![Roam Research MCP + CLI](./roam-research-mcp-header.png) # Roam Research MCP + CLI [![npm version](https://badge.fury.io/js/roam-research-mcp.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/js/roam-research-mcp) [![Project Status: Active](https://www.repostatus.org/badges/latest/active.svg)](https://www.repostatus.org/#active) [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) [![GitHub](https://img.shields.io/github/license/2b3pro/roam-research-mcp)](https://github.com/2b3pro/roam-research-mcp/blob/main/LICENSE)

## Introduction I created this project to solve a personal problem: I wanted to manage my Roam Research graph directly from **Claude Code** (and other LLMs). As I built the [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) server to give AI agents access to my notes, I realized the underlying tools were powerful enough to stand on their own. What started as an backend for AI agents evolved into a full-featured **Standalone CLI**. Now, you can use the same powerful API capabilities directly from your terminal—piping content into Roam, searching your graph, and managing tasks—without needing an LLM at all. Whether you want to give Claude superpowers over your knowledge base or just want a robust CLI for your own scripts, this project has you covered. ![Before and after: copy-pasting notes into Roam by hand, versus Claude and your terminal reading and writing the graph directly — install with npm i -g roam-research-mcp, then `roam save "idea"` or pipe with `echo "Buy milk" | roam save --todo`](./roam-research-mcp-sketchnote.png) ## What's New in v5.0 **In one line:** `roam save` now has one flag for each way of naming a parent block, and neither one guesses. `--parent-uid` is always a UID; `--parent` is always text. Until 4.1.0, `--parent` took either a block UID or heading text and decided which by looking for a digit in the value. About one Roam UID in five has no digit, so those saves were silently misrouted. 4.1.0 added `--parent-uid` and deprecated passing a UID to `--parent`. 5.0 finishes the split. - **`--parent-uid `** nests under the block with that UID. It accepts `uid` or `((uid))`, and if no such block exists the command exits non-zero and writes nothing. - **`--parent ""`** nests under the block with that text on the target page, creating it if missing. It is never read as a UID. `--parent "((uid))"` finds or creates a block whose content is that reference, which was not reliably possible before. - **Creating a parent block is announced** on stderr, with its UID. If the text you gave `--parent` looks like a UID, a second line says what happened and gives the `--parent-uid` command to use instead. Stdout is unchanged. - **`roam save --help` leads with the choice.** A "Choosing a parent block" section sits above the examples, so the difference between the two flags is the first thing you read. **Why a major.** `roam save --parent "((uid))"` and `roam save --parent ` used to nest under that block and now nest under a block containing that text. **If a script passes a UID to `--parent`, change the flag to `--parent-uid`.** Only the CLI is affected: the MCP tools take `parent-uid` as a typed field and behave exactly as before, so if you use the server through an AI assistant, nothing is required of you. Full detail is in the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md). ## What's New in v4.0 **In one line:** a block containing a soft line break (Shift+Enter) now survives a page rewrite. Read a page, write it back, and nothing moves. Until now, a multi-line block rendered as two physical lines, the second at column 0. That reset the parser's indentation baseline, so every block after it collapsed toward the root and `roam_update_page_markdown` dutifully generated the moves to make your real page match. Reading a page and writing back a revision, the documented purpose of the tool, was enough to trigger it. Callout bodies and fenced code blocks are exactly the blocks that carry soft breaks. - **Soft breaks render as `⏎`.** A page containing one gains a leading `` marker line; keep it if you write the markdown back. Pages with no multi-line block render byte-identical to 3.x, with no marker and no encoding. - **Backslashes are never special.** The earlier design escaped newlines as `\n`, which is also a common prefix in authored text: `\nabla`, `\neq`, `C:\newdir`. The sentinel needs no such rule, so all of those are written exactly as typed, everywhere. - **Verbatim round-trips are no-ops.** Renderer output submitted back unchanged, title header included, produces zero actions. The CLI shares the fix: `roam get` piped into `roam save --update` leaves the page as it was. - **Two more guards on page rewrites.