Apple Reminders MCP Server

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A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides native integration with Apple Reminders on macOS. This server allows you to interact with Apple Reminders through a standardized interface with comprehensive management capabilities.

Features

Core Functionality

• List Management: View all reminders and reminder lists with advanced filtering options
• Reminder Operations: Full CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) for reminders across lists
• Rich Content Support: Complete support for titles, notes, due dates, URLs, and completion status
• Native macOS Integration: Direct integration with Apple Reminders using EventKit framework

Advanced Features

• Smart Organization: Automatic categorization and intelligent filtering by priority, due date, category, or completion status
• Powerful Search: Multi-criteria filtering including completion status, due date ranges, and full-text search
• Batch Operations: Efficient handling of multiple reminders with optimized data access patterns
• Permission Management: Automatic validation and request for required macOS system permissions
• Flexible Date Handling: Support for multiple date formats (YYYY-MM-DD, ISO 8601) with timezone awareness
• Unicode Support: Full international character support with comprehensive input validation

Technical Excellence

• Clean Architecture: 4-layer architecture following Clean Architecture principles with dependency injection
• Type Safety: Complete TypeScript coverage with Zod schema validation for runtime type checking
• High Performance: Swift-compiled binaries for performance-critical Apple Reminders operations
• Robust Error Handling: Consistent error responses with detailed diagnostic information
• Repository Pattern: Data access abstraction with standardized CRUD operations
• Functional Programming: Pure functions with immutable data structures where appropriate

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later
• macOS (required for Apple Reminders integration)
• Xcode Command Line Tools (required for compiling Swift code)
• pnpm (recommended for package management)

Quick Start

Install globally via npm:

npm install -g mcp-server-apple-reminders

Configuration

Configure Cursor

1. Open Cursor
2. Open Cursor settings
3. Click on "MCP" in the sidebar
4. Click "Add new global MCP server"
5. Configure the server with the following settings:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "apple-reminders": {
         "command": "mcp-server-apple-reminders",
         "args": []
       }
     }
   }

Configure ChatWise

1. Open ChatWise
2. Go to Settings
3. Navigate to the Tools section
4. Click the "+" button
5. Configure the tool with the following settings:
   • Type: stdio
   • ID: apple-reminders
   • Command: mcp-server-apple-reminders
   • Args: (leave empty)

Configure Claude Desktop

You need to configure Claude Desktop to recognize the Apple Reminders MCP server. There are two ways to access the configuration:

Option 1: Through Claude Desktop UI

1. Open Claude Desktop app
2. Enable Developer Mode from the top-left menu bar
3. Open Settings and navigate to the Developer Option
4. Click the Edit Config button to open claude_desktop_config.json

Option 2: Direct File Access

For macOS:

code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

For Windows:

code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add Server Configuration

Add the following configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-reminders": {
      "command": "mcp-server-apple-reminders",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop

For the changes to take effect:

1. Completely quit Claude Desktop (not just close the window)
2. Start Claude Desktop again
3. Look for the tool icon to verify the Apple Reminders server is connected

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can ask Claude to interact with your Apple Reminders. Here are some example prompts:

Creating Reminders

Create a reminder to "Buy groceries" for tomorrow at 5 PM.
Add a reminder to "Call mom" with a note "Ask about weekend plans".
Create a reminder in my "Work" list to "Submit report" due next Friday.
Create a reminder with URL "Check this website: https://google.com".

Update Reminders

Update the reminder "Buy groceries" with a new title "Buy organic groceries".
Update "Call mom" reminder to be due today at 6 PM.
Update the reminder "Submit report" and mark it as completed.
Change the notes on "Buy groceries" to "Don't forget milk and eggs".

Managing Reminders

Show me all my reminders.
List all reminders in my "Shopping" list.
Show my completed reminders.

Working with Lists

Show all my reminder lists.
Show reminders from my "Work" list.

The server will:

• Process your natural language requests
• Interact with Apple's native Reminders app
• Return formatted results to Claude
• Maintain native integration with macOS

Structured Prompt Library

The server ships with a consolidated prompt registry exposed via the MCP ListPrompts and GetPrompt endpoints. Each template shares a mission, context inputs, numbered process, constraints, output format, and quality bar so downstream assistants receive predictable scaffolding instead of brittle free-form examples.

• daily-task-organizer — optional task_category (work, personal, health, shopping, etc.), priority_level (low, medium, high, urgent), and time_frame (today, this week, later this month) inputs produce a same-day execution blueprint that keeps priority work balanced with recovery time. Supports intelligent task clustering, focus block scheduling, and automatic reminder list organization.
• smart-reminder-creator — requires task_description, optionally context and urgency (low, medium, high, critical), yielding a reminder draft that mitigates follow-through gaps by mapping metadata explicitly.
• reminder-review-assistant — optional review_type (overdue, completed, upcoming, all) and list_name drive inbox triage scripts that surface stale reminders while avoiding destructive edits.
• weekly-planning-workflow — optional user_ideas (your thoughts and ideas for what you want to accomplish this week) guides a Monday-through-Sunday reset with time blocks tied to existing lists.
• reminder-cleanup-guide — optional cleanup_strategy (archive_completed, delete_old, reorganize_lists, merge_duplicates) lists guardrails and sequencing for stress-free list pruning.
• goal-tracking-setup — required goal_type (habit, project, learning, health, financial) plus optional time_horizon (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) assemble recurring reminders and reflection cadences.

