MojoPad

AI Agents

MojoPad can hand an AI assistant a set of tools for working with your wikis — so instead of you clicking around, you can just ask. Say “make a MojoPad wiki from the documents in this folder” and the assistant builds it; ask “what do my notes say about onboarding?” and it answers from your pages. As with everything in MojoPad, it all happens on your Mac; nothing about your wikis leaves your computer.

If words like MCP and agent are new to you, this chapter starts from zero. You don't need to be technical to use any of it.

What is MCP, in plain terms?

MCP (the Model Context Protocol) is simply a shared standard for letting an AI assistant use tools. On its own, a chat assistant can only talk. MCP is the socket that lets it also do things in real apps — read a file, search a database, create a document. A program that offers such tools is called an MCP server; the assistant that uses them is the MCP client (or agent).

MojoPad includes an MCP server. Turning it on gives your assistant eleven MojoPad tools — create a wiki, add a page, search, ask a question, and so on. You never see the tools directly; you just talk to your assistant in plain language, and behind the scenes it picks the right MojoPad tool for what you asked. Think of it as teaching your AI assistant how to use MojoPad on your behalf.

What you need

  • An AI app that speaks MCP. MojoPad sets up in one click for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cowork, and Dispatch, and works with any other MCP client via a copy-paste config. (These are the assistant apps — MojoPad is the server they connect to.)
  • Nothing else to install. The MojoPad server runs inside MojoPad's own program, so there's no separate download, no Node.js, no command to leave running.
  • For the “live” features only: your local AI, Ollama, running (see the Local AI chapter). The offline features don't need it.

Connecting your assistant — step by step

Open Settings ▸ AI Agents (⌘,, then the AI Agents tab). You'll see a button for each app. Click the one you use:

  • Add to Claude Desktop — click it, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. That single step also connects Cowork and Dispatch, which share Claude Desktop's connections — no separate setup for those.
  • Add to Claude Code — click it, then start a new Claude Code session (a new terminal, or a new window). An MCP connection is picked up when a session starts, so a session you already had open won't see MojoPad until you begin a fresh one.
  • Copy config — for any other MCP client (or to set one up by hand), this copies a small configuration snippet. Paste it into that app's MCP settings where it asks for servers.

After connecting, confirm it worked: ask your assistant “check the MojoPad app status” or “list the pages in <some wiki>”. If it can answer, you're connected. From here on you never touch Settings again — you just talk to your assistant.

Your first two minutes

A concrete way to feel it working, in a fresh assistant session:

  1. Make a folder with a few .md or .txt files (or point at one you have).
  2. Tell your assistant: “Use the MojoPad tools to create a wiki called Research from the documents in /path/to/that/folder, then open it in MojoPad.”
  3. Watch MojoPad pop open with a new wiki — each document now an editable, interlinked page.

That's the whole loop: you ask, the assistant uses MojoPad's tools, the result appears in the app. No wiki opens with setup questions — it's ready to use.

What you can ask for

The tools fall into two groups. The offline group works directly with wiki files on disk — MojoPad doesn't even need to be running:

You can say…What happens
“Create a wiki at <path>Makes a new, empty .mojopad document.
“Fill it from the documents in <folder>Imports a folder: Markdown and text become editable pages, images are embedded, and PDFs, EPUBs, and Word files come in as attachments you can open and read in MojoPad.
“Add a page called X with this content…”Writes a new page into a wiki.
“List / read / search the pages in <wiki>Browses a wiki's pages, reads one, or keyword-searches it.
“Open <wiki> in MojoPad”Launches the app on that wiki.

The live group works with the wiki you have open right now, using your local AI (these need the first switch below, and Ollama running):

You can say…What happens
“Ask my open wiki: <question>Answers from your own pages, and cites which pages it drew from.
“Search my open wiki by meaning for <idea>Finds related pages by meaning, not just matching words.
“Add a page to my open wiki…”Writes a page that appears in the app as it's created (needs the second switch below).

The two switches — you're always in control

In Settings ▸ AI Agents there are two checkboxes. Both are off until you turn them on, and each unlocks a little more:

SwitchWhat it allowsTurn it on when…
Let agents reach the wiki that's open right nowUnlocks the live features — Ask and search-by-meaning over your open wiki. The connection exists only on your own computer and is guarded by a private key, so a web page or another machine can't reach it. Nothing listens until you switch it on.You want to ask questions of, or semantically search, the wiki you're working in.
Allow agents to modify wikis you already haveWith this off, an assistant can create new wikis and read your existing ones, but not change them. On, it can also add pages to a wiki you already have, and fill an existing wiki from a folder. You trust the assistant to write into wikis you already keep.

A good default: leave both off to start. Creating new wikis and reading existing ones — the most common uses — needs neither. Turn on the first when you want to chat with your open wiki, and the second only when you want an assistant writing into wikis you already have.

Your privacy

Every part of this runs on your Mac. The offline tools read and write local files directly. The live Ask and semantic search use your local AI (Ollama) — your pages are never sent to any cloud. The live connection is local-only and key-guarded, so nothing outside your computer can reach your wikis through it. If you use no AI features at all, no connection is even opened.

If something isn't working

  • The assistant doesn't see MojoPad. A connection is read when a session starts. Begin a brand-new session (for Claude Code, a new terminal or window; for Claude Desktop, fully quit and reopen it) after connecting.
  • “Add to Claude Code” reports an error. It's looking for the claude command and couldn't find it. Make sure Claude Code is installed, then try again — or use Copy config and add MojoPad by hand.
  • Ask says the live bridge isn't reachable. Turn on Let agents reach the wiki that's open right now in Settings ▸ AI Agents, and make sure MojoPad is running with a wiki open. That message is the safety guard doing its job, not a failure.
  • Ask or semantic search returns nothing / an AI error. Those need Ollama running with a model pulled (see Local AI). The offline tools work without it.
  • It acted on the wrong wiki. Live features act on whichever wiki window is frontmost in MojoPad — bring the one you mean to the front, then ask again.
  • It won't change an existing wiki. That's the second switch. Turn on Allow agents to modify wikis you already have if you want writes into wikis you already keep.