** Non-empty markdown that parses to zero blocks is now refused rather than deleting every block on the page (genuinely empty markdown still clears a page, as documented). And a hand-authored first block that happens to be an H1 echoing the page title is no longer stripped on an ordinary update. - **Linked references are encoded too.** `roam_fetch_page_full_view` escapes soft breaks in referring blocks and breadcrumbs, not just the page's own content. - **Browser clients pass CORS preflight.** The HTTP transport now allows `MCP-Protocol-Version` and `Last-Event-ID`, both of which a client must send after initialization. Non-browser clients were never affected. - **The MCP SDK is pinned** to the version the test suite runs against, so a fresh install gets the protocol surface that was tested rather than whatever npm serves that day. **Why a major.** Four read surfaces return different bytes for any page containing a multi-line block: `roam_fetch_page_by_title` (`format: "markdown"`), `roam_fetch_page_full_view`, `roam_get_subpages`, and `roam get`. If you use the server through an AI assistant, nothing is required of you. A script that parses markdown output of multi-line pages sees the new encoding. If you pinned `roam-research-mcp@3`, you keep 3.2.0's fixes and its documented multi-line limitation until you re-pin. Full detail, including the corner cases and how each fix was verified against the prior state, is in the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md). ## How this differs from Roam's official MCP server Roam Research ships its own MCP server and CLI ([`@roam-research/roam-mcp`](https://github.com/Roam-Research/roam-tools)). It is a good tool, and this project is not trying to replace it. **They talk to two different Roam APIs, which is the difference everything else follows from.** | | **This project** | **Official `@roam-research/roam-mcp`** | | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | Talks to | Roam's **backend REST API** (graph token + graph name) | Roam **Desktop's local HTTP API** | | Needs Roam running | No — works headless | Yes, the desktop app must be open (it deep-links to launch it) | | Where it can run | Anywhere: laptop, server, container, CI | The machine running Roam Desktop | | Shared daemon | Yes — `roam server` runs one HTTP daemon for every client | Per-client stdio | | Multi-graph | `ROAM_GRAPHS` env var, with `write_key` protection for chosen graphs | `~/.roam-tools.json`, one token per graph | | Web-only graphs | Works | Desktop only | **Reach for the official server when** you want Roam's own supported path, or you need things only the running app can do: controlling the Desktop UI (open a page, read the current selection, drive the sidebar), semantic/embeddings search, link suggestions, file upload, comments, or invoking tools that Roam extensions register. **Reach for this one when** Roam isn't running or isn't installed — a server, a container, a cron job, a CI step. Or when you want the extras this project has grown: a full standalone CLI with stdin piping, a shared HTTP daemon with optional bearer auth, smart page diffing that preserves block UIDs (and therefore your block references), batch operations with UID placeholders for building nested structures in one call, and agent memory tools. One deliberate omission: **there is no page-delete tool here.** Roam has no undo that can reverse a bulk API deletion. The official server does offer `delete_page`; this project takes the more conservative line. ### They interoperate The two servers share conventions on purpose, so running both costs you nothing: - **`[[roam/agent guidelines]]`** — both read the same page for your conventions. Write them once; both honour them. See [Agent guidelines](#agent-guidelines-per-graph). - **`#.rm-hide` / `#.rm-private`** — both withhold tagged blocks from AI-facing content. Tag once, hidden from both. See [Hiding content from the AI](#hiding-content-from-the-ai). ## Standalone CLI: `roam` The `roam` CLI lets you interact with your graph directly from the terminal. It supports **standard input (stdin) piping** for all content creation and retrieval commands, making it perfect for automation workflows. ### Quick Examples ```bash # Save a quick thought to your daily page roam save "Idea: A CLI for Roam would be cool" # Pipe content from a file to a new page cat meeting_notes.md | roam save --title "Meeting: Project Alpha" # Create a TODO item on today's daily page echo "Buy milk" | roam save --todo # Prepend to top of page (newest-first ordering) roam save -p "Changelog" --order first "v2.18.0 release" # Search your graph and pipe results to another tool roam search "important" --json | jq . # Search for pages by namespace prefix roam search --namespace "Convention" # Finds all Convention/* pages # Fetch a page by title roam get "Roam Research" # Fetch daily pages using any date format (auto-normalized) roam get today # Today's