MCP Evernote Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides seamless integration with Evernote for note management, organization, and knowledge capture. Works with both Claude Code and Claude Desktop.

⚠️ No API Key? Use Browser Cookie Auth

Evernote stopped issuing new developer API keys. If you are a new user and cannot obtain a Consumer Key/Secret, skip the standard OAuth setup and use the cookie-based authentication method instead — no API key required.

Installation Requirements

Node.js

Supported Node.js: >=20.16.0 <21 or >=22.3.0. In practice that means Node 20.16+, 22.3+, 24, or newer — the two gaps are Node 21.x and Node 22.0–22.2. This is not an arbitrary floor: it mirrors the engines range that the PDF attachment extraction path (pdf-parse, and its pdfjs-dist transitive dependency) actually declares, and the range is genuinely disjoint.

Check with node --version. On Node 18 or 21, or on 22.0–22.2, upgrade before installing — Node 21 reached end-of-life in June 2024, and 22.3+ supersedes the early 22 patches.

Upgrading from 1.x? 2.0.0 raises the Node requirement from 18.18.0 and changes evernote_get_resource to return extracted text by default instead of binary data. The tool surface was also consolidated from 27 tools to 15 — the retired names still work as deprecated aliases, so existing calls keep running. See MIGRATION.md.

For Claude Desktop Users:

• OAuth Authentication Required: Yes, run the auth command once (prompts for API keys)
• Repository Download: No, you can use npx directly from npm
• API Credentials: The auth script will prompt you for your Evernote API keys
• Simple Setup: Just one command to authenticate and configure

For Claude Code Users:

• OAuth Authentication: Handled automatically via /mcp command
• Repository Download: Not required
• Setup: Single command installation

Current Status

✅ Working Features

• 🔐 OAuth Authentication - Interactive setup for Claude Desktop, automatic for Claude Code
• 📝 Note Operations
  • Create notes with plain text or markdown content
  • Read and retrieve note contents
  • Update existing notes
  • Delete notes
  • Automatic Markdown ↔ ENML conversion (GFM + local attachments)
• 📚 Notebook Management
  • List all notebooks
  • Create new notebooks
  • Organize with stacks
• 🏷️ Tag System
  • List all tags
  • Create new tags
  • Hierarchical tag support
• 🔍 Advanced Search - Full Evernote search syntax support
• 👤 User Info - Get account details and quota usage
• 🤖 Smart Setup - Interactive credential prompts and environment detection

Quick Start

Installation Methods

Option 1: Using NPX (No Installation Required)

The simplest way - no need to install anything globally:

# For Claude Desktop - Run authentication
npx -y -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote-auth

# For Claude Code - Just add the server
claude mcp add evernote "npx -y -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote"

Change Notifications

Polling for Changes

The server can poll Evernote for changes and send webhook notifications when notes are created, updated, or deleted.

Configuration

# Enable auto-start polling (default: false)
EVERNOTE_POLLING_ENABLED=true

# Poll interval in milliseconds (default: 3600000 = 1 hour, min: 900000 = 15 min)
EVERNOTE_POLL_INTERVAL=3600000

# Webhook URL to receive change notifications
EVERNOTE_WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-endpoint.com/webhooks/evernote

Webhook Payload

When changes are detected, a POST request is sent to your webhook URL:

{
  "source": "mcp-evernote",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-15T10:30:00.000Z",
  "changes": [
    {
      "type": "note_created",
      "guid": "abc123...",
      "title": "My New Note",
      "notebookGuid": "def456...",
      "timestamp": "2025-12-15T10:29:55.000Z"
    }
  ]
}

Manual Control

Use the evernote_polling tool to control polling:

• polling({action:"start"}) - Start polling manually
• polling({action:"stop"}) - Stop polling
• polling({action:"poll"}) - Check for changes immediately
• polling({action:"status"}) - Get polling configuration and status

Evernote Webhooks (Real-time)

For real-time notifications, Evernote supports webhooks but requires manual registration:

1. Email [email protected] with:

   • Your Consumer Key
   • Webhook URL endpoint
   • Any filters (optional)

2. They'll configure your webhook to receive HTTP GET requests on note create/update events.

Option 2: Global Installation

Install once, use anywhere:

# Install globally
npm install -g @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote

# For Claude Desktop - Run authentication
mcp-evernote-auth

# For Claude Code - Add the server
claude mcp add evernote "mcp-evernote"

Option 3: Local Development

For contributing or customization:

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote.git
cd mcp-evernote
npm install

# Run setup wizard
npm run setup

Configuration

1. Get Evernote API Credentials

Note: Evernote has stopped issuing new developer API keys to new applicants. If you are a new user, skip this section and use the cookie-based authentication method instead.

