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Point any agent that can run a command, or a script of your own, at your notes with one line. You do not need to know what MCP is or edit a configuration file. Cleft writes the line for you, and the agent learns the rest from the command itself. Use this route when your agent is not in the Agent Access list, or when you want a script to read your notes. It also suits anyone who prefers one line in a file they already keep. For Claude Desktop, Cursor, and the other apps Cleft names, the setup on the Agent Access page is shorter.

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Get your command

  1. Open Cleft > Settings > Agent Access.
  2. Turn on Let AI tools read your notes and choose a source.
  3. Select Use it from the command line.
  4. Select Copy command.
The command stays hidden until you ask for it, so the pane is safe to share. It names the source your agent reads and the Cleft helper on this Mac, and it ends in --help. Run it in Terminal once to see what the helper can do. The helper lists notes list, notes search, notes show, notes export, and tags list. The line looks like this, with your own folder and helper filled in:
Replace --help with a command from that list to read your notes. For example, notes search "budget" finds every note that mentions the budget. The copied line contains paths from your Mac. Use the instructions file in your home folder if others can see or commit the project file.

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What the command line can read

The command line only reads. It cannot create, edit, delete, archive, or share a note. It reads the source you chose in Agent Access: your Local Export folder on this Mac, or your Cleft account library with Plus. It sees your own notes and tag names and skips Cleft’s system notes. Your account key never appears in the command. Cleft keeps it in your Mac’s Keychain.

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Claude Code

Add one line to CLAUDE.md in the folder you work in: “To read my Cleft notes, run” followed by the command you copied. Claude Code reads that file at the start of every session. Put the line in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md instead to make it apply to every folder. If your project already uses AGENTS.md, you can put the line there instead. By default, Claude Code reads it only when no CLAUDE.md or CLAUDE.local.md applies to your folder. If either Claude file applies, put the line in that file.

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Codex

Add the same line to AGENTS.md in the folder you work in. Codex reads it before every task. Put the line in ~/.codex/AGENTS.md to make it apply to every folder.

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Gemini CLI

Add the same line to GEMINI.md in the folder you work in. Gemini CLI sends that file with every prompt. Put the line in ~/.gemini/GEMINI.md to make it apply to every folder.

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OpenCode

Add the same line to AGENTS.md in the folder you work in. OpenCode uses the first file it finds. Put the line in ~/.config/opencode/AGENTS.md to make it apply to every folder.

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Another agent with a shell tool

Give the copied line to your agent and ask it to run the line ending in --help first. Then ask it to replace --help with a note command, such as notes search "budget". If your agent has an instructions file, use its own guide to find that file. Put the line there if you want the agent to remember it. Otherwise, give it the line when you need it.

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A shell script

Paste the command into your script and replace --help with the command you want. Add --json to get output your script can parse.
The script sees the same notes an agent sees, and it cannot change them either.

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Stop an agent reading your notes

Remove the line from the agent’s instructions file, then stop that agent. A running agent may remember a command it already saw. Remove the command from any script that uses it, then stop the script. The command line never registers with Cleft, so How to disconnect in Agent Access lists nothing for it. Turning Agent Access off stops Cleft offering the command. It does not stop an agent that already has the line. Turning Local Export off stops new exports. It does not remove files already in the folder or stop a copied command from reading them. Delete exported files you no longer want in that folder.
Last modified on September 29, 2026