daily page roam get 2026-03-21 # ISO date → "March 21st, 2026" roam get "03/21/2026" # US date → "March 21st, 2026" roam get "March 21" # Named (assumes current year) # Fetch a block with ancestors (parent chain to page root) roam get abc123def -a # Block + children + ancestors roam get abc123def -a -d 0 # Ancestors only, no children # Fetch page by UID or Roam URL roam get page abc123def roam get page "https://roamresearch.com/#/app/my-graph/page/abc123def" # Sort and group results roam get --tag Project --sort created --group-by tag # Find references (backlinks) to a page roam refs "Project Alpha" # Update a block (e.g., toggle TODO status) roam update ((block-uid)) --todo # Multi-graph: read from a specific graph roam get "Page Title" -g work # Multi-graph: write to a protected graph roam save "Note" -g work --write-key "$ROAM_SYSTEM_WRITE_KEY" ``` **Available Commands:** `get`, `search`, `save`, `refs`, `update`, `batch`, `rename`, `status`, `server`. Run `roam --help` for details on any command. ### Installation ```bash npm install -g roam-research-mcp # The 'roam' command is now available globally ``` --- ## MCP Server Tools The MCP server exposes these tools to AI assistants (like Claude), enabling them to read, write, and organize your Roam graph intelligently. > **Multi-Graph Support:** All tools accept optional `graph` and `write_key` parameters. Use `graph` to target a specific graph from your `ROAM_GRAPHS` config, and `write_key` for write operations on protected graphs. | Tool Name | Description | | :--- | :--- | | `roam_fetch_page_by_title` | Fetch page content by title. | | `roam_fetch_page_full_view` | Fetch a page's content plus all linked references with breadcrumb context and children. | | `roam_fetch_block` | Fetch a block by UID with optional children (depth) and/or ancestors (up to page root). | | `roam_create_page` | Create new pages, optionally with mixed text and table content. | | `roam_update_page_markdown` | Update a page using smart diff (preserves block UIDs). | | `roam_get_subpages` | List sub-pages under a namespace prefix (e.g. "Project/") with optional tag filter. | | `roam_search_by_text` | Full-text search across the graph or within specific pages. Supports namespace prefix search for page titles. | | `roam_search_block_refs` | Find blocks that reference a page, tag, or block UID. | | `roam_search_by_status` | Find TODO or DONE items. | | `roam_search_for_tag` | Find blocks containing specific tags (supports exclusion). | | `roam_search_by_date` | Find blocks/pages by creation or modification date. | | `roam_find_pages_modified_today` | List pages modified since midnight. | | `roam_add_todo` | Add TODO items to today's daily page. | | `roam_create_table` | Create properly formatted Roam tables. | | `roam_create_outline` | Create hierarchical outlines. | | `roam_process_batch_actions` | Execute multiple low-level actions (create, move, update, delete) in one batch. | | `roam_move_block` | Move a block to a new parent or position. | | `roam_remember` / `roam_recall` | specialized tools for AI memory management within Roam. | | `roam_datomic_query` | Execute raw Datalog queries for advanced filtering. | | `roam_markdown_cheatsheet` | Retrieve the Roam-flavored markdown reference. | | `roam_get_guidelines` | Retrieve this graph's user-defined agent conventions. | ### Structured results from write tools (v3.0.0+) The ten write tools declare an `outputSchema` and return `structuredContent` — a validated object — alongside the usual text. A client can read `page_uid`, `uid_map` or `success` directly instead of hunting for JSON inside a string, which makes chaining calls more reliable: ```jsonc // roam_process_batch_actions { "success": true, "uid_map": { "parent1": "Xk7mN2pQ9" }, "validation_passed": true, "actions_attempted": 4 } ``` Three things worth knowing: - **Nothing was taken away.** The text channel is unchanged, so a client that ignores `structuredContent` behaves exactly as before. - **Read tools deliberately have neither.** They already serialise their whole result into the text channel, so a schema would just double the payload. - **These fields are additive-only.