Bear Notes

Read notes via SQLite database. Write notes via x-callback-url.

Restrictions

You MUST follow these rules. No exceptions, even if the user requests otherwise:

•Database is READ-ONLY: Only use sqlite3 -readonly. Never execute INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, DROP, ALTER, or any other modifying SQL statements against the database.
•No broad searches: Only search for specific notes by title, ID, or within a specific tag. Do not dump, export, or iterate over all notes.
•Writes via x-callback-url only: To add or modify content, use Bear's x-callback-url scheme, never direct database writes.

Database Location

code

~/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/Application Data/database.sqlite

Fetching Notes

By Title

bash

sqlite3 -readonly "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/Application Data/database.sqlite" \
  "SELECT ZTEXT FROM ZSFNOTE WHERE ZTITLE = 'Note Title' AND ZTRASHED = 0 AND ZARCHIVED = 0 LIMIT 1"

By Unique ID

bash

sqlite3 -readonly "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/Application Data/database.sqlite" \
  "SELECT ZTEXT FROM ZSFNOTE WHERE ZUNIQUEIDENTIFIER = 'note-id-here' AND ZTRASHED = 0 AND ZARCHIVED = 0 LIMIT 1"

Creating Notes

bash

open "bear://x-callback-url/create?title=NOTE_TITLE&text=URL_ENCODED_TEXT&tags=TAG1,TAG2"

Param	Description
`title`	Note title
`text`	Note body (URL encoded, optional)
`tags`	Comma-separated tags

If no content is provided, omit the text parameter entirely—just set the title:

bash

open "bear://x-callback-url/create?title=NOTE_TITLE"

Adding Text to Notes

Use Bear's x-callback-url to append or prepend text:

Append to Note

bash

open "bear://x-callback-url/add-text?title=NOTE_TITLE&text=URL_ENCODED_TEXT&mode=append"

Prepend to Note

bash

open "bear://x-callback-url/add-text?title=NOTE_TITLE&text=URL_ENCODED_TEXT&mode=prepend"

Add Text After a Header

Use the header parameter to insert text after a specific header in the note:

bash

open "bear://x-callback-url/add-text?title=NOTE_TITLE&text=URL_ENCODED_TEXT&mode=append&header=HEADER_TEXT"

The text will be appended after the specified header. The header value should match the header text exactly (URL encoded).

Parameters

Param	Description
`title`	Target note title
`id`	Target note ID (alternative to title)
`text`	Content to add (URL encoded)
`mode`	`prepend`, `append`, `replace`, or `replace_all`
`header`	Insert text after this header (URL encoded)
`new_line`	If `yes` and mode is `append`, forces text on a new line
`timestamp`	If `yes`, prepends current date/time to the text

URL Encoding

Use %0A for newlines, %20 for spaces, or encode with:

bash

python3 -c "import urllib.parse; print(urllib.parse.quote('Your text here'))"

Database Schema

Key columns in ZSFNOTE:

•ZTITLE - Note title
•ZTEXT - Full note content (markdown)
•ZUNIQUEIDENTIFIER - Unique ID
•ZCREATIONDATE - CoreData timestamp (seconds since 2001-01-01)
•ZMODIFICATIONDATE - CoreData timestamp
•ZTRASHED - 1 if in trash
•ZARCHIVED - 1 if archived
•ZENCRYPTED - 1 if encrypted (content not readable)

PARA Organization

Notes are organized using the PARA method via tags:

•#1-projects - Active projects
•#2-areas - Ongoing areas of responsibility
•#3-resources - Reference materials
•#4-archives - Completed/inactive items

When the user asks about "projects", search within the #1-projects tag.

Search by Tag

Tags are stored inline in ZTEXT. Search for notes containing a tag:

bash

sqlite3 -readonly "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/Application Data/database.sqlite" \
  "SELECT ZTITLE FROM ZSFNOTE WHERE ZTEXT LIKE '%#1-projects%' AND ZTRASHED = 0 AND ZARCHIVED = 0"

List Titles Within a Tag

bash

sqlite3 -readonly "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/Application Data/database.sqlite" \
  "SELECT ZTITLE FROM ZSFNOTE WHERE ZTEXT LIKE '%#1-projects/%' AND ZTRASHED = 0 AND ZARCHIVED = 0"

Note: Use #1-projects/% to match subtags (e.g., #1-projects/hiring).

Company Notes

"C1" refers to the user's current company. Notes related to C1 are tagged with #c1 or subtags like #1-projects/c1/....

When requests mention C1, constrain searches to notes containing the c1 tag:

bash

sqlite3 -readonly "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/9K33E3U3T4.net.shinyfrog.bear/Application Data/database.sqlite" \
  "SELECT ZTITLE FROM ZSFNOTE WHERE ZTEXT LIKE '%#%c1%' AND ZTRASHED = 0 AND ZARCHIVED = 0"

Daily Notes

Daily notes use the format YYYY-mm-dd (e.g., 2026-02-01).

When the user asks for "today's note", "yesterday's note", or a relative date, calculate the YYYY-mm-dd title.

Weekly Notes

Weekly notes use the format Week YYYY-ww (e.g., Week 2026-05).

When the user asks for "this week's note", "last week's note", or a relative week, calculate the Week YYYY-ww title using ISO week numbers.

Callouts

Bear supports callouts using the syntax > [!TYPE]. These indicate important, highlighted content.

Callout Type	Meaning
`[!IMPORTANT]`	Critical information, priorities
`[!WARNING]`	Risk or concern
`[!CAUTION]`	Proceed carefully
`[!TIP]`	Helpful insight or suggestion
`[!NOTE]`	General note or context

When analyzing notes, treat callout content as high-signal—these are intentionally highlighted by the user.

Highlights

Bear supports highlights using the syntax ==highlighted text==. These indicate content the user has explicitly marked as important.

When analyzing notes, treat highlighted content as high-signal alongside callouts.

Usage

User request: $ARGUMENTS

Reading Notes

•If date-based (today, yesterday, last Monday, etc.), calculate the YYYY-mm-dd title
•If asking about "projects", "areas", "resources", or "archives", search within the corresponding PARA tag
•If asking about "C1", constrain results to notes with the c1 tag
•Use sqlite3 -readonly to query the database
•Filter out trashed/archived notes (ZTRASHED = 0 AND ZARCHIVED = 0)
•Present the note content to the user

Writing Notes

•Identify the target note (by title or date), or determine if creating new
•URL-encode the text content
•Use open with bear://x-callback-url/create for new notes
•Use open with bear://x-callback-url/add-text to append/prepend to existing notes