Workflowy Local Mcp

What is Workflowy Local Mcp?

A desktop app that gives AI assistants full read/write access to your Workflowy account with local caching and instant search. It stores your entire outline in a local SQLite database with full-text search, avoiding Workflowy API rate limits. Your API key never leaves your machine.

How to use Workflowy Local Mcp?

Download the latest release, open the app, and enter your Workflowy API key (get one at workflowy.com/api-reference). Go to the Setup tab and copy the configuration snippet for your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP app). Restart your client; the seven Workflowy tools become available: list_bookmarks, save_bookmark, delete_bookmark, read_doc, edit_doc, search_nodes, and sync_nodes.

Key features of Workflowy Local Mcp

• 7 tools for managing Workflowy nodes (read, edit, search, sync, bookmarks)
• Local SQLite cache with fast full-text search across all nodes
• Bookmarks to save frequently-used node locations with context notes
• AI Instructions – create a node to customize LLM behavior across sessions
• Sync-on-access – reads auto-sync so data is always fresh
• Fully local – your API key never leaves your machine

Use cases of Workflowy Local Mcp

• An AI assistant instantly searches hundreds of thousands of Workflowy nodes without rate limits
• Add new tasks to a specific inbox or daily note using natural language
• Edit multiple nodes in a single API call with batch insert/update/delete operations
• Save bookmarks with context notes for quick navigation in future sessions
• Set persistent AI preferences (e.g., “use checkboxes for tasks”) via an AI Instructions node

FAQ from Workflowy Local Mcp

How does it handle Workflowy’s API rate limits?

The app caches your outline locally. Searches use the SQLite cache (auto-synced when stale >1 hour), so you never hit the 1 request/minute rate limit on full exports. The LLM Doc API for reads and writes has no rate limit.

Where is my data stored?

All data is stored locally in the app data directory. On macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/com.workflowy.local-mcp/. On Windows: %APPDATA%\com.workflowy.local-mcp\. Files include config.json, bookmarks.db, and mcp-logs.json.

Can I set the API key without the desktop UI?

Yes. You can set the WORKFLOWY_API_KEY environment variable instead of entering the key in the app config.

Which MCP clients are supported?

Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and any application that supports the Model Context Protocol.

Does it support calendar-based node navigation?

Yes. The read_doc tool accepts calendar targets today, tomorrow, next_week, and inbox as node IDs. The API resolves dates automatically.