servers / cairn-mcp-server

cairn-mcp-server

communityunknownpythondestructive capablehealthy

MCP server exposing Cairn's local-first file-organization tools to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and any MCP client.


01Tools · 21

How to read this: tool names here are observed from a live tools/list handshake. The Risk label is a heuristic inferred from the tool name (write/destructive verbs), not from executing the tool — a conservative guess, not a verified capability. We never escalate risk from a description. Found one that's wrong? Tell us — we fix on report.

ToolRiskSide effectsApproval
get_file_tree
Return the nested file/folder tree under a directory (default: whole workspace).
readfalseunknown
get_file_tags
Return a document's tags — from a .uni's tags array or a text file's YAML frontmatter.
readfalseunknown
list_templates
List available document templates (built-ins + workspace .cairn/templates).
readfalseunknown
update_file_tags
Replace a document's tags — in a .uni's tags array or a text file's YAML frontmatter.
writetrueunknown
multi_edit
Replace a single, unique occurrence of `old_string` with `new_string` in a file.
writetrueunknown
list_dir
List files and folders directly under a workspace-relative directory.
readfalseunknown
grep
Search file contents for `pattern`; returns {path, line, text} matches.
readfalseunknown
read_detail
Read a file. For .uni docs returns HTML content, flattened text, and tags; for text/.md files returns raw text plus any YAML frontmatter tags & metadata.
readfalseunknown
get_tag_tree
Return {tag: [file paths]} aggregated across the workspace.
readfalseunknown
search_files
Find files/folders whose name contains `query` (case-insensitive).
readfalseunknown
find_by_meta
Find documents whose metadata matches all `filters` (exact, not fuzzy). Reads .uni JSON fields and .md YAML frontmatter alike. Scalar fields match case-insensitively; `tags` (or any list field) matches when every requested value is present. Example: {"status": "to-read", "project": "amazon"}.
readfalseunknown
create_file
Create a file under `path`. If `name` ends in .uni, wraps content as a .uni doc. Pass `template` (e.g. "paper", "note" — see list_templates) with `fields` to stamp out a document with frontmatter pre-filled; `content` is then ignored.
writetrueunknown
digest_workspace
Return a token-efficient map of the workspace: one entry (title, date, tags, summary) per document, grouped by `folder`, `tag`, or a metadata field like `status`/`project`. Read this before loading individual files.
readfalseunknown
create_folder
Create a new folder `name` under `path`.
writetrueunknown
reindex
Build/refresh the embedding index (no-op if no embedder is configured).
unknownunknownunknown
semantic_retrieve
Return the documents most relevant to `query`. Uses embeddings when an embedding endpoint is configured (env), else lexical scoring.
readfalseunknown
import_document
Convert a docx/pdf/pptx/csv/xlsx/md/text file into an editable .uni doc. The original file is kept. Returns the new .uni item.
readfalseunknown
rename_item
Rename a file or folder in place (bare name, not a path).
writetrueunknown
import_folder
Import every convertible (non-.uni) file under a folder into .uni docs. Returns a summary with counts and per-file results (including skips).
readfalseunknown
move_item
Move a file or folder into `target_dir`.
writetrueunknown
delete_item
Delete a file or folder (recursive for folders).
destructivetruetrue

02Install & source
uvx cairn-mcp-server
uvx
pip install cairn-mcp-server
pip

03Access granted
Read & write files · write

The access this server can exercise, inferred from its verified tools — not a declared OAuth scope.


05Provenance & freshness
sourcesPyPI [p4]
last_checked2026-07-18 08:42Z
next_check2026-07-20 08:42Z
cadenceevery 48h
verifiedtools_list:passed handshake:passed metadata:passed
index_statusindex6 unique facts >= 5

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