1. Visit Evernote Developers
2. Create a new application
3. Copy your Consumer Key and Consumer Secret

2. Authentication Options

Interactive Setup (Recommended)

The auth script will prompt you for credentials if not found:

# Run authentication - prompts for API keys if needed
npx -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote-auth

Environment Variables (Optional)

For automation, you can set credentials via environment variables:

# Create .env file (optional)
EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_KEY=your-consumer-key
EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_SECRET=your-consumer-secret
EVERNOTE_ENVIRONMENT=production  # or 'sandbox'
OAUTH_CALLBACK_PORT=3000        # Default: 3000

# Polling configuration (optional)
EVERNOTE_POLLING_ENABLED=true                                  # Auto-start polling
EVERNOTE_POLL_INTERVAL=3600000                                 # 1 hour (min: 900000 = 15 min)
EVERNOTE_WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-endpoint.com/webhooks/evernote  # Webhook for change notifications

# Rate-limit transport (optional)
EVERNOTE_MAX_CONCURRENCY=3                  # Max simultaneous NoteStore RPCs (default: 3)
EVERNOTE_RATE_LIMIT_AUTO_RETRY_SECONDS=15   # Auto-retry a rate-limited call once if the wait is <= this many seconds; 0 = off
EVERNOTE_MAX_RESPONSE_CHARS=60000           # Total note-body chars per multi-note response; bodies past this are dropped with truncated:true

# Note body cache (optional)
EVERNOTE_NOTE_CACHE_SIZE=200                 # Max notes held in the USN-keyed body cache; 0 disables
EVERNOTE_NOTE_CACHE_SYNC_TTL_MS=30000        # How long a getSyncState result is trusted before re-checking for external edits

On the hourly rate limit, tool errors return JSON with error: "rate_limited" and retryAfterSeconds (Evernote's exact backoff window). Bounding concurrency smooths bursts but cannot restore quota — the quota is a per-token hourly call count, so the durable fixes are fewer calls and honoring the backoff.

Re-reading the same notes is served from an in-memory, USN-keyed body cache instead of re-spending getNote calls — the direct fix for the hourly limit tripping on repeat corpus reads. Notes you edit through this server are evicted immediately; edits made elsewhere are picked up within EVERNOTE_NOTE_CACHE_SYNC_TTL_MS via a sync-state probe. Extracted OCR / attachment text is always re-read live, never cached.

3. Configure Your Client

Quick Setup (Using NPX)

claude mcp add evernote "npx -y -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote -c mcp-evernote" \
  --env EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_KEY=your-key \
  --env EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_SECRET=your-secret

OAuth Authentication

1. In Claude Code, type /mcp
2. Select "Evernote"
3. Choose "Authenticate"
4. Follow the browser OAuth flow
5. Tokens are stored and refreshed automatically by Claude Code

Note: Claude Code handles OAuth automatically - no manual token management needed!

Step 1: Authenticate

Using NPX (no installation required):

npx -y -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote-auth

The auth script will:

1. Prompt for your API credentials (if not in environment)
2. Open your browser for OAuth authentication
3. Save a compatible token file to .evernote-token.json
4. Display the access token so you can use EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN instead

Or if installed globally:

mcp-evernote-auth

Step 2: Add to Configuration

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "evernote": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "-p", "@verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote", "-c", "mcp-evernote"],
      "env": {
        "EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_KEY": "your-consumer-key",
        "EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_SECRET": "your-consumer-secret",
        "EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-access-token",
        "EVERNOTE_ENVIRONMENT": "production"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if installed globally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "evernote": {
      "command": "mcp-evernote",
      "env": {
        "EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_KEY": "your-consumer-key",
        "EVERNOTE_CONSUMER_SECRET": "your-consumer-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cookie-Based Authentication (No API Key Needed)

Since Evernote stopped issuing developer API keys to new applicants, new users can authenticate using the clipper-sso browser cookie from the Evernote web UI. This cookie carries the same format as a developer-issued access token and works directly as EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN — no Consumer Key or Consumer Secret required.

Security warning: Treat this value like a password. Anyone with it can access your Evernote account. Never commit it to git, paste it into chat logs, or share it publicly.

