How do I install the cowork mcp server?

Use a recorded configuration for your client, replace example credential values and paths, and verify the documented runtime. Restart or reconnect the client, then inspect the available tools.

What credentials does it need?

It reads `OLLAMA_URL`, `EMBEDDING_MODEL` from the environment. Store these in your client's env block or a secrets manager — never commit them to a repository — and grant the narrowest scope that still covers your use case.

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Cowork MCP Server

Hybrid search for Cowork history: FTS, Spotlight, and semantic vectors

Local serverstdioPython

What is the Cowork MCP Server?

Hybrid search for Cowork history: FTS, Spotlight, and semantic vectors

What the server does

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for searching and browsing your Claude conversation history stored in ~/.claude/. Works with both Claude Code and Cowork conversations.

Hybrid Search — - Combines multiple search methods for best results:
SQLite FTS5 — - Fast full-text search with BM25 ranking
macOS Spotlight — - Leverages system content indexing via mdfind
Vector Embeddings — - Semantic similarity search (optional, requires Ollama)
Smart Path Reconstruction — - Recovers actual filesystem paths via probing (not heuristic guessing)
Persistent Index — - SQLite database with incremental updates for fast queries

More MCP options

Compare MCP servers by category, or browse hosted MCP servers if you prefer an endpoint over a local process.

Maintainer setup documentation.

How to install the Cowork MCP Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cowork-history": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["cowork-history"],
      "env": {
        "OLLAMA_URL": "http://localhost:11434",
        "EMBEDDING_MODEL": "nomic-embed-text"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

Variable	Description	Required
OLLAMA_URL	Endpoint or connection string the server talks to.	Yes
EMBEDDING_MODEL	Configuration value read at startup.	Optional

Example prompts to try

“Use Cowork to Indexing.”

Frequently asked questions

Hybrid search for Cowork history: FTS, Spotlight, and semantic vectors Confirm the tools offered by your installed version in the connected client. Tool availability and permissions depend on the server and account configuration.