Apple Notes

Manage Apple Notes via the memo CLI on macOS (create, view, edit, delete, search, move, and export notes).

Apple Notes is one of those deceptively simple apps that millions of people use daily without thinking about it. The memo CLI bridges the gap between Apple Notes and the terminal, letting you create, view, edit, delete, search, move, and export notes — all without opening Notes.app. Built in Python by Antonio Rodriguez, memo talks to Notes.app via macOS Automation (AppleScript bridge). It's designed for keyboard-driven workflows: fuzzy search through notes, quick-add from the terminal, and export to HTML/Markdown. If you're an Apple ecosystem user who lives in the terminal, this is the missing link. For OpenClaw users, the Apple Notes skill means your AI assistant can manage your notes hands-free: "Add a note about the meeting" or "Search my notes for the project brief." It syncs across all your Apple devices via iCloud, so a note created from your Mac terminal shows up instantly on your iPhone. Limitations are real: it can't handle notes with images/attachments, requires macOS only, and the interactive prompts need terminal access. But for text-based note management, it's clean and effective. Best suited for: Apple ecosystem users who want terminal access to their notes, anyone using OpenClaw on macOS who wants hands-free note management.

Tags: notes, apple, macos, productivity

Category: Productivity

Use Cases

  • Quick capture: 'Add a note about...' from your AI assistant
  • Search notes hands-free during conversations
  • Export meeting notes to Markdown for sharing
  • Create daily journal entries via cron automation
  • Organize notes into folders from the terminal

Tips

  • Grant Automation permissions proactively in System Settings before first use
  • Use `memo notes -s` for fuzzy search across all notes — faster than opening Notes.app
  • Export important notes to Markdown with `memo notes -ex` for backup or sharing
  • Pair with OpenClaw cron to create daily journal notes automatically
  • Use folder organization (`memo notes -f 'Work'`) to keep notes structured

Known Issues & Gotchas

  • macOS only — won't work on Linux or Windows
  • Cannot edit notes containing images or attachments
  • Requires granting Automation access to Notes.app in System Settings > Privacy & Security
  • Interactive prompts require a real terminal — may not work in all CI/CD environments
  • First run may trigger macOS permission dialog that needs manual approval
  • The project is still in beta — expect rough edges

Alternatives

  • Obsidian (obsidian-cli)
  • Bear Notes (grizzly)
  • Notion (API)
  • jot (macOS built-in)

Community Feedback

memo is a simple CLI tool for managing your Apple Notes. It's written in Python and aims to offer a fast, keyboard-driven way to create, search, and organize notes straight from your terminal.

— Reddit r/commandline

memo is a simple command-line interface (CLI) tool for managing your Apple Notes. It's written in Python and aims to offer a fast, keyboard-driven way to create, search, and organize notes.

— Hacker News

The Apple Notes skill is basically a thin wrapper around the memo CLI (macOS-only) which talks to Notes.app via Apple automation.

— OpenClaw Discord

Configuration Examples

Install memo via Homebrew

brew tap antoniorodr/memo
brew install antoniorodr/memo/memo

Create a quick note

memo notes -a "Meeting Notes - March 2026"

Search and filter notes

# Fuzzy search
memo notes -s "project brief"

# Filter by folder
memo notes -f "Work"

Installation

brew tap antoniorodr/memo && brew install antoniorodr/memo/memo

Homepage: https://github.com/antoniorodr/memo

Source: bundled