Claude and your notes
Give Claude access to your notes.
Every time you paste notes into Claude, you make a judgment call about what's relevant before Claude can. That call is often wrong. Plain .md files in a folder let Claude look at everything and find the connection you missed.
Last updated by Thomas Sivilay.
The copy-paste problem is a selection problem.
You write a proposal. You ask Claude to sharpen the argument. You paste in three notes and some background. Claude does well with what you gave it.
But the best connection would have been between a fourth note (the one from the meeting two weeks ago) and a project goal you didn't paste. You made that judgment before Claude could see anything. A second reader is supposed to catch what you missed, not re-read the same selection you already curated.
Inside an app, you always face that choice. With plain files in a folder, Claude can open the folder. The selection happens after Claude looks, not before.
What changes with a file vault.
You stop picking what matters before Claude can.
When you paste notes in, you've already filtered them. Plain files let Claude look at everything and surface the connection you didn't think to include.
The vault is just a folder. Claude can open it.
Claude can grep for a term, check a file by name, and pull in only what's relevant. You keep a folder, not a paste buffer.
Fast capture keeps the vault current.
Raven opens in under a second. Write the thought, close the app. The note is there the next time Claude looks at the folder.
For reads, folder access is enough.
Any editor, grep, Claude Desktop, or MCP filesystem server can read the vault. Raven Companion is only needed if you want Raven-aware edits.
Reads need no special setup.
Claude Desktop, Cursor, ripgrep, and any MCP filesystem server can read a vault of plain .md files with folder access. You point them at the folder. That's it for reads.
Raven Companion adds Raven-aware write operations: it reads with permission and edits using hash-guarded operations that protect notes from overwrites. Companion does not delete, move, or archive notes. That boundary is deliberate.
The folder is the context.
Notes inside an app are invisible until you export them. Notes in a vault folder are already there, findable by topic, date, or keyword, whenever you point a tool at it.
How to set it up.
Open Raven and create a vault folder, or point it at an existing folder of .md files.
In Claude Desktop, add the vault folder as an allowed directory in your MCP filesystem config. In Cursor or a local MCP client, grant folder read access.
Ask Claude to search the vault or reference notes by topic. It can grep headings, scan file names, and find connections across notes you didn't mention.
For Raven-aware writes (not just reads), install Raven Companion. It reads with permission and edits using hash-guarded operations that protect notes from overwrites.
What this does not do.
Claude does not have ambient access to your vault. You grant folder access through Claude Desktop settings or your MCP client config. Claude sees what you give it access to, nothing more. You can revoke that access the same way you granted it.
Why Raven for the vault.
Raven stores every note as a plain .md file you can see in Finder. It opens in under a second, so you capture things instead of deferring them. Write the note. Claude can read it. No export in between.
Read the full AI-friendly notes guideStart with a plain file vault.
Raven is a native Mac, iPhone, and iPad notes app that stores every note as a .md file in a folder you control. Claude reads the folder. You keep the notes.
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Read how to keep notes usable by AI agents