ExplicitFormula

Your notes

Give every AI you use your second brain.

Your notes live on your computer, and they stay there. This connects them to the AI you already use — so it can search your notes, quote them by name, and save new notes back, linked to where they came from. Nothing is shared until you choose which folders.

Pick the AI you use

One path per app. You only need one.

Claude Desktop easiest — nothing else to install

  1. Download the add-on file below.
  2. Double-click it. Claude Desktop opens and asks to install — click Install.
  3. Answer two questions: where your notes folder is, and which folders inside it the AI may read. Done.
Download the add-onsecond-brain-0.1.0.mcpb · 3.0 MB · Windows, Mac, Linux

You can change the shared folders anytime in Claude Desktop under Settings → Extensions. Don’t have Claude Desktop? Get it here (free). The add-on is not yet signed, so Claude Desktop may show a notice at install.

Check the file (for the careful)

Bundle sha256 5f1e4621f7f3bcbe229b7fd63ce22aa7405c1eeb2c4f534c35f708aaa025c094. The server file inside is byte-identical to the published package @travisbergen2/second-brain-mcp@0.1.0 (sha256 a50dc475c04c8cc387e5525a3010769be6a7a6c44d0877fc3cab0addfc85c163). Release notes and the test record: the release page.

Type or paste the folder path once and every button and snippet below fills it in. Examples: C:\Users\you\Documents\Notes (Windows), /Users/you/Notes (Mac), /home/you/Notes (Linux). Leave it blank and the links show /path/to/your/notes for you to replace later.

Cursor for coding-tool users

  1. Click the button. Cursor opens and asks to add “second-brain” — accept.
  2. Check the folder path it shows is your notes folder (it comes from the field above).
Add to Cursor

Cursor runs the connector with a free helper program called Node, which coding setups already have.

VS Code for coding-tool users

  1. Click the button. VS Code opens and asks to add the server — accept.
  2. Check the folder path it shows is your notes folder.
Add to VS Code

Claude Code terminal

Paste this one line into the terminal:

claude mcp add second-brain -- npx -y @travisbergen2/second-brain-mcp --vault /path/to/your/notes

Windsurf · Gemini CLI · LM Studio paste-in setup

All of these use the same snippet:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "second-brain": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@travisbergen2/second-brain-mcp",
        "--vault",
        "/path/to/your/notes"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Where to paste it
  • Windsurf: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
  • Gemini CLI: ~/.gemini/settings.json
  • LM Studio: mcp.json (inside the app)
  • Claude Desktop (manual way): claude_desktop_config.json — Settings → Developer → Edit Config

For developers: this is the open connector standard known as MCP; any app that can run a local (stdio) server works.

ChatGPT not yet

ChatGPT connects only to things on the internet, not to files on your computer. So it can’t reach your notes this way yet. Our own app, which is coming, will cover this.

No notes yet? Start your brain today

A second brain is just a folder of notes. These free tools fill it fast.

Obsidian for Windows, Mac, or Linux →

The free notes app this pairs best with. It draws your notes as a map that grows as the AI saves notes back.

Obsidian for Android →

Use your phone’s Share button to send anything into your notes.

Web Clipper for Chrome →

Turns the page you are reading into a note with one click.

Web Clipper for Firefox →

Same clipper, for Firefox.

Importer — bring notes from Notion, Evernote, Google Keep, Word… →

The official importer moves your old notes in.

Drag and drop

Any text file dropped into the folder becomes part of the brain. No app required.

What leaves your computer

  • Everything starts OFF. Until you choose folders, every request is refused and nothing is read.
  • Small by design. A search shares at most 6 short snippets — about 2,400 characters, roughly half a page — per question.
  • Everything is disclosed. Every answer lists exactly which notes were used and how much was shared.
  • Your notes keep receipts. A log note records every request — yours to read, edit, or delete.
  • Saving is safe. The AI can only create new notes in one folder. It can never change or delete anything.
  • One destination. Your notes go only to the AI app you connected — nowhere else. Nothing is hosted by us. No tracking.

Honesty note: once a snippet reaches the AI app, its handling is governed by that app and its provider — the same as anything you type there. Full details in the connector’s documentation.

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