mindnode-mcp

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An MCP server that lets an AI assistant (Claude, etc.) read and write your MindNode mind maps directly — by parsing the .mindnode file format itself. No AppleScript, no Shortcuts, no export/import dance.

Ask your assistant to "read my project map", "add these three ideas under Marketing", "connect the API node to the Auth node", or "turn this outline into a new mind map" — and it operates on the real files MindNode syncs.

Why this exists: MindNode dropped its AppleScript dictionary, and its Shortcuts/URL-scheme automation is thin. But a .mindnode document is just a package whose contents.xml is an Apple binary plist — a clean recursive node tree. Read/write that, and you get full programmatic control.

Requirements

• macOS with MindNode installed (format version 9 — current MindNode releases)
• Python 3.11+ and uv
• An MCP client (e.g. Claude Code)

Install

git clone https://github.com/masamitsu-konya/mindnode-mcp.git
cd mindnode-mcp
uv sync

Register it with Claude Code (user scope = available everywhere):

claude mcp add --scope user mindnode -- uv --directory "$PWD" run mindnode-mcp

Then start a new session and run /mcp (or claude mcp list) to confirm it shows mindnode ✔ Connected.

By default it finds your MindNode documents in the iCloud container automatically. Point it elsewhere with the MINDNODE_DOCS_DIR environment variable (a local library, or a fixture folder for testing).

Usage

Talk to your assistant in plain language — it picks the right tool. Examples:

You say	What happens
"List my mind maps"	list_documents → names + dates, newest first
"Read my Project Plan map"	read_document → the full node tree as JSON
"Search all my maps for 'pricing'"	search_nodes → every matching node + its document
"Add 'Hire a designer' under the Team node in Roadmap"	add_node
"Connect 'Frontend' to 'API' with the label 'calls'"	add_connection
"Tag the 'Launch' node as #urgent"	add_tag (creates the tag if new)
"Mark 'Ship v1' as done"	set_task
"Attach ~/Desktop/wireframe.png to the Design node"	attach_image
"Make a new map 'Q3 Goals' with branches Sales, Product, Hiring"	create_map

Nodes can be referenced by their text (a case-insensitive substring is enough) or by their exact id (ids come back from read_document).

Tools

Tool	Kind	What it does
list_documents	read	All .mindnode files, newest first
read_document	read	Mind maps as {id, text, note?, task?, tags?, attachment?, children?} trees, plus connections and the document's tag list
search_nodes	read	Substring search over node text + notes, in one document or all
add_node	write	Add a node under a parent (by id or text), with optional note
add_connection	write	Cross-link two existing nodes with an optional label and arrow direction
add_tag / remove_tag	write	Tag / untag a node (tags are document-wide and auto-created)
set_task	write	Turn a node into a checkbox task and set done / todo
attach_image	write	Attach a local image to a node (copied into the package's resources/)
create_map	write	Create a new .mindnode from a title + (optionally nested) outline

Connections (cross-links)

Free links between any two nodes, independent of the parent/child tree (stored at canvas.crossConnections[]). add_connection(document, start, end, label?, direction?) — direction ∈ forward (default) / backward / both / none. read_document returns each as {id, start_id, end_id, start_text, end_text, direction, label?}.

Tags, tasks, attachments

read_document surfaces these per node (and lists all tag names at the top):

• Tags — normalized: canvas.tags[] defines {tagID, name, color}, node.tags[] references tagIDs. add_tag auto-defines a tag of that name if it doesn't exist, then attaches it (idempotent).
• Tasks — node.task = {state, uuids}, where state 1 = todo, 2 = done. set_task(document, node, done) toggles it.
• Attachments (images) — node.attachment = {fileName, size, tintKind, type}; image bytes live in resources/<fileName>. attach_image copies the file in and links it, clamping display width to 300px (matching MindNode).

How it works

A .mindnode document is a package directory. Its contents.xml — despite the extension — is an Apple binary plist holding the mind map (format version 9):

canvas.mindMaps[].mainNode        # root node of each map
  ├─ nodeID                       # UUID
  ├─ title.text                   # the node's text, stored as small HTML
  ├─ note / task / tags / attachment
  └─ subnodes[]                   # children (same shape, recursive)
canvas.crossConnections[]         # free links between nodes
canvas.tags[]                     # tag definitions

The server reads and writes this with Python's standard plistlib, so it needs no third-party plist libraries. Node text round-trips through a minimal HTML encode/decode (with proper escaping).

Write safety

These tools mutate your real files, so every write:

• backs up contents.xml to a timestamped .bak-* first,
• writes to a temp file then atomically replaces it (no partial writes),
• preserves keys it didn't author (styling, layout, print info), and
• drops the stale QuickLook preview so it regenerates.

create_map clones an existing document as a structural skeleton (keeping all opaque auxiliary files valid) and overwrites only the node tree.

Caveat — document open in MindNode. Writes go straight to disk. If MindNode (or another device via iCloud) has the same document open, its next autosave can clobber the change, or you may get an iCloud conflict copy. Close the document in MindNode before writing, or reopen it afterwards to pick up the edit. Backups make this recoverable, but it's cleaner to avoid.

Development

uv run python tests/smoke.py

The smoke test exercises reads against your real documents (read-only) and all writes against throwaway temp copies — it never modifies your actual maps. It also asserts that generated structures (nodes, connections, tags, tasks, image attachments) match the schema of real MindNode files key-for-key.

Status & roadmap

• [x] Read — list / read / search
• [x] Write — add_node / create_map
• [x] Connections / cross-links — read + add_connection
• [x] Tags, tasks, image attachments — read + write
• [ ] Non-image attachments (links, stickers)
• [ ] Tag color palette / rename, task removal
• [ ] Connection waypoint editing

License

MIT © 2026 Masamitsu Konya