| FMRS | 44 / 100 · D | 74 / 100 · B | 72 / 100 · B |
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| Reliability | 8 / 20 | 11 / 20 | 10 / 20 |
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| Security and permissions | 10 / 20 | 15 / 20 | 15 / 20 |
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| Maintenance | 8 / 20 | 17 / 20 | 16 / 20 |
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| Documentation | 9 / 20 | 17 / 20 | 17 / 20 |
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| Setup experience | 9 / 20 | 14 / 20 | 14 / 20 |
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| Best for | - Users with large note libraries where substring search is insufficient.
- Users switching between multiple MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, etc.).
- Users who want to query notes without opening Bear.
- Users needing library-wide tag management.
- Users concerned about supply-chain hygiene and privacy.
| - Developers needing quick, API-key-free web search capabilities
- Privacy-conscious users who prefer local search execution
- AI application development with Claude Desktop or Claude Code
| - Privacy-conscious developers who want local data storage.
- Researchers who need AI-assisted management of large note collections.
- Users of Markdown editors like Obsidian.
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| Not for | - Users with small libraries who just want quick note integration.
- Users unwilling to grant MCP server access to local database.
- Users needing Windows or Linux support (macOS only).
- Users requiring official support or guarantees (unofficial project).
| - Enterprise applications requiring high-scale, reliable search APIs
- Users needing advanced search features like custom ranking or filters
- Accessing sites blocked by TLS fingerprinting without installing the optional browser backend
| - Users needing cloud sync and mobile access (unless using the paid cloud service).
- Minimalists who want zero configuration.
- Scenarios requiring large-scale vector databases and complex retrieval (local SQLite may be insufficient).
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| Required permissions | - Read access to Bear Notes SQLite database.
- Write access via Bear's X-callback-URL API when Edit Mode is enabled.
- Optional attachment of local files (max 25 MB).
- Optional communication with AI provider when using an AI assistant (data sent to your provider).
| - Outbound network access to DuckDuckGo and other websites
- Reads environment variables for SafeSearch, region, and CA certificates
- Optionally reads a CA certificate file (for TLS-intercepting proxies)
| - Read and write to the local filesystem (default: ~/basic-memory).
- Perform file and directory operations (create, edit, delete).
- Access local SQLite database (or Postgres/Milvus if configured).
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| Risks and side effects | - Extension installation shows a red warning about granting access to everything on your computer, but actually only accesses Bear's database.
- Write operations require Edit Mode and may overwrite data if revision tokens are stale.
- Unofficial project; there may be bugs, but the codebase is small and reviewable.
- macOS only.
| - Search endpoints may occasionally return empty results or errors, especially when blocked
- Content fetching may be subject to SSRF protection, blocking private or loopback addresses by default
- Misuse could lead to rate limiting or IP blocking
| - Tools have write operations that may unintentionally modify or delete notes.
- Edit operations may overwrite existing content, though there are protections.
- Semantic search and reranking features may require model downloads, adding latency.
- Local data backups are the user's responsibility.
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| Supported clients | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini, Windsurf | Claude Desktop, Claude Code | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT, Obsidian |
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| Tools | 13 | 2 | 21 |
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