Connecting an AI app to TalkBar takes two steps: turn MCP on in Settings → MCP Access, then copy the ready-made setup for your app. TalkBar fills in the real paths for your computer, so you never have to type them.

Before you start

TalkBar is installed on this computer.
Your AI app supports local MCP servers (the kind that start a program on your computer, often called "stdio" servers).
If your organization manages TalkBar, MCP may be turned off for you. See Administrator rules.

Turn on MCP

Open Settings → MCP Access.
Turn on the switch at the top right of the page. It changes from Disabled to Enabled.
Check the badge next to the page title:

Badge	What it means
Ready	TalkBar found `talkbar-cli` and it answered. You can connect your app.
Missing	TalkBar could not find `talkbar-cli`. Reinstall TalkBar.
Error	`talkbar-cli` was found but failed to start. A warning above the page shows its message.
Disabled	MCP is off. Connected apps see no TalkBar tools.

When MCP is on, reading is allowed and most changes are not. You can change that later in Access and permissions.

Copy the setup for your app

The MCP Connect card shows one button per app. Pick yours, then use Copy app MCP Connect under the code box. Depending on the app, you get either a JSON block to paste into its settings or a command to run in a terminal.

Every setup does the same thing: it tells your app to start talkbar-cli with serve --transport stdio, and sets TALKBAR_DATA_ROOT to your TalkBar data folder.

The examples use placeholders for the executable and data folder. Replace them with the paths shown in MCP Access, or copy the ready-made setup from TalkBar. The executable name and paths depend on your operating system. Escape backslashes in JSON paths (or use forward slashes where supported).

Copy the JSON and add it to Claude Desktop's configuration file, claude_desktop_config.json (in Claude Desktop: Settings → Developer → Edit Config). If the file already has an mcpServers section, add the talkbar entry inside it. Then quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "talkbar": {
      "command": "PATH_TO_TALKBAR_CLI",
      "args": [
        "serve",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TALKBAR_DATA_ROOT": "PATH_TO_TALKBAR_DATA"
      }
    }
  }
}

After you add TalkBar, restart your app or reload its MCP servers. Then ask it something like "What TalkBar sessions did I have this week?" to check the connection. See Examples for more.

Copy the serve command

Copy CLI MCP Serve Command copies the platform-specific command to start the MCP server manually. Run the copied command in a terminal for testing or for a client that needs one command.

The server then waits for an MCP client on standard input. Press Ctrl+C to stop it.

Where talkbar-cli is installed

talkbar-cli is installed with TalkBar. The Server Settings card on MCP Access shows:

Setting	What it shows
Executable path	The full path to `talkbar-cli`. Copy copies it.
Add to PATH	Copies a command to add the executable folder to your PATH. Follow the command shown for your system, then open a new terminal to use `talkbar-cli` by name.
Data root	Your TalkBar data folder. Copy copies it.

TALKBAR_DATA_ROOT

TALKBAR_DATA_ROOT tells talkbar-cli which TalkBar data folder to open. TalkBar's ready-made setups always set it to the folder the app uses, shown as Data root.

The default data folder is %LOCALAPPDATA%\TalkBar. Check Data root for the path in use.

Point it only at a TalkBar data folder. A folder without TalkBar data gets a new, empty database, and the assistant would see an empty workspace.
To open a database file directly from the command line, use --db instead. See talkbar-cli.

After a TalkBar update

Installing a TalkBar update closes any talkbar-cli that is running from the app folder, including MCP servers your AI apps started. If an app loses its TalkBar tools after an update, restart the app or reconnect its TalkBar server.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to try
The app shows no TalkBar tools	Check that MCP is Enabled in MCP Access. If the app connected while MCP was off, restart the app or reconnect TalkBar.
The assistant says an operation "is turned off in TalkBar"	Turn that operation on in MCP Access. See Access and permissions.
The assistant sees an empty workspace	Check that `TALKBAR_DATA_ROOT` in your app's setup matches Data root in MCP Access. Copy the setup again if you moved your data.
Deletes are refused with `confirmation_unavailable`	Your app cannot ask you to confirm. See Confirming deletes.
The badge shows Missing	TalkBar cannot find `talkbar-cli`. Reinstall TalkBar.
The page is locked with a notice from your organization	An administrator turned off the MCP server or the command-line tool on this computer.

MCP and CLI overview

What TalkBar's MCP server and talkbar-cli let an AI assistant do with your sessions, notes and knowledge, and what always stays in the app.

The five MCP tools

How talkbar_find, talkbar_read, talkbar_change, talkbar_delete and talkbar_tools work, with their arguments, batches, annotations, paging and wire format.

Set up MCP