** Some clients validate live responses against a cached tool list, so a field will be added or deprecated — never renamed or removed outside a major version. > **Upgrading to 5.0.0:** CLI only. `roam save --parent` is now always text, so a script passing a block UID to it (`--parent "((uid))"` or `--parent `) must switch to `--parent-uid`. Left unchanged, such a call exits 0 and nests your content under a new block containing the reference, on the daily page unless `-p` is given. MCP tools are unaffected. See the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md). > **Upgrading to 4.0.0:** markdown reads of a page containing a soft line break (Shift+Enter) now render that break as `⏎` and carry a leading `` marker, so the page survives a write-back intact. Pages without multi-line blocks are byte-identical to 3.x. AI-assistant users need do nothing; scripts parsing markdown output of multi-line pages see the new encoding. See the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md). > **Upgrading from 2.x:** three write-result fields were renamed — `uid` → `page_uid` (`roam_create_page`), `created_uids` → `created_blocks` (`roam_create_outline`, `roam_import_markdown`) and `preservedUids` → `preserved_uids` (`roam_update_page_markdown`). This only affects code that reads those names; if you use the server through an AI assistant, nothing changes. See the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md) for why. --- ## Agent guidelines (per-graph) `roam_get_guidelines` reads a page **inside the graph** — `[[roam/agent guidelines]]` by default — holding your own conventions: how you tag, how you namespace pages, what an agent should never do. Roam's official MCP server reads the same page title, so one page serves both. This is distinct from `CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_PATH`, and the two compose: | | `CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_PATH` | `[[roam/agent guidelines]]` | |---|---|---| | Lives in | a file on disk | a page in the graph | | Scope | server-wide, all graphs | **per-graph** | | To change it | edit the file, restart the server | edit the page | | Answers | how to write Roam markdown | how *this user* wants *this graph* handled | **Just create the page.** With no configuration at all, `roam_get_guidelines` reads `[[roam/agent guidelines]]` — the same title Roam's own server reads, so writing it once makes both honour it. Creating a page with that exact namespaced title is the opt-in; nothing is read from the graph unless an agent explicitly calls the tool. If the page doesn't exist, the tool returns `exists: false` rather than failing, so it is always safe to call. ### It also returns the rules that aren't yours to set Alongside your conventions, every `roam_get_guidelines` response carries a `roamSyntax` field: the short list of things that *destroy* content — `roam_update_page_markdown` deleting every block your markdown omits, truncated `structure` previews written back as if they were content, block references retyped as plain text — plus a caution that reads silently exclude `#.rm-hide` subtrees, and the handful of places Roam's markdown inverts standard markdown. Two reasons it rides here rather than in the cheatsheet. It reaches **every** client, including one that never calls `roam_markdown_cheatsheet`; and it is returned even when a graph has **no** guidelines page, which is exactly the case where an agent has least context. The layering is deliberate: **your conventions win on style, `roamSyntax` wins on data safety.** No convention can make a truncated preview complete. The full syntax reference — components, queries, embeds, tool selection — stays in `roam_markdown_cheatsheet`. `roamSyntax` is ~800 tokens and deliberately capped. Each graph can point at a different page, or turn it off: ```bash ROAM_GRAPHS='{ "personal": {"token": "...", "graph": "..."}, "work": {"token": "...", "graph": "...", "guidelinesPage": "work/agent rules"}, "private": {"token": "...", "graph": "...", "guidelinesPage": false} }' ROAM_GUIDELINES_PAGE='team/agent guidelines' # change the default for every graph ``` Resolution order is **per-graph `guidelinesPage` → `ROAM_GUIDELINES_PAGE` → `roam/agent guidelines`**. Above: `personal` uses the env override, `work` uses its own page, and `private` has guidelines off entirely. **Only an explicit `false` disables it** — an unset value never does. Results are cached for 30 seconds — an edit to the page takes effect without a restart. A starter template lives at [`.roam/agent-guidelines.template.md`](.roam/agent-guidelines.template.md). Note that guidelines are read through the normal page path, so blocks tagged `#.rm-hide` / `#.rm-private` are withheld from them too — see below. Reads of a page containing a soft line break render it as `⏎` so each block stays on one line — an unescaped newline lands at column 0 and reparents everything after it on write-back. Such payloads carry a leading `` marker; keep it if you write the markdown back. Markdown you author is never decoded: backslashes are not special, and only `⏎` inside a marked payload is interpreted. `roam_get_guidelines` output is plain prose — no sentinel, no marker. --- ## Hiding content from the AI Blocks tagged `#.rm-hide` or `#.rm-private` — and everything nested under them — are omitted from the content these tools return. Both the hashtag (`#.rm-hide`, `#[[.rm-hide]]`) and link (`[[.rm-hide]]`) forms work. `.rm-private` is Roam's existing "hidden