Credit: Discovered by community member @tdrayson. (Issue #49)

Step 1: Extract the Cookie

1. Log in to www.evernote.com in your browser
2. Open DevTools: F12 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac)
3. Navigate to the Application tab → Cookies → www.evernote.com
4. Find the cookie named clipper-sso
5. Copy its Value — it looks like:

   S=s101:U=XXX:XXXXX:C=XXXX:P=XXX:A=en-chrome-clipper-xauth-new:V=2:H=XXXXX

Step 2: Configure Your Client

Claude Code:

claude mcp add evernote "npx -y -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote -c mcp-evernote" \
  --env EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN="S=s101:U=XXX:..."

Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "evernote": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "-p", "@verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote", "-c", "mcp-evernote"],
      "env": {
        "EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN": "S=s101:U=XXX:..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: EVERNOTE_NOTESTORE_URL is not required when using the cookie token — the server fetches it automatically at startup.

Caveats

• Token expiry: The clipper-sso token typically expires after roughly one year, or when you explicitly log out of Evernote in your browser. When it expires, log back in to www.evernote.com, re-extract the cookie, and update EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN.
• Browser session: The cookie is tied to your browser login session. Logging out of the Evernote web app will invalidate the token.
• Production only: This uses your live Evernote account. There is no sandbox equivalent for this method.

Authentication Methods

Recommended for new users: Cookie-Based Authentication (No API Key Needed).

1. Claude Code (Automatic)

Claude Code handles OAuth automatically via the /mcp command. Tokens are managed by Claude Code.

2. Claude Desktop (Manual)

Run npx -y -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote-auth to authenticate via browser. The script saves .evernote-token.json for compatibility and also prints a token you can set as EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN.

3. Environment Variables (CI/CD)

EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-token
EVERNOTE_NOTESTORE_URL=your-notestore-url
EVERNOTE_ALLOWED_FILE_ROOTS=/Users/you/Documents:/Users/you/Projects

4. Direct Token (Advanced)

{
  "env": {
    "EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-access-token",
    "EVERNOTE_NOTESTORE_URL": "your-notestore-url"
  }
}

Available Tools

The server exposes 15 tools (consolidated from 27). Retired tool names still work as deprecated aliases and can be re-listed with EVERNOTE_LEGACY_TOOLS=true — see MIGRATION.md for the full old→new mapping. Highlights: get_resource({guid, as}) projects an attachment (text/binary/recognition/metadata); list_notebooks/list_tags return one entity when passed a name/guid; update_note takes replacements[] for patch-style edits; and the polling and connection tools dispatch on an action.

Markdown Support

This server automatically converts between Markdown and Evernote's ENML format:

• Create/update: Markdown input is rendered to ENML-safe HTML inside <en-note>.
  • GFM task lists - [ ] map to Evernote checkboxes <en-todo/>.
  • Checked tasks - [x] map to <en-todo checked="true"/>.
• • Local Markdown images/files (![alt](./path.png) or file://...) are uploaded as Evernote resources automatically.
• • Existing attachments are preserved by referencing evernote-resource:<hash> in Markdown.
• • Remote http(s) images remain links (download locally if you want them embedded).
• • Common Markdown elements (headings, lists, code blocks, tables, emphasis, links) are preserved.
• Retrieve: ENML content is converted back to Markdown (GFM), including task lists and attachments.
  • Embedded images become ![alt](evernote-resource:<hash>) and other files become [file](evernote-resource:<hash>) so you can round-trip them safely.

Limitations:

• Remote URLs are not fetched automatically; save them locally and reference the file to embed.
• Keep the evernote-resource:<hash> references in Markdown if you want existing attachments to survive edits.
• Some exotic HTML not supported by ENML will be sanitized/removed.

Note Operations

evernote_create_note

Create a new note in Evernote.

Parameters:

• title (required): Note title
• content (required): Note content (plain text or markdown)
• notebookName (optional): Target notebook name
• tags (optional): Array of tag names

Example:

Create a note titled "Meeting Notes" with content "Discussed Q4 planning" in notebook "Work" with tags ["meetings", "planning"]

evernote_search_notes

Search for notes using Evernote's search syntax. Returns note metadata plus totalNotes; page with offset/nextOffset.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search query (use "*" to match all notes)
• notebookName (optional): Limit to specific notebook
• maxResults (optional): Results per page (default: 20, max: 100; capped at 25 when includeContent is true)
• offset (optional): Result offset for paging (default: 0)
• includeContent (optional): Include each note's full body in content, one API call per note (default: false)
• format (optional): Body projection when includeContent is true — markdown (default), text, or enml
• includePreview (optional): Include a ~300-char plain-text preview per note (ignored when includeContent is true)

Export a whole notebook as text without a dedicated tool: query: "*", set notebookName + includeContent, and page with offset until hasMore is false.

