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Guide · Agent skill

How to use the Bear Notes agent skill (bear-notes)

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

The bear-notes skill teaches an AI agent to work with the Bear notes app on a Mac using a command-line tool called grizzly. This guide explains what an agent skill is, how to install this one, how to ask for things in plain language, and what it needs before it works. By the end you will be able to create notes, append text, list tags and open notes by tag or ID through an agent.

Bear Notesspinabot/brigade · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Check requirements. Confirm you are on macOS, have Bear installed, and have a Go toolchain available for the grizzly install.
  2. 2Install grizzly. Run the Go install command for github.com/tylerwince/grizzly/cmd/grizzly@latest.
  3. 3Download and unzip the skill. Download the ZIP from our page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
  4. 4Save your Bear token. Copy the token from Bear under Help → API Token and save it to ~/.config/grizzly/token.
  5. 5Open Bear. Keep Bear running, since the commands only work while it is open.
  6. 6Ask in plain language. Describe the note you want to create, append to, or look up, and the agent will run the matching grizzly command.

What is an agent skill and what does bear-notes let the agent do?

An agent skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file that gives an AI agent instructions for a specific task. When the skill is installed, the agent can read those instructions and use the tools they describe.

The bear-notes skill uses the grizzly CLI to create, read and manage notes in Bear on macOS. Once installed, the agent can create new notes, add text to existing notes, list your tags, and open notes by tag or by ID so it can read them back.

  • Create a note with a title and tag
  • Append text to an existing note by ID
  • List all tags in Bear
  • Open notes by tag or by note ID

Install the bear-notes skill

Download the ZIP for this skill from our page and unzip it. To make it available to Claude Code for yourself, place the bear-notes folder in ~/.claude/skills/. To limit it to one project, place it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder.

You can also upload the skill in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

The skill also includes an install entry for the grizzly CLI, which uses Go. Install it with the Go module path github.com/tylerwince/grizzly/cmd/grizzly@latest. This step needs a Go toolchain on your machine.

  • Option A: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use
  • Option B: unzip into a project's .claude/skills/ folder
  • Option C: upload via Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps
go install github.com/tylerwince/grizzly/cmd/grizzly@latest

Set up your Bear API token

Some actions need a Bear API token: add-text, tags, and open-note with --selected. Get it from Bear under Help → API Token → Copy Token. Then save it to the path the skill reads.

The token grants access to note content, so store it only on your own machine and keep the file private.

  • Open Bear → Help → API Token → Copy Token
  • Save the token to ~/.config/grizzly/token
echo "YOUR_TOKEN" > ~/.config/grizzly/token

Ask the agent for what you need

You do not need to type commands yourself. Describe the result you want in plain language, and the agent picks the matching grizzly command. Make sure Bear is open first, because the commands only work while Bear is running.

Be specific about the note title, tag and content. For appending or reading, give the note ID if you have it, since IDs are how Bear identifies notes.

  • "Create a Bear note titled Meeting prep with the tag work and these bullet points: ..."
  • "Add this to my Bear note with ID NOTE_ID: ..."
  • "List all my tags in Bear."
  • "Open the Bear notes tagged inbox and summarise them."

Common commands the skill uses

These are the commands the skill documents. The agent runs them for you, but reading them helps you understand what will happen. Use --dry-run to preview the URL without executing, or --print-url to show the x-callback-url.

Search is done with open-tag, and reading data back requires --enable-callback.

  • --dry-run: preview the URL without executing
  • --print-url: show the x-callback-url
  • --enable-callback: wait for Bear's response (needed for reading data)
  • --json: output as JSON (when using callbacks)
  • --token-file PATH: path to the Bear API token file
echo "Note content here" | grizzly create --title "My Note" --tag work echo "Additional content" | grizzly add-text --id "NOTE_ID" --mode append --token-file ~/.config/grizzly/token grizzly open-note --id "NOTE_ID" --enable-callback --json grizzly tags --enable-callback --json --token-file ~/.config/grizzly/token grizzly open-tag --name "work" --enable-callback --json

Configure grizzly (optional)

Grizzly reads settings in this priority order: CLI flags first, then environment variables (GRIZZLY_TOKEN_FILE, GRIZZLY_CALLBACK_URL, GRIZZLY_TIMEOUT), then .grizzly.toml in the current directory, then ~/.config/grizzly/config.toml.

The skill's example config sets the token file, callback URL and timeout as shown.

  • token_file sets where the token is read from
  • callback_url sets the local callback address
  • timeout sets how long to wait, here 5s
token_file = "~/.config/grizzly/token" callback_url = "http://127.0.0.1:42123/success" timeout = "5s"

What people use it for

  • Filing a quick idea into an inbox note with a tag from a terminal or agent chat
  • Appending meeting notes or action items to an existing Bear note by ID
  • Listing your Bear tags to see how your notes are organised
  • Opening all notes under one tag so an agent can read them back and summarise them

Frequently asked questions

Does the bear-notes skill work on Windows or Linux?

No. The skill is limited to macOS (darwin), and Bear is a Mac app. It will not work on Windows or Linux.

What do I need before installing bear-notes?

You need macOS, the Bear app installed and running, the grizzly CLI installed through Go, and a Go toolchain for that install step. Some actions also need a Bear API token saved at ~/.config/grizzly/token.

Where do I get the Bear API token?

Open Bear and go to Help → API Token → Copy Token. Save it to ~/.config/grizzly/token with the echo command shown in the setup section.

Is the bear-notes skill free and what is its licence?

The skill is released under the MIT licence. The source does not mention any price, so this page does not state one.

Does the skill use the network?

The skill's listed requirements say it does not use the network. It does run scripts, because it calls the grizzly CLI, so review what it runs before you install.

Can the agent read or change my private notes?

Yes, if the skill is installed and has your token. It can open and modify notes through Bear's callback system, so do not use it on notes that the agent should not see or change.

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Our verdict

Use bear-notes if you are on a Mac, keep your notes in Bear, and want an agent to file, append to or look up notes, and you are comfortable with Go and storing an API token locally. Pick something else if you use Windows or Linux, or if your notes are too sensitive to let an agent read or modify them.

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