Connect your agent

Recommended: skill and CLI

For agents that can run shell commands, use the loof CLI to read and write your personal knowledge vault. Copy the skill installation prompt into your agent. It teaches the agent how to use the CLI and asks it to remember to use the skill through loof when you want to save notes or retrieve knowledge.

The prompt checks whether the CLI is installed and can reach your vault. If needed, follow Install the CLI, then use the CLI examples. No MCP configuration is needed for this workflow.

Optional: MCP

Use MCP when your client cannot run shell commands or you want a read-only connection. Loofah’s MCP server lets an agent search and read your local notes. It cannot create sessions, edit notes, or change the vault. The client-specific instructions below configure MCP.

Install the loof CLI first, then check that it can find your vault:

loof doctor

For MCP, every client starts the same local command: loof mcp.

Claude Desktop on macOS

Open Claude > Settings > Developer > Edit Config. Claude Desktop stores this configuration at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS.[4]

Add Loofah to the existing mcpServers object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "loofah": {
      "command": "/Users/you/.local/bin/loof",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /Users/you with your home directory. Use the full path because desktop apps may not inherit the same PATH as your terminal. Save the file, quit Claude Desktop completely, and open it again.[4]

Claude Code

Claude Code accepts local stdio servers through claude mcp add. The -- separates Claude’s options from the command it should run.[1]

claude mcp add --transport stdio loofah -- loof mcp
claude mcp list

Use --scope user before loofah if you want the connection in every project rather than the current project.

Codex

Codex CLI and the Codex IDE extension share MCP configuration. Add Loofah once from a terminal:[2]

codex mcp add loofah -- loof mcp
codex mcp list

Inside the Codex terminal interface, /mcp shows the active servers.[2]

Hermes

Hermes stores stdio MCP servers through its mcp command. Add Loofah, then test the connection:[3]

hermes mcp add loofah --command loof --args mcp
hermes mcp test loofah

Start a fresh Hermes session after adding the server. In an existing session, run /reload-mcp.[3]

Use a different vault

If your vault is not in Loofah’s configured default location, put --vault-path before mcp. For example:

loof --vault-path /path/to/vault mcp

Apply the same argument order in a client command. In Claude Code, that becomes:

claude mcp add --transport stdio loofah -- loof --vault-path /path/to/vault mcp

For JSON configuration, use:

{
  "command": "/absolute/path/to/loof",
  "args": ["--vault-path", "/path/to/vault", "mcp"]
}

Retrieve a meeting decision

Start with a session you recognize, such as the launch-planning test. After connecting your client, ask:

Find my “Launch planning test” session. Read the note and summary, then tell me the pilot date and who owns the checklist. Include the session title and ID so I can check your answer. If the information is missing, say so.

If the answer needs wording from the conversation, explicitly ask for the transcript. MCP transcript tools return the complete transcript, which can produce a large response. Check important dates and decisions against the source.

MCP access is read-only. If you want an agent to save a follow-up or create a research note, ask it to use the CLI write commands. A local MCP server does not make a hosted agent private: the agent’s provider may receive the returned content.

Check the connection

Try one of these prompts after the client loads Loofah:

• “List my five most recent meeting notes.”
• “Search my meeting notes for decisions about onboarding.”

The server communicates over stdio and opens no network port. Its tools are read-only. Your MCP client and the model behind it may still receive the note content returned by those tools, so check that client’s data policy before using it with sensitive meetings. See Data, privacy, and retention for Loofah’s own data boundaries.

For tool names and parameters, read the MCP reference. If the server fails to start, use the error reference.

Sources

[1] Claude Code: Connect Claude Code to tools via MCP

[2] OpenAI Codex: Model Context Protocol

[3] Hermes Agent: Use MCP with Hermes

[4] Model Context Protocol: Connect to local MCP servers