Example:

Search for notes containing "project roadmap" in the "Work" notebook

evernote_get_note

Retrieve one note (full detail) or a batch of up to 25 (body-focused).

Parameters: provide exactly one of guid or guids.

• guid: single note GUID — full detail, including PDF/image-OCR attachment text
• guids: array of up to 25 GUIDs — metadata + content only (no attachment text; use a single guid for that). Returns { notes, failed?, aborted? }; on a mid-batch rate limit it stops with partial results plus the guids left to resume.
• format (optional): body projection — markdown (default), text, or enml
• includeContent (optional): include note content (default: true)
• includeAttachmentText (optional, single-note only): extract PDF/OCR attachment text (default: true)

Returned Markdown represents embedded resources with evernote-resource:<hash> URLs. Leave those references intact so attachments stay linked when you edit the note.

evernote_update_note

Update an existing note. Two mutually exclusive modes:

Full-update mode parameters:

• guid (required): Note GUID
• title (optional): New title
• content (optional): New content (Markdown supported)
• notebookName (optional): Move the note to this notebook
• tags (optional): New tags (replaces existing)

Patch mode parameter (replaces the old evernote_patch_note):

• replacements (optional): Array of {find, replace, replaceAll?} find-and-replace edits applied to the note body, preserving title, tags, notebook, and attachments. Cannot be combined with the full-update fields above.

evernote_delete_note

Delete a note.

Parameters:

• guid (required): Note GUID

Notebook Operations

evernote_list_notebooks

List all notebooks in your account, or get one notebook's full detail by passing its name or guid (absorbs the old evernote_get_notebook).

evernote_create_notebook

Create a new notebook.

Parameters:

• name (required): Notebook name
• stack (optional): Stack name for organization

evernote_update_notebook

Rename a notebook or move it between stacks.

Parameters:

• guid (required): Notebook GUID
• name (optional): New notebook name
• stack (optional): Stack name — pass an empty string to remove it from its stack

Tag Operations

evernote_list_tags

List all tags in your account, or get one tag's full detail by passing its name or guid (absorbs the old evernote_get_tag).

evernote_create_tag

Create a new tag.

Parameters:

• name (required): Tag name
• parentTagName (optional): Parent tag for hierarchy

evernote_update_tag

Rename a tag or re-parent it.

Parameters:

• guid (required): Tag GUID
• name (optional): New tag name
• parentTagName (optional): Parent tag name — pass an empty string to remove the parent

Attachments & Resources

evernote_get_resource

Read one attachment, projected through one of four views.

⚠️ Breaking change in 2.0.0. This tool used to return base64 binary data by default. It now returns extracted text by default. Pass as: "binary" to get the old behavior.

Parameters:

• guid (required): Resource GUID (from a note's resources[], via evernote_get_note)
• as (optional, default "text"): How to project the attachment
  • "text" — extracted text. PDFs go through the text layer, falling back to Evernote's OCR data for scanned documents; images use OCR.
  • "binary" — base64-encoded file body.
  • "recognition" — raw Evernote OCR recognition data.
  • "metadata" — filename, MIME type, size, hash, and hasRecognition.
• includeData (optional, deprecated): true maps to as:"binary", false to as:"metadata".

There is no separate tool to list a note's attachments — evernote_get_note returns them in resources[].

Example:

Get the text of the PDF attached to that invoice note

evernote_add_resource_to_note

Attach a local file to an existing note.

Parameters:

• noteGuid (required): Target note GUID
• filePath (required): Path to the local file. Must sit under an allowed root — see EVERNOTE_ALLOWED_FILE_ROOTS (defaults to your home directory and the current working directory).
• filename (optional): Override the attachment's display name

Connection & Account

evernote_connection

Manage the Evernote connection and account. Dispatches on action (replaces the old health_check, get_user_info, reconnect, revoke_auth):

• action:"status" — health/diagnostic check (server + auth state). Pass verbose:true for detailed diagnostics.
• action:"user" — current user information and quota usage.
• action:"reconnect" — force reconnection (useful on "Not connected" errors).
• action:"revoke" — revoke the stored authentication token.

Example:

Check Evernote connection health with verbose details

Polling Operations

evernote_polling

Manage background polling for changes (detected changes are sent to the configured webhook). Dispatches on action (replaces the old start_polling, stop_polling, poll_now, polling_status):

• action:"start" — begin polling on the configured interval.
• action:"stop" — halt polling.
• action:"poll" — check for changes immediately; returns detected changes.
• action:"status" — current polling configuration and state (running, interval, webhook URL, last poll time, error count).

