Mousetail MCP Server

Mousetail's goal is to be the simplest and most reliable way of connecting Anki to an LLM. It does not require any addons, just have anki installed

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What is the Mousetail MCP server?

Mousetail's goal is to be the simplest and most reliable way of connecting Anki to an LLM. It does not require any addons, just have anki installed and an LLM you'd like to connect to your decks. Exposed over MCP by the mousetail mcp server, that capability becomes something an assistant can invoke while it works, not something you go and do afterwards.

What it actually does

  • Minimal — - supports core anki operations: create, read, update and delete
  • Stable — - works directly with anki's stable pylib api, no addons or deps
  • Simple — - no configuration required, automatically discovers your Anki collections

Its toolset

Everything the assistant can do here goes through one of these:

  • Minimal — supports core anki operations: create, read, update and delete
  • Stable — works directly with anki's stable pylib api, no addons or deps
  • Simple — no configuration required, automatically discovers your Anki collections
  • macOS — ** Keychain
  • Windows — ** Credential Manager
  • Linux — ** Secret Service (GNOME Keyring, KWallet, etc.)
  • save_sync_credentials — Save username/password securely
  • load_sync_credentials — Load saved credentials
  • delete_sync_credentials — Remove saved credentials
  • Self — hosted servers** - Provide custom endpoint URL (e.g., https://sync.example.com)
  • Collection — only sync** - Set sync_media: false to skip media
  • Conflicts — ** If conflicts occur, try syncing from Anki desktop first to resolve them

Adding it to your client

Being a remote server, there is no local install. You register the endpoint with your client, authorise it once, and the tools appear.

Configuration

You will need one environment variable: PYTHONUNBUFFERED. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.

When to reach for it

Plenty of AI and media services servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. Mousetail's toolset — Minimal, Stable, Simple and 11 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by listfold; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

Caveats

  • Your data travels to the provider's service, so the usual questions apply about what you send and what they retain.
  • With 14 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Mousetail.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the mousetail mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
Minimalsupports core anki operations: create, read, update and delete
Stableworks directly with anki's stable pylib api, no addons or deps
Simpleno configuration required, automatically discovers your Anki collections
macOS** Keychain
Windows** Credential Manager
Linux** Secret Service (GNOME Keyring, KWallet, etc.)
save_sync_credentialsSave username/password securely
load_sync_credentialsLoad saved credentials
delete_sync_credentialsRemove saved credentials
Selfhosted servers** - Provide custom endpoint URL (e.g., https://sync.example.com)
Collectiononly sync** - Set sync_media: false to skip media
Conflicts** If conflicts occur, try syncing from Anki desktop first to resolve them
Security** Credentials are never stored in plain text - they're kept in your system's secure credential storage
ExamplesThe Examples tool exposed by this server.

How to install the Mousetail MCP server

{
     "mcpServers": {
       "mousetail": {
         "type": "stdio",
         "command": "uv",
         "args": ["run", "python", "-m", "mousetail.mcp.stdio_server"],
         "env": {
           "PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1"
         }
       }
     }
   }

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

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
PYTHONUNBUFFEREDConfiguration value read at startup.Optional

Example prompts to try

  • Use Mousetail to Minimal.
  • Use Mousetail to Stable.
  • Use Mousetail to Simple.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Mousetail to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 14 tools (Minimal, Stable, Simple, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Mousetail directly.