Raindrop MCP: what it does, and a local alternative

Raindrop.io now has an official MCP server, which means Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other AI apps can search your bookmarks and, if you let them, reorganise them. It is a useful addition to a bookmark manager many people already rely on. It also comes with conditions worth knowing before you connect it: a paid plan, a beta label, and write access that includes deleting. Muse, a $29 one-off Mac app, is the local alternative: its own MCP server answers AI apps on your Mac, and anything they remove goes to a Trash only you can empty.

Everything here comes from Raindrop's own MCP documentation, checked in September 2026.

What does the Raindrop MCP server do?

It gives an AI app a set of tools over your Raindrop account. Some only read:

• find bookmarks, collections, tags and highlights
• fetch a bookmark's content
• find bookmarks that look misplaced or mis-tagged, which is a clever touch

Others change your library: create, update and delete bookmarks; create, update, merge and delete collections; update and delete tags; and create, update and delete highlights.

On deleting, Raindrop is careful but not absolute. A deleted bookmark moves to Raindrop's Trash, and deleting one that is already in the Trash removes it for good. Deleting a collection moves its bookmarks to the Trash. So an AI app that is asked to "clear out the Trash", or that takes two passes at a clean-up, can remove things permanently.

Who can use it, and how do you connect it?

Raindrop's developer documentation is direct about it: "MCP is currently in beta and available to Pro users." Pro is $34 a year. The server lives on Raindrop's own servers at https://api.raindrop.io/rest/v2/ai/mcp, and you sign in with your Raindrop account when you first connect.

Because it is on the internet rather than on your Mac, you add it as a remote connector:

• Claude (web, desktop and Cowork): Customize > Connectors, click +, choose Add custom connector and paste the address. Connectors are set on your Claude account, so it then works wherever you use Claude.
• Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http raindrop https://api.raindrop.io/rest/v2/ai/mcp
• Codex: codex mcp add raindrop --url https://api.raindrop.io/rest/v2/ai/mcp, then codex mcp login raindrop to sign in.

Raindrop also has setup pages for ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and Zed. Being a cloud server is a real advantage here: it works from Claude in a browser and on your phone, which a server on your Mac cannot.

Is there a free way to connect Raindrop to Claude?

Partly. Raindrop's REST API is open to any account, and you can create a personal test token in its App Management Console. Several community MCP servers use that API and predate the official one. They can work well on a free account, but they are maintained by individuals, so check who wrote one, when it was last updated and which of its tools can delete before you give it your token.

If what you want is a copy of your bookmarks an AI app can read, an export is simpler still. Raindrop exports to HTML, CSV or TXT from Settings, then Backups, and our Raindrop export guide walks through each format.

What would a local alternative look like?

A local alternative keeps the library on your Mac and has an app answer the AI app directly. Muse works that way. It includes an MCP server from version 1.0.40, and it imports a Raindrop CSV, rebuilding your nested collections and fetching a preview for every link.

The trade is clear. Raindrop reaches every device and every AI app, including ones in a browser. Muse stays on one Mac, needs an Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 14 or later, and only answers AI apps running on that Mac, but nothing an AI app does in it can be permanent without you, and the library is yours outright. Before the first change an AI app makes each day, Muse also saves a copy of your library and keeps the last seven, with Undo AI Changes in Settings > Library > Backup. Its MCP Server and its Local API for scripts are both off until you turn them on in Settings > Intelligence.

Many people will keep Raindrop for links they want everywhere and use a local library for the pictures and references they collect for work. The two can sit side by side in the same AI app.