from other users" tag; `.rm-hide` hides from the AI specifically. This follows the same convention as Roam's official MCP server, so a block tagged for one is hidden from the other. Applied to: `roam_fetch_page_by_title`, `roam_fetch_block`, `roam_fetch_page_full_view`, `roam_get_subpages`, `roam_search_by_text`, `roam_search_for_tag`, `roam_search_by_status`, `roam_search_block_refs`, `roam_search_hierarchy`, `roam_search_by_date`. **Hidden blocks are also excluded from the page-rewrite diff**, which is what stops them being *deleted* for being absent from markdown the agent could not have written. `roam_update_page_markdown` (and `roam save --update`) replaces a page with what you give it, deleting whatever your markdown omits — so its baseline is pruned by this same filter, on the rule that **the baseline a diff deletes from must be the same page the caller was allowed to read.** It reports `preserved_hidden` when it protected anything. Content is preserved; exact ordering relative to visible siblings may shift. This was a real data-loss bug before the fix — see the [changelog](CHANGELOG.md). **This is a convenience filter, not a security guarantee.** `roam_datomic_query` reads the database directly and deliberately does **not** apply it, so a capable agent can still surface hidden blocks through raw Datalog. Treat these tags as "keep it out of the AI's way," not "keep it secret." Tag matching is case-insensitive, and only exact tags match — `#.rm-hidden` and `#.rm-highlight` are left alone. The set of hidden UIDs is cached for 30 seconds, so a block tagged just now may remain visible for up to that long. --- ## Configuration ### Environment Variables #### Single Graph Mode For a single Roam graph, set these in your environment or a `.env` file: ```bash ROAM_API_TOKEN=your-api-token ROAM_GRAPH_NAME=your-graph-name ``` #### Multi-Graph Mode (v2.0+) Connect to multiple Roam graphs from a single server instance: ```bash ROAM_GRAPHS='{ "personal": {"token": "token-1", "graph": "personal-db", "memoriesTag": "#[[Personal Memories]]"}, "work": {"token": "token-2", "graph": "work-db", "protected": true, "memoriesTag": "#[[Work Memories]]"}, "research": {"token": "token-3", "graph": "research-db"} }' ROAM_DEFAULT_GRAPH=personal ROAM_SYSTEM_WRITE_KEY=your-secret-key ``` **Graph Configuration Options:** | Property | Required | Description | |----------|----------|-------------| | `token` | Yes | Roam API token for this graph | | `graph` | Yes | Graph name/database identifier | | `protected` | No | If `true`, writes require `ROAM_SYSTEM_WRITE_KEY` confirmation — **except on the default graph**, see below | | `memoriesTag` | No | Tag for `roam_remember`/`roam_recall` (overrides global default) | **Two kinds of access control (and how they differ)** The server has two independent locks. They're easy to mix up because both are "keys" — here's the plain version (both are **optional and off by default**): | | **Bearer token** — `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN` | **Write key** — `ROAM_SYSTEM_WRITE_KEY` | |---|---|---| | In a phrase | The key to the **front door** | The latch on a **safe inside** | | Controls | *Who can reach the server at all* | *Whether a write to a `protected` graph is allowed* | | Covers | Everything — reads **and** writes, all graphs | Only **writes**, and only to graphs marked `protected` | | Protects reading? | **Yes** | **No** | | When you need it | Only if the server is reachable beyond your own machine (e.g. `-H 0.0.0.0`) | Whenever you want a guard against accidental edits to important graphs | | How it's sent | HTTP header: `Authorization: Bearer ` | A `write_key` argument on write tools / CLI commands | Think of a house: the **bearer token locks the front door** (keeps strangers out entirely), and the **write key locks a safe inside** (even someone already in the house needs it to change what's in the safe). On your own machine bound to `127.0.0.1`, the front door faces a wall, and a server without a token also turns away web pages that try to reach it by DNS rebinding (see `HTTP_ALLOWED_HOSTS` below), so you don't need the bearer token there. The write key is still handy locally as an "are you sure?" guard, because **Roam has no undo**. So: to mark a graph as needing the write key, set `protected: true` on it and configure `ROAM_SYSTEM_WRITE_KEY`; callers then pass a matching `write_key` for any write to that graph. > ⚠️ **`protected` does nothing on your default graph.