Design constraints and validation

• Prompts are intentionally constrained to native Apple Reminders capabilities (no third-party automations) and ask for missing context before committing to irreversible actions.
• Shared formatting keeps outputs renderable as Markdown sections or tables without extra parsing glue in client applications.
• Run pnpm test -- src/server/prompts.test.ts to assert metadata, schema compatibility, and narrative assembly each time you amend prompt copy.

Available MCP Tools

This server provides two unified MCP tools for comprehensive Apple Reminders management:

Reminders Tool

Tool Name: reminders

A comprehensive tool for managing Apple Reminders with action-based operations. Supports all reminder operations through a single unified interface.

Actions: read, create, update, delete

Main Handler Functions:

• handleReadReminders() - Read reminders with filtering options
• handleCreateReminder() - Create new reminders
• handleUpdateReminder() - Update existing reminders
• handleDeleteReminder() - Delete reminders

Parameters by Action

Read Action (action: "read"):

• id (optional): Unique identifier of a specific reminder to read
• filterList (optional): Name of the reminder list to show
• showCompleted (optional): Include completed reminders (default: false)
• search (optional): Search term to filter reminders by title or content
• dueWithin (optional): Filter by due date range ("today", "tomorrow", "this-week", "overdue", "no-date")

Create Action (action: "create"):

• title (required): Title of the reminder
• dueDate (optional): Due date in format 'YYYY-MM-DD' or 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss'
• targetList (optional): Name of the reminders list to add to
• note (optional): Note text to attach to the reminder
• url (optional): URL to associate with the reminder

Update Action (action: "update"):

• id (required): Unique identifier of the reminder to update
• title (optional): New title for the reminder
• dueDate (optional): New due date in format 'YYYY-MM-DD' or 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss'
• note (optional): New note text
• url (optional): New URL to attach to the reminder
• completed (optional): Mark reminder as completed/uncompleted
• targetList (optional): Name of the list containing the reminder

Delete Action (action: "delete"):

• id (required): Unique identifier of the reminder to delete

Example Usage

{
  "action": "create",
  "title": "Buy groceries",
  "dueDate": "2024-03-25 18:00:00",
  "targetList": "Shopping",
  "note": "Don't forget milk and eggs",
  "url": "https://example.com/shopping-list"
}

{
  "action": "read",
  "filterList": "Work",
  "showCompleted": false,
  "dueWithin": "today"
}

{
  "action": "delete",
  "id": "reminder-123"
}

Lists Tool

Tool Name: lists

Manage reminder lists - view existing lists or create new ones for organizing reminders.

Actions: read, create, update, delete

Main Handler Functions:

• handleReadReminderLists() - Read all reminder lists
• handleCreateReminderList() - Create new reminder lists
• handleUpdateReminderList() - Update existing reminder lists
• handleDeleteReminderList() - Delete reminder lists

Parameters by Action

Read Action (action: "read"):

• No additional parameters required

Create Action (action: "create"):

• name (required): Name for new reminder list

Update Action (action: "update"):

• name (required): Current name of the list to update
• newName (required): New name for the reminder list

Delete Action (action: "delete"):

• name (required): Name of the list to delete

Example Usage

{
  "action": "create",
  "name": "Project Alpha"
}

Response Formats

Success Response:

{
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "Successfully created reminder: Buy groceries"
    }
  ],
  "isError": false
}

Note about URL fields: The url field is fully supported by EventKit API. When you create or update a reminder with a URL parameter, the URL is stored in two places for maximum compatibility:

1. EventKit URL field: The URL is stored in the native url property (visible in Reminders app detail view via the "i" icon)
2. Notes field: The URL is also appended to the notes using a structured format for parsing

Dual Storage Approach:

• URL field: Stores a single URL for native Reminders app display
• Notes field: Stores URLs in a structured format for parsing and multiple URL support

Reminder note content here...

URLs:
- https://example.com
- https://another-url.com

This ensures URLs are accessible both in the Reminders app UI and through the API/notes for parsing.

URL Extraction: You can extract URLs from reminder notes using the structured format or regex fallback:

// Using the structured format (recommended)
import { extractUrlsFromNotes, parseReminderNote } from './urlHelpers';

// Extract just URLs
const urls = extractUrlsFromNotes(reminder.notes);

// Parse into separate note content and URLs
const { note, urls } = parseReminderNote(reminder.notes);

// Legacy regex method (fallback for unstructured content)
const urlsRegex = reminder.notes?.match(/https?:\/\/[^\s]+/g) || [];

Benefits of Structured Format:

• Consistent parsing: URLs are always in a predictable location
• Multiple URL support: Handle multiple URLs per reminder reliably
• Clean separation: Note content and URLs are clearly separated
• Backward compatible: Unstructured URLs still detected as fallback

List Response:

