Claude + Keepra Vault: The Ultimate AI Productivity Setup Guide (2026)

Prerequisites

Before starting, you need:

• Keepra Vault Desktop: download from keepra.app (Windows installer or run from source with Electron)
• Claude Desktop or Claude Code CLI: download from claude.ai/download
• Node.js: v18+ (required to run the MCP server subprocess)

Step 1: Launch Keepra Vault Desktop

Run launch-electron.bat (Windows) or launch the Electron app directly. The app will start at http://localhost (the embedded server). Verify it loads correctly before proceeding.

If you're starting from scratch, Keepra Vault will seed example data automatically. You can delete it later.

Step 2: Create an MCP Key in Settings

1. Open Keepra Vault and click the settings gear icon (top right) or press Ctrl+,
2. Navigate to the AI Access (MCP) tab
3. Click + Create New Key
4. Give it a name like "Claude Desktop" or "Claude Code"
5. Select the tools you want this key to access (see Step 3)
6. Click Generate: copy the key immediately (it won't be shown again in full)

Step 3: Choose Your Permission Scopes

MCP keys in Keepra Vault have per-tool scopes. Here are recommended configurations:

Use Case	Recommended Scopes	Rationale
Daily assistant	tasks:read+write, notes:read, links:read	Can create tasks, read notes and links. Can't write notes or create links.
Full productivity	All tools except vault	Claude can manage your full workspace except passwords.
Read-only researcher	All tools, read-only	Claude can answer questions from your data but can't modify anything.
Vault access	vault:list_titles + per-item grant	Claude sees titles only; you explicitly grant access to specific items.

Step 4a: Configure Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reads its MCP server configuration from a JSON file. The location depends on your OS:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Open (or create) this file and add the Keepra Vault MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "keepra": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Keepra Vault\\keepra-mcp.js"],
      "env": {
        "KEEPRA_MCP_KEY": "your-generated-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace your-generated-key-here with the key from Step 2. On macOS/Linux, use the appropriate path to keepra-mcp.js. Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Step 4b: Configure Claude Code (CLI)

If you use Claude Code (the CLI tool), add Keepra Vault via the /mcp add command:

# In your terminal with Claude Code active:
/mcp add keepra node /path/to/keepra-mcp.js

# Or add it to your project's .mcp.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "keepra": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/keepra-mcp.js"],
      "env": { "KEEPRA_MCP_KEY": "your-key" }
    }
  }
}

Step 4c: Configure Cursor IDE

Add a .cursor/mcp.json file in your project root or in ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "keepra": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Keepra Vault\\keepra-mcp.js"],
      "env": {
        "KEEPRA_MCP_KEY": "your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 5: Test with Your First Command

With Keepra Vault Desktop running and Claude configured, try these commands to verify the integration:

# Create a task:
"Add a task called 'Review the PR' due tomorrow with high priority"

# Read your notes:
"What are my most recent notes in Keepra Vault?"

# Find a contact:
"Find John Smith in my Keepra Vault contacts and tell me his email address"

# Save a link:
"Save this URL to my Keepra Vault Links under the 'Work' category: https://docs.example.com"

Claude will call the appropriate MCP tools, Keepra Vault will execute them locally, and you'll see the results both in Claude's response and in your Keepra Vault app (after a refresh if needed).

Real-World Use Cases

Morning Standup Prep

"Claude, list all my tasks due today and this week, grouped by priority. Also check if I have any notes from recent meetings."

Meeting Notes → Action Items

"I just had a meeting. Here are my rough notes: [paste notes]. Create a Keepra Vault note called 'Sprint Planning 2026-06-14' with these notes, and create tasks for each action item you identify."

Client Research

"I'm about to call Acme Corp. Look up their contact in Keepra Vault and tell me everything I have on them, phones, emails, notes."

Link Collection

"Save all these research links to Keepra Vault under the category 'AI Research' with tag 'MCP': [list of URLs]"

Security Best Practices

• Never grant Vault write access: Claude cannot add new credentials; you should always do this manually
• Use separate keys for different clients, one for Claude Desktop, one for Cursor, so you can revoke independently
• Review the MCP key list regularly in Settings → AI Access, delete keys you no longer use
• Don't share your MCP key: it's equivalent to granting read/write access to your Keepra Vault data

For a deeper technical explanation of MCP architecture, see What is MCP?. For the full developer AI workflow, read The Developer's AI Workflow.