Inkra app — so AI agents see exactly what you see, edits show up live with syntax highlighting and preview, and undo/redo work in the app's normal undo stack.

Related MCP server: Nemeton MCP

Installation

Prerequisites

1. macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later

2. Inkra app installed and running — get it here (website version; the Mac App Store version does not include the MCP server)

3. Inkra Pro, or the free trial — without it the app answers every MCP call with “Inkra Pro required”

4. API enabled in Inkra → Settings → API (“API Enabled”)

5. Swift 5.9+ (Xcode 15+) only if building from source

Use the bridge inside the app (recommended)

/Applications/Inkra.app/Contents/MacOS/inkra-mcp-server

It always matches the installed app version.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/juergenkoller-software/inkra-mcp.git
cd inkra-mcp
swift build -c release
# Binary: .build/release/InkraMCP

Pre-built binary

Not needed on a Mac: the website version of Inkra ships the bridge (see above). The binary attached to Releases is a static Linux x86_64 build for container-based MCP registries such as Glama; it does not run on macOS.

Configuration

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "inkra": {
      "command": "/Applications/Inkra.app/Contents/MacOS/inkra-mcp-server",
      "env": {
        "INKRA_API_PORT": "42932",
        "INKRA_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Get INKRA_API_TOKEN from Inkra → Settings → API, or use Copy MCP Config there, which fills in path, port, and token.

Claude Code

claude mcp add inkra /Applications/Inkra.app/Contents/MacOS/inkra-mcp-server \
  --env INKRA_API_PORT=42932 \
  --env INKRA_API_TOKEN=your-token-here

Cursor / other MCP clients

Same pattern — stdio MCP server, two env vars.

How it works

┌────────────────┐  JSON-RPC stdio   ┌────────────────┐  HTTP+Bearer   ┌────────────────┐
│  Claude/Cursor │ ───────────────►  │  InkraMCP      │ ─────────────► │  Inkra.app     │
│  (MCP client)  │ ◄───────────────  │   (this repo)  │ ◄───────────── │  (port 42932)  │
└────────────────┘                   └────────────────┘                └────────────────┘

The bridge translates MCP tool calls into requests to Inkra's local REST API. The app handles document state (NSTextView with TextKit 2), AST-based syntax highlighting, KaTeX/Mermaid live preview, undo/redo, session restore, and exports.

Environment variables

Errors

Every refusal comes back as an MCP error (isError: true) with a sentence the agent can act on:

Before version 1.1.0 the bridge ignored the HTTP status, so a wrong token or the Pro lock looked like a successful call (“OK, 0 characters”).

About Inkra

Inkra is a native macOS Markdown editor — not an Electron app. Highlights:

• Native — SwiftUI + AppKit, real macOS performance

• Live preview — KaTeX formulas, Mermaid diagrams, code highlighting rendered in real time via WKWebView

• Focus mode + wide mode — distraction-free writing

• Built-in AI assistant — Claude, OpenAI, Ollama, or Inkra KI (dedicated endpoint, no API key needed)

• Export — HTML and PDF with full layout, formulas, diagrams, code blocks

• Session restore — folder, file, cursor, scroll position

• MCP server (this repo) + REST API with Swagger UI — part of Inkra Pro

• 24 EU languages

• Available on the Mac App Store and as a direct download — the MCP server ships with the direct download

→ Get Inkra at store.juergenkoller.software

License

MIT — see LICENSE. Bridge open source; Inkra app is commercial.

Issues & support

• Bridge bugs: open an issue

• App support: support@juergenkoller.software

Built by Juergen Koller Software GmbH.