"Turn these meeting notes into a mind map." "Map the structure of this codebase." "Draw our database schema as a board." "Add the risks we just discussed to my Q3 plan."

You need TabTree itself. This package is the bridge, not the app. It works with both editions of TabTree, and you pick the mode with ONE environment variable:

Edition	What Claude talks to	Set
TabTree (subscription — your maps live in your account)	your account, through TabTree's API	`TABTREE_API_KEY` — the key from ⚙️ Settings → Account → Claude connector
TabTree Classic (the local file, bought once)	the 🛟 backup folder on your disk	`TABTREE_DIR` — that folder's path

In account mode a new map appears in TabTree within a minute, on every device you are signed in on. In Classic mode it appears as a file in your backup folder, and you pull it in from My maps → 🛟 → "Bring maps back from this folder…".

In both modes the connector only ever creates new maps. It cannot overwrite a map, cannot delete one, and never touches your browser storage. With a folder, nothing is uploaded anywhere; with an account, it talks only to TabTree's own API for that account.

Changes to a map you already have are no exception. Claude never writes to it: it files a proposal, TabTree shows it as a banner on that map, and you tick the changes you want. ⌘Z undoes them afterwards, like anything else you do.

Before you start

1. Get your key, or your folder. TabTree (subscription): open the app → ⚙️ Settings → Account → Claude connector → Create a connector key. It is shown once — copy it. TabTree Classic: open TabTree → My maps → 🛟 and pick a folder; that folder is what the connector reads and writes.

Quickest test, account mode:

TABTREE_API_KEY=tt_live_… npx tabtree-mcp

2. Node.js 18+ — for the npm and Claude Code routes. Claude Desktop ships its own Node, so the .mcpb install below needs nothing. For the other routes, check with node --version and install the LTS build from nodejs.org if it errors. The app itself never needs Node.

Install — npm (Claude Code, Cursor, any MCP client)

Nothing to clone, nothing to build. Point TABTREE_DIR at your backup folder:

claude mcp add tabtree --scope user -e TABTREE_DIR="/path/to/your/backup/folder" -- npx -y tabtree-mcp

For any client that reads a JSON config, the same thing:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tabtree": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "tabtree-mcp"],
      "env": { "TABTREE_DIR": "/path/to/your/backup/folder" }
    }
  }
}

The path must be absolute — ~ and relative paths will not resolve.

Install — Claude Desktop (double-click)

Double-click TabTree-Connector.mcpb. Claude Desktop opens its install screen, asks which folder to use — pick your backup folder — and that is the whole procedure. No terminal, no config file, no Node.

To change the folder later, or to remove the connector, use Claude Desktop's own extension settings. Nothing was written outside the app.

Install — Claude Code (one command)

.mcpb is a Claude Desktop format; Claude Code reads a config file instead. The installer writes it for you, backing up any existing one first:

node mcp/install.mjs --dir "/path/to/your/backup/folder"

It prints the claude mcp add command to paste for user-wide access.

To see what it would do without writing anything:

node mcp/install.mjs --dir "/path/to/your/backup/folder" --dry-run

To check an install that already exists:

node mcp/install.mjs --check

Manual install — Claude Code

claude mcp add tabtree --scope user -e TABTREE_DIR="/path/to/your/backup/folder" -- node /absolute/path/to/mcp/tabtree-mcp.mjs

--scope user makes the connector available in every project. Drop it and the connector only exists in the directory you ran the command from.

If you would rather not use the CLI, put this in a .mcp.json file at the root of a project — same result, scoped to that project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tabtree": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp/tabtree-mcp.mjs"],
      "env": { "TABTREE_DIR": "/path/to/your/backup/folder" }
    }
  }
}

Manual install — Claude Desktop (fallback)

You should not need this: the .mcpb above does it for you. Use it only if your Claude Desktop is too old to install extensions. Open the config file for your system:

System	File
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
Linux	`~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

Add the tabtree block shown above inside mcpServers, keeping any servers already listed there. Save, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop — reloading the window is not enough.

Paths must be absolute in both clients. ~ and relative paths will not resolve.

