# Show HN: Snip – Terminal notes app that Claude can read and write via MCP

> Source: <https://github.com/jerichosiahaya/snip>
> Published: 2026-10-02 18:12:13+00:00

Lightweight terminal note-taking app. Rust + SQLite (FTS5 full-text search),
with an [MCP server](#use-snip-from-claude-mcp) so Claude can read and write your notes.

- crates.io: [`snip-notes`](https://crates.io/crates/snip-notes)
- mcp-name: io.github.jerichosiahaya/snip
- License: MIT

```
yay -S snip-notes-bin   # prebuilt binary from the GitHub release
yay -S snip-notes       # or build from source
```

Either installs the `snip` command (use `paru` or `makepkg` if you prefer).
The PKGBUILDs live in [`packaging/aur/`](https://github.com/jerichosiahaya/snip/blob/main/packaging/aur). Each release
updates them and pushes them to the AUR automatically (see
`.github/workflows/aur-publish.yml`; it needs the `AUR_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY`
repository secret).

Requires Rust/Cargo and a C compiler for the bundled SQLite:

```
cargo install snip-notes   # installs the `snip` command into ~/.cargo/bin
```

Download the prebuilt executable—**no Rust or Cargo required**:

```
curl -fLO https://github.com/jerichosiahaya/snip/releases/latest/download/snip-arch-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
curl -fLO https://github.com/jerichosiahaya/snip/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS && \
  tar -xzf snip-arch-linux-x86_64.tar.gz && \
  install -Dm755 snip "$HOME/.local/bin/snip"
```

Run `~/.local/bin/snip`, or `snip` if `~/.local/bin` is on your PATH.
Requires an up-to-date Arch Linux x86-64 system (`glibc`, `gcc-libs`) and
`$EDITOR` or `nano` for editing. SQLite is bundled. This build is not for
ARM or guaranteed compatible with older Linux distributions.

Requires Rust/Cargo and a C compiler for bundled SQLite:

```
cargo build --release --locked
install -Dm755 target/release/snip "$HOME/.local/bin/snip"
```

Release executable: **~1.6 MB**, below the 5 MB budget (excluding system libraries and notes).

Early release: trash/restore is not implemented; deletion is permanent after confirmation. Keep backups of important notes.

```
snip                     # open the interactive TUI
snip add "note text" --tag work    # quick capture, first line = title
snip search "meeting"    # print matching notes
snip search "" --tag work
snip export ~/notes      # every note as a Markdown file (see below)
```

Notes are stored in `$XDG_DATA_HOME/snip.db` (normally `~/.local/share/snip.db`) by default. Override with `snip --db /path/to.db ...`.

```
 snip  / to search                                                 17 notes
──────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────
 Meeting notes             2h │ Meeting notes
 Groceries                 3d │ #work · edited 2h ago
 Book list                 1w │
                              │ Discuss the new feature with the team…
──────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────
 ↑↓ move  ⏎ edit  ^N new  / search  ^Q quit  ^T tag  Del delete
```

The list shows the most recently edited notes first. Terminals 72 columns or wider also show a preview of the selected note; narrower ones show its tags in the list instead.

```
↑↓ PgUp PgDn Home End   move through notes
Enter      edit selected note (opens $EDITOR, falls back to nano)
Ctrl-N     new note
/          search as you type (title + body; every word must match,
           prefixes ok: "meet" finds "meeting"); Enter keeps it, Esc clears it
Ctrl-T     cycle tag filter (all → each tag → all)
Esc        clear search and tag filter
Delete     delete selected note (asks y/N in the footer)
Ctrl-Q     quit
```

Note format: first line = title, the rest = body. Works in your normal editor;
`$EDITOR` may include arguments, e.g. `EDITOR="code -w"`.

`snip mcp` runs a [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)
server on stdin/stdout, so Claude can save, find and update your notes. It
uses the same database as the interactive app, and both can be open at once.

**Claude Code:**

```
claude mcp add --scope user snip -- "$(command -v snip)" mcp
```

**Claude Desktop:** add this to `claude_desktop_config.json` (Settings →
Developer → Edit Config), using the absolute path to `snip` (`command -v snip`
prints it: `~/.cargo/bin/snip` after `cargo install`, `~/.local/bin/snip` for
the prebuilt download), then restart Claude Desktop:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "snip": { "command": "/home/YOU/.local/bin/snip", "args": ["mcp"] }
  }
}
```

To use a different database, put `--db /path/to.db` before `mcp` in either
command.

Claude gets these tools:

| Tool | Does | 
|---|---|
| `search_notes` | find notes by words (prefixes ok) and/or tag; no query lists recent notes | 
| `get_note` | read one note in full | 
| `list_tags` | all tags in use | 
| `create_note` | save a new note (title, body, tags) | 
| `append_to_note` | add text to the end of a note | 
| `update_note` | change a note's title, body or tags | 

There is deliberately no delete tool: deleting notes stays something you do
in the app. `update_note` can still replace a note's body, so keep backups
(below) if Claude edits important notes.

- Source of truth: the SQLite DB (WAL mode). Use SQLite's `.backup` command for a consistent backup, including while the app is open:

```
sqlite3 "${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/snip.db" ".backup 'snip-backup.db'"
```

- **Markdown export:**`snip export [DIR] [--tag NAME]` writes one`.md` file per
note (DIR defaults to`./snip-export` ). Each file has YAML front matter that
Obsidian and other Markdown tools read, then the title as a heading and the
body:
Files are named after the title (

```
---
title: "Meeting notes"
tags: ["work", "q4"]
created: 2026-10-02T16:49:00Z
updated: 2026-10-02T17:12:00Z
snip_id: 12
---

# Meeting notes

- ship the redesign
```

 `meeting-notes.md` ; the note id is added if
two titles clash) and their modification time is the note's last edit.
Exporting again overwrites those files and leaves anything else in DIR alone,
so a note that was renamed or deleted keeps its old file until you remove it.

```
cargo test   # regression: FTS stays consistent across create/update/delete
```