# What the tools can do

> The thirty tools an AI client can use over MCP, and which ones need permission first.

Source: https://notate.md/docs/mcp/tools/

Category: MCP

Updated: 2026-08-16

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A connected client sees a list of tools and picks the ones it needs. You do not call them yourself; you ask a question or give an instruction in plain language and the client decides.

Thirty tools are available. Which of them a given client actually sees depends on your approval settings and on the token it connected with, so a client may see fewer. See [permissions](https://notate.md/docs/mcp/permissions/).

## Reading

Always available once MCP is on. None of these change anything.

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `search_notes` | Search and filter by text, folder, tag, or favorite |
| `get_note_content` | Read one note in full, by exact title |
| `get_recent_notes` | The most recently edited notes |
| `list_folders` | Folder structure with note counts |
| `list_tags` | Every tag, with how many notes use each |
| `list_workspaces` | Workspaces with folder and note counts |
| `list_trash` | Notes currently in Trash |
| `get_note_stats` | Totals: notes, favorites, recent activity, audio notes |
| `find_similar_notes` | Notes related in meaning to a given one |
| `get_backlinks` | Notes linking to a given note through `[[wiki-links]]` |

`search_notes` returns a snippet of each note rather than the whole body, so a client will often read one in full afterwards.

## Creating and organizing

Available once MCP is on. These change your notes but do not destroy anything.

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `create_note` | Create a note, optionally with content, tags, and a folder |
| `create_folder` | Create a folder, nesting with a slash-separated path |
| `create_workspace` | Create a workspace |
| `move_note` | Move a note to a different folder |
| `tag_note` | Add tags to a note |
| `toggle_favorite` | Favorite or unfavorite a note |
| `duplicate_note` | Copy a note |
| `restore_note` | Restore a note from Trash |

A note always belongs to a folder. If a client names a folder that does not exist, the tool refuses and says so rather than creating a note with nowhere to live.

## Needs AI

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `generate_tags` | Suggest tags for a note from its content |
| `generate_summary` | Summarize a note |

These call AI on Notate's side rather than in your client, so they need AI on your account: either the AI plan, where they are metered against your Notate AI usage, or the Sync plan with [your own Anthropic key](https://notate.md/docs/ai/bring-your-own-keys/), where they run on your key and are metered by nobody. Without either, they are refused with an explanation.

Searching by meaning is in the same category: with AI, `search_notes` matches meaning as well as wording. Without it, search falls back to keyword matching and tells the client that it did.

## Needs your permission first

Each of these is **off until you turn it on**, individually, in **Settings, Features, MCP**.

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `delete_note` | Move a note to Trash |
| `delete_folder` | Move a folder to Trash |
| `update_note_content` | Replace a note's content |
| `rename_note` | Change a note's title |
| `rename_folder` | Rename a folder |
| `rename_tag` | Rename a tag everywhere it is used |
| `rename_workspace` | Rename a workspace |
| `delete_workspace` | Delete a workspace |
| `add_folder_to_workspace` | Add a folder to a workspace |
| `remove_folder_from_workspace` | Remove a folder from a workspace |

An action you have not enabled is **not shown to the client at all**. That is deliberate: a client that cannot see a capability will not build a plan around it and then fail halfway through.

Two safety nets apply even when you have enabled these. Deleted notes and folders go to Trash and can be restored, and `update_note_content` keeps the previous version in history.

## Not available over MCP

`open_note` and `switch_workspace` exist for Notate's in-app assistant, which has a window to act on. Over MCP there is no window, so they are left out rather than appearing to work.

Renaming a top-level folder is also refused. To rename one, rename it on disk and every device follows. Folders inside it rename normally.