What Claude can do

Tool	What it does
`list_maps`	Lists every map and board — name, type, folder, size, last modified.
`read_map`	Reads one map. A mind map comes back as a markdown outline, a board as elements and connections.
`search_maps`	Searches the whole library — map names, nodes, notes, shapes, stickies. Case-insensitive.
`create_mindmap`	Creates a new mind map from a markdown outline.
`create_board`	Creates a new whiteboard — shapes and arrows that stay anchored in the app.
`propose_changes`	Proposes changes to a map you already have. Nothing is written to it — TabTree asks you first.

create_mindmap takes an indented markdown outline. Headings (#, ##) and bullet lists both work, two spaces per level, [x] for a checked item and [title](url) for a link. The first top-level line becomes the centre of the map.

create_board takes a list of elements (rect, ellipse, text, sticky) and connections between them. Leave out the x/y coordinates and it lays the board out automatically — the connections define the hierarchy, left to right. Both accept an optional folder, which becomes a folder in your library.

propose_changes is the one tool that points at a map you already have. It can add a branch, rename a node, write a note, tick a task, or remove a branch — and it does none of those things by itself. It writes a small file into a Propositions subfolder of your backup folder; TabTree checks that folder while it is open and raises a banner on the map concerned. You review the changes one by one, tick the ones you want, and press Apply. ⌘Z undoes the lot.

Claude names each node by its exact text, so ask it to read the map first. When the same wording appears twice, it must write a path — "Q4 > Hire" — and if it cannot tell them apart, the proposal is refused rather than applied to the wrong one. A proposal you ignore is moved to Propositions/Reviewed, never deleted.

If you close TabTree, or the backup folder is not connected, nothing is lost: the proposal waits in the folder and the banner appears the next time you open the app with that folder connected.

Getting the maps into TabTree

New files land in your backup folder but the app does not watch that folder, so nothing appears on its own. Open My maps, click the 🛟 button in the toolbar, and choose "Bring maps back from this folder…". Anything already in your library is skipped, so you can press it as often as you like. The same command is in ⌘K under "Bring my maps back from a folder…".

There is no ♻️ button in the toolbar: it only appears when your library is empty. With maps already in it, the 🛟 menu is the way in.

The folder must match. The connector writes to the folder you configured; TabTree reads the folder named next to its 🛟 button. If those are two different folders, maps are created correctly and never appear. Every creation message tells you which folder was written — compare it with what the app shows.

Tell Claude to use a folder — "Depuis Claude", "Claude", whatever you prefer — and everything it makes stays grouped in one place in your library.

When it does not work

Claude does not offer the tools. Restart the client — Claude Desktop needs a full quit, not a window reload. Then check the config file is valid JSON; a trailing comma is enough to make the whole file be ignored silently.

"TABTREE_DIR is not set." The env block is missing or the path is wrong. Run node mcp/install.mjs --check to see the path the connector resolves.

"The TABTREE_DIR folder does not exist." The path has a typo, or the folder is in iCloud Drive / OneDrive and has been evicted to the cloud. Open it in Finder or Explorer once to bring it back.

New maps do not show up in the app. They are files on disk until you press brought them in from the 🛟 menu. Check the folder in Finder first — if the file is there, the connector did its job, and the question is only which folder the app is reading.

A map comes back empty. The connector reads .tabtree and .ygmind files one folder deep. A map filed two levels down is out of reach; move it up.

Claude filed a proposal and no banner appeared. Three things must all be true: TabTree is open, its 🛟 folder is the folder the connector writes to, and the map the proposal targets is one this browser actually has. That last one catches the common case — a proposal for a map that only exists on your other machine stays silent here, on purpose. Type __ygProps() in the browser console to see what the app found.

🇫🇷 En français

Le connecteur permet à Claude de lire votre bibliothèque TabTree et de créer des cartes et des boards. Il ne crée que de nouveaux fichiers : il ne peut rien écraser ni supprimer, et ne touche jamais au stockage du navigateur. Pour modifier une carte existante, il dépose une proposition que TabTree vous présente ligne par ligne : rien n'est appliqué sans votre clic, et ⌘Z l'annule.

Prérequis : un dossier de sauvegarde configuré dans TabTree (🛟 dans « Mes cartes »).

Claude Desktop — double-cliquez TabTree-Connector.mcpb. Claude demande le dossier à utiliser, et c'est terminé : ni terminal, ni fichier de config, ni Node à installer.

Claude Code — .mcpb ne s'y applique pas, il lit un fichier de config :

node mcp/install.mjs --dir "/chemin/vers/votre/dossier"

Cette voie-là demande Node.js 18 ou plus. Ensuite, demandez par exemple « transforme ces notes de réunion en carte mentale » : la carte est écrite dans le dossier ; récupérez-la dans l'app par Mes cartes → 🛟 → « Bring maps back from this folder… ». Le dossier visé par le connecteur doit être celui que TabTree affiche à côté de son bouton 🛟 : s'ils diffèrent, les cartes sont créées et n'apparaissent jamais.

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