Connect External Chats

What This Does

This lets your coding assistants (like Claude Code) read from and write to your personal RA-H knowledge database. Your assistant can:

• Search your existing notes and research
• Add new insights directly to your knowledge base
• All data stays on your computer - nothing goes to the cloud

Quick Setup (Recommended)

The standalone MCP server works without the RA-H app running. One config line, done.

Claude Code / Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude config (~/.claude.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ra-h": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["ra-h-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude. That's it.

Requirements:

• Node.js 18+ installed
• RA-H app run at least once (to create the database)

Test It

Ask Claude: "Search my RA-H knowledge base for anything about 'test'"

If it works, you're connected!

Alternative: HTTP Method (App Must Be Running)

If you prefer to keep the RA-H app running (for real-time UI updates when nodes are created):

1. Open RA-H and go to Settings → External Agents
2. Toggle it ON and copy the URL (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:44145/mcp)
3. Add to your Claude config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ra-h": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:44145/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: This method requires RA-H to be running whenever you use Claude.

Using It

Search your knowledge base:

• "Search RA-H for notes about [topic]"
• "What do I already know about [subject]?"

Add new knowledge:

• "Add this insight to RA-H: [your insight] with tags [tag1, tag2]"
• "Save this research to my knowledge base: [content]"

Example conversation:

You: "Search RA-H for anything about machine learning"
Claude: [searches and shows results]
You: "Add this to RA-H: Machine learning projects need good data validation with tags machine-learning, best-practices"
Claude: [creates new node in your RA-H database]

Other Assistants

Cursor

Same as Claude Code - add the config to your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ra-h": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["ra-h-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

ChatGPT

Not supported - ChatGPT requires public HTTPS endpoints. The MCP server runs locally on your machine.

Best Practices

Always search first before adding new knowledge:

• Ask: "Search RA-H for anything about [topic]"
• This prevents creating duplicate notes

Use clear, descriptive titles when adding nodes:

• Good: "Claude Code setup process with common errors"
• Bad: "Setup stuff"

Include relevant tags (dimensions) to organize your knowledge:

• Examples: "programming", "tutorials", "troubleshooting", "claude-code"

Troubleshooting

"Tools not found" or "ra-h not available"

• Make sure Node.js 18+ is installed: node --version
• Try running manually: npx ra-h-mcp-server (should show "Database connected")
• Restart Claude Code

"Database not found"

• Run the RA-H app at least once to create the database
• Database location: ~/Library/Application Support/RA-H/db/rah.sqlite

Created a node but don't see it in RA-H UI

• The standalone server writes directly to the database
• Open RA-H and refresh the view - your node will be there

Using the HTTP method and it stopped working

• Make sure RA-H app is running
• Check Settings → External Agents is ON