TheBrain

You can connect Claude and other MCP clients to TheBrain’s knowledge management system through a dedicated MCP server. This server translates natural language requests into TheBrain API calls, enabling you to create, organize, attach, search, and manage your Brain content using plain English. The result is a practical bridge that unlocks powerful content management without you needing to write API calls yourself.

How to use

Describing what you want in plain English is all you need. You tell the MCP client what you want to do, for example creating a project and its structure, attaching files, or linking related thoughts. The MCP server handles translating your request into TheBrain API calls and updates your Brain accordingly. You can switch between brains, manage thoughts and notes, and perform full-text searches across thoughts, notes, and attachments. When things work, you’ll see your changes reflected in TheBrain and you’ll continue to describe your next action in natural language.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Node.js installed on your machine. You will also run a local MCP server process that expects your TheBrain API key.

# 1. Clone the MCP server repository
git clone https://github.com/redmorestudio/thebrain-mcp.git
cd thebrain-mcp

# 2. Install runtime dependencies
npm install

# 3. Prepare environment with your TheBrain API key
# Create a local env file or export variables in your shell
# Example with a .env file
echo 'THEBRAIN_API_KEY=your_api_key_here' > .env
```}]} ,{

Configuration and runtime details

To run the MCP server locally, you configure a stdio (local) MCP connection so your MCP client can start the server process directly on your machine.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thebrain": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/thebrain-mcp/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "THEBRAIN_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}
````}]} ,{

Security and best practices

Keep your API key secure. Do not share the key or commit it to version control. Use separate keys for development and production environments if available. When testing, set an active brain to ensure operations affect the correct workspace.

If you encounter issues during startup or operation, verify that the API key is correctly loaded, and confirm you have access to the target brain. Remember that some visual styling features may not render even if API calls succeed.

Troubleshooting

Common issues include connection timing and memory constraints when attaching large files. If you see intermittent errors, restart the client, re-check the API key, and ensure the active brain is set. For long notes, keep content under 10k characters and consider splitting very long notes into multiple thoughts.

Enable verbose debugging to diagnose problems by running the server with verbose logging enabled in your environment.

Notes and known limitations

The MCP server focuses on content management and organization. Visual styling features, such as colors and link thickness, are currently non-functional even though API calls return success. Plan your workflows around content operations and relationships rather than styling.

The system operates in a single-user mode without real-time collaboration and does not support bulk import/export. An active internet connection to TheBrain API is required.

Available tools

list_brains

List all brains available to the API client

get_brain

Retrieve detailed information about a specific brain

set_active_brain

Set which brain is currently active for subsequent operations

get_brain_stats

Fetch comprehensive statistics about a brain

create_thought

Create a new thought in a brain (visual properties may not render yet)

get_thought

Retrieve details for a specific thought

update_thought

Update properties of an existing thought

delete_thought

Remove a thought from the brain

search_thoughts

Search thoughts, notes, and attachments using full-text queries

get_thought_graph

Obtain a thought with its connections and relationships

get_types

List all thought types available in the brain

get_tags

List all tags associated with thoughts

create_link

Create a link between two thoughts (styling not applied)

update_link

Modify properties of an existing link

get_link

Retrieve details of a link between thoughts

delete_link

Remove a link between thoughts

add_file_attachment

Attach files or images to a thought

add_url_attachment

Attach web URLs to a thought with optional title extraction

get_attachment

Fetch attachment metadata

get_attachment_content

Download attachment content

delete_attachment

Remove attachments from a thought

list_attachments

List all attachments for a thought

get_note

Retrieve a note in markdown/html/text formats

create_or_update_note

Create a new note or update an existing one

append_to_note

Append content to an existing note

get_modifications

View brain modification history