** Writes to whichever graph `ROAM_DEFAULT_GRAPH` names are always allowed, before `protected` is ever consulted — the flag guards the graphs you have to *ask* for by name, on the reasoning that reaching for a non-default graph is the deliberate act worth confirming. If you want a graph write-guarded, it must not be your default. *Optional:* - `ROAM_MEMORIES_TAG`: Default tag for `roam_remember`/`roam_recall` (fallback when per-graph `memoriesTag` not set). - `HTTP_STREAM_PORT`: Port for the HTTP Stream transport (defaults to 8088). **`--server` mode only** — stdio mode opens no socket, so this is ignored there. - `HTTP_STREAM_HOST`: Host to bind the HTTP transport to (defaults to `127.0.0.1`, loopback-only). **`--server` mode only.** Set to `0.0.0.0` to expose on the LAN, and set `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN` when you do. - `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN`: Optional bearer token that locks the **whole** HTTP endpoint. Unset = no token: the server then answers only requests addressed to `localhost`, an IP address, or a name in `HTTP_ALLOWED_HOSTS`, and only browser requests from an origin in `CORS_ORIGIN`. When set, every MCP request must send `Authorization: Bearer ` (`GET /health` stays open). Use it whenever you bind beyond `127.0.0.1`. Different from `ROAM_SYSTEM_WRITE_KEY` — see [Two kinds of access control](#two-kinds-of-access-control-and-how-they-differ). - `HTTP_ALLOWED_HOSTS`: Hostnames a server **without** `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN` answers to, beyond `localhost` and IP addresses (comma-separated; ports are ignored), e.g. `roam-mcp` for a Docker service name or `mybox.local`. A request addressed to any other name gets a 403. That is what stops a web page from reaching the server by pointing its own hostname at `127.0.0.1` (DNS rebinding). Ignored when `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN` is set. - `CORS_ORIGIN`: Browser origins allowed to call the HTTP server (comma-separated; defaults to `http://localhost:5678,https://roamresearch.com`; `*` allows any). Without `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN`, a request from any other origin gets a 403. ### Running the Server **1. Default Mode (stdio)** Best for local integration (e.g., Claude Desktop, IDE extensions). The MCP client launches the process per session and talks to it over stdin/stdout. **No port is opened** — nothing about MCP over stdio needs one. > Before 3.1.0 this mode *also* opened an HTTP listener, and bound it to every interface. If you were using that endpoint, run a `--server` daemon instead; see below. ```bash npx roam-research-mcp ``` **2. Shared Server Mode (`--server`)** Best for a single long-lived, HTTP-only daemon that **multiple MCP clients share** — instead of each session spawning its own subprocess. This saves memory and gives clients a stable URL. ```bash HTTP_STREAM_PORT=8088 npx roam-research-mcp --server ``` Or manage it through the `roam` CLI, which adds start/stop/status/logs: ```bash roam server start # start the shared daemon in the background roam server start -H 0.0.0.0 # expose on the LAN (no transport auth!) roam server status # is it up? version, graphs, active sessions roam server logs -f # follow the log roam server stop # stop a CLI-started daemon ``` `roam server status` works no matter how the daemon was launched (it probes `/health`), so it also reports a daemon started by a LaunchAgent/systemd unit. State (pidfile + log) lives in `~/.roam/` (override with `ROAM_HOME`). The two modes are mutually exclusive, and each opens exactly one transport: stdio mode speaks stdio and binds nothing, `--server` speaks HTTP and reads no stdin. In `--server` mode the server: - runs **HTTP-only** (no stdio transport), - binds the **exact** `HTTP_STREAM_PORT` on `HTTP_STREAM_HOST` and **exits non-zero if the port is taken** (no silent drift — a shared daemon must keep a stable URL), - exposes `GET /health` → `{"status":"ok", ...}` for liveness checks. Point MCP clients at it with an HTTP transport config: ```json { "mcpServers": { "roam-research-mcp": { "type": "http", "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8088/mcp" } } } ``` Env vars (tokens, graphs) live with the **server** process, not the client config. **Securing an exposed server (two layers):** If you bind beyond loopback (`-H 0.0.0.0`), add the perimeter lock: ```bash HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 32) roam server start -H 0.0.0.0 ``` Clients then send the token as a header: ```json { "mcpServers": { "roam-research-mcp": { "type": "http", "url": "http://:8088/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer " } } } } ``` Keep **both** — they do different jobs (see [Two kinds of access control](#two-kinds-of-access-control-and-how-they-differ) above): the bearer token controls **who can connect**, the write key only guards **writes to protected graphs**. > ⚠️ The write key is **not** a substitute for the bearer token. On an exposed server without `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN`, anyone on the network can still **read every graph** (and write non-protected ones). For anything