MCP setup.

3Notch exposes a local stdio MCP server. Start it from the project root and your AI agent can read and write the store directly — no typing required on your end.

$ notch mcp serve

For client-specific setup snippets, run:

$ notch onboard --yes --mcp claude-code
$ notch onboard --yes --mcp claude-desktop
$ notch onboard --yes --mcp codex
$ notch onboard --yes --mcp cursor

notch onboard --mcp claude-code writes a project-local .mcp.json. notch onboard --mcp claude-desktop updates ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json with a backup. Other clients print copy-paste snippets.

Server flags

$ notch mcp serve --read-only           # reject write tools
$ notch mcp serve --include-private     # expose .notch/private/ for this server only
$ notch mcp serve --store /path/.notch  # point at a non-default store
$ notch mcp serve --default-actor "Claude Desktop"

Available tools

Read-only:

• get_brief, list_briefs, get_targeted_brief
• get_packet, list_packets
• get_status, check_store, run_doctor

Write tools (require client tool-permission grant):

• create_brief
• create_packet (accepts files, refs, and nextSteps)
• create_mark — self-addressed private capture
• create_reply — typed packet reply
• create_seed_packet
• import_packet, import_seed_packet

Agent instruction packs

$ notch prompt --client claude-code
$ notch prompt --client claude-desktop
$ notch prompt --client codex
$ notch prompt --client cursor
$ notch prompt --client claude-chat   # web-chat bridge

These print agent instructions you paste into CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or the client's system prompt. They tell the agent when to use which tool, with nextSteps and source links as first-class fields.