{
  "reminders": [
    {
      "title": "Buy groceries", 
      "list": "Shopping",
      "isCompleted": false,
      "dueDate": "2024-03-25 18:00:00",
      "notes": "Don't forget milk\n\nURLs:\n- https://grocery-store.com\n- https://shopping-list.com",
      "url": null
    }
  ],
  "total": 1,
  "filter": {
    "list": "Shopping",
    "showCompleted": false
  }
}

URL Utilities

The server includes built-in URL utilities for working with the structured URL format. These utilities are exported from src/utils/urlHelpers.js:

Key Functions

• extractUrlsFromNotes(notes) - Extract URLs from structured or unstructured notes
• parseReminderNote(notes) - Parse notes into separate content and URL array
• formatNoteWithUrls(note, urls) - Format note content with structured URLs
• removeUrlSections(notes) - Remove URL sections to get clean note content
• combineNoteWithUrl(note, url) - Combine note with single URL in structured format

Usage Examples

import { 
  extractUrlsFromNotes, 
  parseReminderNote,
  formatNoteWithUrls 
} from 'mcp-server-apple-reminders/src/utils/urlHelpers.js';

// Extract URLs from any reminder note
const urls = extractUrlsFromNotes(reminder.notes);
console.log(urls); // ['https://example.com', 'https://test.com']

// Parse note into content and URLs
const { note, urls } = parseReminderNote(reminder.notes);
console.log(note); // "Task description" 
console.log(urls); // ['https://example.com']

// Create structured note content
const structured = formatNoteWithUrls("New task", ['https://link1.com', 'https://link2.com']);
// Result: "New task\n\nURLs:\n- https://link1.com\n- https://link2.com"

Organization Strategies

The server provides intelligent reminder organization capabilities through four built-in strategies:

Priority Strategy

Automatically categorizes reminders based on priority keywords:

• High Priority: Contains words like "urgent", "important", "critical", "asap"
• Medium Priority: Default category for standard reminders
• Low Priority: Contains words like "later", "someday", "eventually", "maybe"

Due Date Strategy

Organizes reminders based on their due dates:

• Overdue: Past due dates
• Today: Due today
• Tomorrow: Due tomorrow
• This Week: Due within the current week
• Next Week: Due next week
• Future: Due beyond next week
• No Date: Reminders without due dates

Category Strategy

Intelligently categorizes reminders by content analysis:

• Work: Business, meetings, projects, office, client related
• Personal: Home, family, friends, self-care related
• Shopping: Buy, store, purchase, groceries related
• Health: Doctor, exercise, medical, fitness, workout related
• Finance: Bills, payments, bank, budget related
• Travel: Trips, flights, hotels, vacation related
• Education: Study, learn, courses, books, research related
• Uncategorized: Doesn't match any specific category

Completion Status Strategy

Simple binary organization:

• Active: Incomplete reminders
• Completed: Finished reminders

Usage Examples

Organize all reminders by priority:

Organize my reminders by priority

Categorize work-related reminders:

Organize reminders from Work list by category

Sort overdue items:

Organize overdue reminders by due date

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please read the contributing guidelines first.

Development

1. Install dependencies with pnpm (keeps the Swift bridge and TypeScript graph in sync):

pnpm install

1. Build the project (TypeScript and Swift binary) before invoking the CLI:

pnpm build

1. Run the full test suite to validate TypeScript, Swift bridge shims, and prompt templates:

pnpm test

1. Lint and format with Biome prior to committing:

pnpm exec biome check

Launching from nested directories

The CLI entry point includes a project-root fallback, so you can start the server from nested paths (for example dist/ or editor task runners) without losing access to the bundled Swift binary. The bootstrapper walks up to ten directories to find package.json; if you customise the folder layout, keep the manifest reachable within that depth to retain the guarantee.

Available Scripts

• pnpm build - Build the Swift helper binary (required before starting the server)
• pnpm build:swift - Build the Swift helper binary only
• pnpm dev - TypeScript development mode with file watching via tsx (runtime TS execution)
• pnpm start - Start the MCP server over stdio (auto-fallback to runtime TS if no build)
• pnpm test - Run the comprehensive Jest test suite
• pnpm check - Run Biome formatting and TypeScript type checking

Dependencies

Runtime Dependencies:

• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk ^1.20.2 - MCP protocol implementation
• moment ^2.30.1 - Date/time handling utilities
• exit-on-epipe ^1.0.1 - Graceful process termination handling
• tsx ^4.20.6 - TypeScript execution and REPL
• zod ^4.1.12 - Runtime type validation

Development Dependencies:

• typescript ^5.9.3 - TypeScript compiler
• @types/node ^24.9.2 - Node.js type definitions
• @types/jest ^30.0.0 - Jest type definitions
• jest ^30.2.0 - Testing framework
• babel-jest ^30.2.0 - Babel Jest transformer
• babel-plugin-transform-import-meta ^2.3.3 - Babel import meta transform
• ts-jest ^29.4.5 - Jest TypeScript support
• @biomejs/biome ^2.3.2 - Code formatting and linting

Build Tools:

• Swift binaries for native macOS integration
• TypeScript compilation for cross-platform compatibility