ra-h-os/docs/8_mcp.md

RA-H MCP Server

How to connect Claude Code and other AI assistants to your knowledge base.

How it works: The RA-H desktop app runs a local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. This lets any MCP-compatible assistant — like Claude Code — search your notes, add new knowledge, and extract content from URLs. Everything stays on your Mac; nothing goes to the cloud.

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Quick Start

1. Launch the RA-H desktop app (it boots the MCP server automatically)
2. Open Settings → External Agents inside RA-H and copy the connector URL
3. Configure your assistant (see below)
4. Talk naturally: "Summarize this and add it to RA-H"

Available Tools

Tool	Description
rah_add_node	Create a new node (title/content/dimensions)
rah_search_nodes	Search existing nodes before creating duplicates
rah_youtube_extract	Extract transcript from YouTube video
rah_website_extract	Extract content from web page
rah_paper_extract	Extract text from PDF

Claude Code Configuration

Add to your ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ra-h": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/<you>/Desktop/dev/ra-h/apps/mcp-server/stdio-server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Or use the HTTP transport if you prefer:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ra-h": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:44145/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: The RA-H desktop app must be running for the MCP server to work.

Claude Desktop (STDIO)

Claude Desktop expects STDIO-based servers. Point it at:

node /Users/<you>/Desktop/dev/ra-h/apps/mcp-server/stdio-server.js

This script speaks MCP over stdin/stdout. Keep the main RA-H app running so the STDIO bridge can call http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/nodes.

HTTP Transport

For assistants that support HTTP transport:

1. Copy the URL from Settings → External Agents (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:44145/mcp)
2. Add as HTTP connector in your assistant

Example Usage

Once connected, you can:

"Search RA-H for what I wrote about product strategy"
"Add this conversation summary to RA-H as a new node"
"Extract the transcript from this YouTube video and save to RA-H"
"Find connections between my notes on AI agents"

Guardrails

• The MCP server only binds to 127.0.0.1 — for your agents only
• Everything is persisted to ~/Library/Application Support/RA-H/db/rah.sqlite
• Disable with RAH_ENABLE_MCP=false before launching (UI toggle coming)
• Health check: curl http://127.0.0.1:44145/status

Development

• HTTP server: apps/mcp-server/server.js
• STDIO bridge: apps/mcp-server/stdio-server.js
• Sidecar launcher: apps/mac/scripts/sidecar-launcher.js
• Status file: ~/Library/Application Support/RA-H/config/mcp-status.json

To run standalone (for MCP Inspector):

node apps/mcp-server/server.js

Requires the Next.js sidecar to be running.