Example:

Start polling for Evernote changes

Search Syntax

Evernote supports advanced search operators:

• intitle:keyword - Search in titles
• notebook:name - Search in specific notebook
• tag:tagname - Search by tag
• created:20240101 - Search by creation date
• updated:day-1 - Recently updated notes
• resource:image/* - Notes with images
• todo:true - Notes with checkboxes
• -tag:archive - Exclude archived notes

Integration with Claude Automation Hub

This MCP server works seamlessly with the Claude Automation Hub for workflow automation:

// Example workflow tool
export default {
  name: 'capture-idea',
  description: 'Capture an idea to Evernote',
  handler: async ({ idea, category }) => {
    // The MCP server handles the Evernote integration
    return {
      tool: 'evernote_create_note',
      args: {
        title: `Idea: ${new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0]}`,
        content: idea,
        notebookName: 'Ideas',
        tags: [category, 'automated']
      }
    };
  }
};

Memory Service Integration

To enable synchronization with MCP memory service:

1. Set the memory service URL in your environment:

MCP_MEMORY_SERVICE_URL=http://localhost:8765

2. Use the sync tools to persist important notes to memory:

Sync my "Important Concepts" notebook to memory for long-term retention

Connection Resilience

The server includes automatic recovery from connection issues:

Automatic Features

• Auto-retry: Failed connections automatically retry after 30 seconds
• Token validation: Expired tokens are detected proactively
• Graceful degradation: Server stays alive during failures
• Clear error messages: Actionable feedback on connection issues

"Not Connected" Errors

If you see "Not connected" errors, the server will usually recover automatically. You can also:

1. Try the reconnect tool (fastest):

   Reconnect to Evernote

2. Check server health:

   Check Evernote connection health with verbose details

3. Re-authenticate if needed:

   • Claude Code: /mcp → Evernote → Authenticate
   • Claude Desktop: npx -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote-auth

For detailed information about connection issues and recovery, see CONNECTION_TROUBLESHOOTING.md.

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

"Authentication required" error in Claude Desktop

This means you haven't authenticated yet. Run the authentication script:

npx -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote-auth

Or if installed globally:

mcp-evernote-auth

OAuth callback fails

If the OAuth callback doesn't work:

1. Make sure port 3000 is available (or set OAUTH_CALLBACK_PORT in .env)
2. Check your firewall settings
3. Try using a different browser

Token expired

If your token expires, the server will now detect this automatically and prompt you to re-authenticate:

1. In Claude Code: Use /mcp command to re-authenticate
2. In Claude Desktop: Run npx -p @verygoodplugins/mcp-evernote mcp-evernote-auth

Or use the reconnect tool to force immediate retry:

Reconnect to Evernote

Connection Errors

The server now handles most connection errors automatically:

• Transient failures: Auto-retry after 30 seconds
• Token expiry: Clear error message with re-auth instructions
• Network issues: Server stays alive and retries

If issues persist:

• Check your API credentials are correct
• Verify you're using the right environment (sandbox vs production)
• See CONNECTION_TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detailed guidance

Rate Limiting

Evernote API has rate limits. If you encounter limits:

• Reduce the frequency of requests
• Use batch operations where possible
• Implement caching for frequently accessed data

Development

Building from Source

npm install
npm run build

Running in Development Mode

npm run dev

Testing

npm test

Linting

npm run lint
npm run format

Security

• Token lookup prefers EVERNOTE_ACCESS_TOKEN, then Claude Code OAuth env, then .evernote-token.json
• Never commit token files to version control
• Use environment variables for sensitive configuration
• Local file attachments are restricted to EVERNOTE_ALLOWED_FILE_ROOTS; by default this is your home directory and the current working directory
• Tokens expire after one year by default

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request against main

License

GPL-3.0 - See LICENSE file for details.

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues

Acknowledgments

• Built with Model Context Protocol SDK
• Powered by Evernote API
• Part of the Very Good Plugins ecosystem

Roadmap

Near Term

• [ ] Tag Management - Add/remove tags from existing notes
• [x] ENML ↔ Markdown Converter - Bidirectional conversion between Evernote's ENML format and Markdown
• [ ] Real-time Sync Hooks - Detect changes made via Evernote desktop/mobile apps
• [ ] Database Monitoring - Watch Evernote DB service for live updates

Future Enhancements

• [ ] Web clipper functionality
• [ ] Rich text editing support
• [ ] File attachment handling
• [ ] Shared notebook support
• [ ] Business account features
• [ ] Template system
• [ ] Bulk operations
• [ ] Export/Import tools
• [ ] Advanced filtering options
• [ ] Reminder management