beyond loopback, set `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN`. **Keeping it running (macOS LaunchAgent):** Create `~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.roam-mcp.plist` with `RunAtLoad` + `KeepAlive`, your env vars under `EnvironmentVariables`, and `--server` as the last `ProgramArguments` entry. Keep `StandardOutPath`/`StandardErrorPath` on a **local** path (e.g. `~/Library/Logs/`), then: ```bash launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.roam-mcp.plist curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8088/health # verify ``` **3. Docker** ```bash docker build -t roam-research-mcp . docker run --init -p 127.0.0.1:8088:8088 \ -e HTTP_STREAM_HOST=0.0.0.0 -e HTTP_STREAM_PORT=8088 \ --env-file .env roam-research-mcp --server ``` Set `HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN` to a random secret in `.env` before running; MCP requests must include `Authorization: Bearer `. The published port is loopback-only by default. For remote access, follow [Securing an exposed server](#securing-an-exposed-server-two-layers) and intentionally publish on the required host address. The `-e` values win over `--env-file`, so the server listens on the published port whatever `.env` says. `--init` lets `docker stop` end the server straight away instead of killing it after 10 seconds. ### Configuring in LLMs **Claude Desktop / Cline:** Add to your MCP settings file (e.g., `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`): > **Pinning the version.** `npx -y roam-research-mcp` fetches the **latest** release every time your client starts the server, so a new major version arrives without warning. Pin the major to decide for yourself when to move: > > | `args` | You get | > | :--- | :--- | > | `["-y", "roam-research-mcp"]` | Latest, always — including the next major | > | `["-y", "roam-research-mcp@3"]` | 3.x only; majors need an edit here | > | `["-y", "roam-research-mcp@3.0.0"]` | Exactly this build | > > Pinning the major is the sensible default: you still get fixes and new tools, but a breaking change becomes something you opt into. The examples below stay unpinned to match what most people paste in first. *Single Graph:* ```json { "mcpServers": { "roam-research": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "roam-research-mcp"], "env": { "ROAM_API_TOKEN": "your-token", "ROAM_GRAPH_NAME": "your-graph" } } } } ``` *Multi-Graph:* ```json { "mcpServers": { "roam-research": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "roam-research-mcp"], "env": { "ROAM_GRAPHS": "{\"personal\":{\"token\":\"token-1\",\"graph\":\"personal-db\",\"memoriesTag\":\"#[[Memories]]\"},\"work\":{\"token\":\"token-2\",\"graph\":\"work-db\",\"protected\":true}}", "ROAM_DEFAULT_GRAPH": "personal", "ROAM_SYSTEM_WRITE_KEY": "your-secret-key" } } } } ``` ## Query Block Parser (v2.11.0+) A utility for parsing and executing Roam query blocks programmatically. Converts `{{[[query]]: ...}}` syntax into Datalog queries. ### Supported Clauses | Clause | Syntax | Description | |--------|--------|-------------| | Page ref | `[[page]]` | Blocks referencing a page | | Block ref | `((uid))` | Blocks referencing a block | | `and` | `{and: [[a]] [[b]]}` | All conditions must match | | `or` | `{or: [[a]] [[b]]}` | Any condition matches | | `not` | `{not: [[tag]]}` | Exclude matches | | `between` | `{between: [[date1]] [[date2]]}` | Date range filter | | `search` | `{search: text}` | Full-text search | | `daily notes` | `{daily notes: }` | Daily notes pages only | | `by` | `{by: [[User]]}` | Created or edited by user | | `created by` | `{created by: [[User]]}` | Created by user | | `edited by` | `{edited by: User}` | Edited by user | ### Relative Dates The `between` clause supports relative dates: `today`, `yesterday`, `last week`, `last month`, `this year`, `7 days ago`, `2 months ago`, etc. ### Usage ```typescript import { QueryExecutor } from 'roam-research-mcp/query'; const executor = new QueryExecutor(graph); // Execute a query const results = await executor.execute( '{{[[query]]: "My Query" {and: [[Project]] {between: [[last month]] [[today]]}}}}' ); // Parse without executing (for debugging) const { name, query } = QueryParser.parseWithName(queryBlock); ``` ### Utility Functions ```typescript import { isQueryBlock, extractQueryBlocks } from 'roam-research-mcp/query'; // Detect if text is a query block isQueryBlock('{{[[query]]: [[tag]]}}'); // true // Extract all query blocks from a string extractQueryBlocks(pageContent); // ['{{[[query]]: ...}}', ...] ``` --- ## Support If this project helps you manage your knowledge base or build cool agents, consider buying me a coffee! It helps keep the updates coming.

**[https://paypal.me/2b3/5](https://paypal.me/2b3/5)** --- ## License MIT License - Created by [Ian Shen](https://github.com/2b3pro).