Can Claude read your Apple Notes?
Short answer: on a Mac, yes. On iPhone and in the browser, no. I get asked this a lot, so here's why it depends on where you use Claude, and what each option can and can't do.
Why it depends on where you use Claude
Apple Notes has no public API. Your notes live in iCloud, and Apple doesn't let outside services read them there. The only way in is the Notes app itself, on a Mac, through AppleScript. So anything that connects Claude to Apple Notes has to run on a Mac that has your notes on it, and it only works while that Mac is on.
Claude on the web and Claude on iPhone run in Anthropic's cloud. They can only reach apps that offer a server on the internet, and Apple Notes doesn't have one. You can make one: run an Apple Notes MCP server on your Mac and expose it through a tunnel, then add it as a custom connector. It only works while that Mac is awake, and anything you put on the internet that way needs its own protection.
Your options
| Where it works | What Claude can do | Setup | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copy and paste | Anywhere | Read what you paste; you copy the answer back | None |
| Anthropic's Read and Write Apple Notes extension | Claude desktop app on your Mac | Read, create and update notes; checklists turn into plain bullets when it updates a note | Install it from the connectors directory in Claude for Mac |
| Community Apple Notes MCP server | Claude Desktop or Claude Code on your Mac | Search, read, create and edit, depending on the server | Install it and edit Claude's config; allow Automation in macOS |
| A notes app with its own MCP server, like Amber Notes | Claude on the web, desktop, iPhone and Claude Code | Search, read, create and edit, with your approval and Undo | Import your notes once, then add a custom connector |
Option 1: the Claude desktop app on a Mac
Claude's connectors directory includes desktop extensions, which work with apps on your computer. Anthropic publishes one for Notes, Read and Write Apple Notes, with tools to read a note, add a note and update a note's content. It's the simplest route if you only use Claude on your Mac.
One limit to know before you let it edit: Apple Notes checklists aren't part of what AppleScript can read or write, so when the extension updates a note, its checkboxes become plain bullets and their ticks are lost. That was reported on Anthropic's tracker in January 2026 and closed as not planned.
If the Apple Notes connector isn't working
- It only works in the Claude desktop app on a Mac. On claude.ai or in Claude on iPhone, the tools won't appear.
- macOS has to let Claude control Notes. In System Settings, Privacy & Security, Automation, check that Claude is allowed to control Notes.
- After installing it or changing that permission, quit Claude completely and open it again.
- It reads what the Notes app on that Mac has. If a note is missing, check that it has synced to the Mac, and that it isn't locked.
Option 2: a community MCP server
Developers have built MCP servers that drive the Notes app with AppleScript. The most actively maintained one in September 2026 is sweetrb/apple-notes-mcp, which can search, create and update notes. Follow its README to add it to Claude Desktop or Claude Code. Expect a macOS prompt asking whether Claude may control Notes. Apple Notes MCP servers compared sets it next to the other servers, with the setup for Claude Desktop and Claude Code.
Things to know:
- It only works on the Mac it's installed on, while that Mac is awake.
- AppleScript reads and writes a note as HTML, so depending on the server, an edit can lose formatting such as checklists.
- Apple Notes keeps no version history, so a change Claude makes can't be rolled back from the Notes app.
- Locked notes can't be read.
What changed in iOS 27
iOS 27 and macOS 27 came out on 14 September with a new Siri, but nothing that gives Claude a way into Apple Notes:
- Siri AI can search your notes itself. It can also pass a request to ChatGPT through the ChatGPT extension. Claude isn't offered as an extension; MacRumors found code for other providers and reported that Claude isn't available yet.
- Apple hasn't shipped MCP support in iOS 27 or macOS 27. Code for it was spotted in a macOS 26.1 beta, and that's all.
- Claude on iPhone can use connectors you add on claude.ai, but only ones with a server on the internet, which Apple Notes still lacks.
The rest of what's new, from divider lines to Markdown copy and paste, is in Apple Notes in iOS 27 and macOS 27.
Option 3: move your notes to an app Claude can reach
Amber Notes is a free, open-source notes app for iPhone and Mac that works like Apple Notes and has an MCP server built in. You import your Apple Notes once, on your Mac, then open Amber Notes in Claude's connector directory and choose Connect to Claude. After that Claude can search, read and edit your notes from claude.ai, the desktop app, the iPhone app and Claude Code.
- You approve Claude in Amber Notes on your iPhone or Mac, typing the number your browser shows, and choose Read Only, or Read and Edit.
- Checklists stay checklists: Amber Notes stores notes as Markdown, and Claude ticks an item without rewriting the note.
- When Claude changes a note, Amber Notes shows what changed, with Undo, and keeps the previous version.
- Amber Notes is listed in Claude's connector directory, so there's no address to paste. If your Claude app doesn't show the listing, add
https://mcp.ambernotes.appas a custom connector instead; that works on every plan, and the free plan includes one.
The catch: your notes move to Amber Notes, so you'd write there instead of in Apple Notes. The import leaves Apple Notes untouched, so you can try it and go back. How to move from Apple Notes, then connect Claude. For Claude Code, see using your notes from Claude Code and Codex.
Which one to pick
- You use Claude only on your Mac and your notes have few checklists: the desktop extension.
- You're comfortable with a config file and want Claude to write to Apple Notes on your Mac: a community MCP server.
- You want Claude to use your notes from your phone or the web, with a way to undo its changes: a notes app with its own MCP server. Notes apps with an MCP server, compared lists them.
Questions
Can Claude read my Apple Notes?
Yes, on a Mac. The Claude desktop app can read, create and update Apple Notes through Anthropic's Read and Write Apple Notes extension, and community MCP servers let Claude Desktop and Claude Code do the same. It all runs on the Mac where your notes are, so it doesn't work from Claude on iPhone or on the web.
Can Claude on my iPhone see my Apple Notes?
Not directly, and iOS 27 doesn't change that. Apple Notes has no public API and no way for an outside service to reach your notes in iCloud. The workaround is to run an Apple Notes MCP server on your Mac and expose it to the internet through a tunnel, which only works while that Mac is on and needs care to keep private. Siri in iOS 27 can hand requests to ChatGPT, but Claude isn't offered there. The simpler way is to move your notes to an app that has its own MCP server.
Why is the Apple Notes connector not working in Claude?
Most often because it's being used outside the Claude desktop app on a Mac: it doesn't work on claude.ai or in Claude on iPhone. On the Mac, check that Claude may control Notes in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Automation, then quit and reopen Claude. It also can't read locked notes, and it only sees notes while that Mac is awake.
Does Apple make a way for Claude to use Apple Notes?
No. Apple offers no API or MCP server for Notes. Anthropic's Read and Write Apple Notes extension and the community MCP servers on GitHub all drive the Notes app on your Mac through AppleScript.
Checked against the app on .
