jrnl

You can run an MCP server for jrnl to provide read-only access to journal entries from the command-line journal tool. This setup lets clients query, filter, and analyze your journals through a lightweight, local MCP server that you control.

How to use

You connect to the jrnl MCP server from an MCP client to read your journal data. The server exposes a set of tools that let you search entries, list tags with usage counts, retrieve statistics, analyze tag co-occurrence, list journals, and switch the active journal. Use the client to issue read-only requests to these endpoints and receive structured results that you can display or filter in your workflow.

How to install

Prerequisites You must have Node.js 18 or higher installed, and you should have jrnl installed and configured on your system.

Install dependencies and prepare the MCP server for use. Run the following commands in your project directory:

npm install
npm run build
npm link  # Install globally as jrnl-mcp command

Configure your Claude Desktop client (for easy access)

If you use Claude Desktop, you can point it at the jrnl MCP server so Claude can query your journals directly. Create or edit the Claude configuration to include the jrnl MCP server. The basic configuration maps the server name to the command you use to start the MCP server.

Example configuration (macOS): Location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jrnl": {
      "command": "jrnl-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Alternative local start (without a global install)

If you are developing locally and have not installed the MCP command globally, run the server through Node directly using the built distribution.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jrnl": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<path-to-project>/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Available tools

The jrnl MCP server provides a set of read-only tools to interact with your journal data.

Available tools

search_entries

Search journal entries with filters to retrieve matching entries based on content, date, tags, or other metadata.

list_tags

List all tags used in entries along with their usage counts.

get_statistics

Retrieve statistics about your journals, such as counts, date ranges, and activity levels.

analyze_tag_cooccurrence

Analyze how tags co-occur across entries to reveal common themes.

list_journals

List available journals that you can query or switch between.

set_journal

Switch the active journal to a different one for subsequent queries.