Burn — Personal Knowledge Base MCP Server

Your reading data as an AI-accessible knowledge base. 26 tools for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP-compatible agent.

How it works

Burn triages your reading with a 24h timer:

Flame → New links. 24h to read or they burn.
Spark → You read it. Stays 30 days.
Vault → Permanent. Your curated knowledge.
Ash → Expired. They had their chance.

The MCP server lets your AI agent search, triage, organize, and analyze everything you've saved.

Quick Start

1. Get your token

Download Burn on iOS or use Burn on the web → Settings → MCP Server → Copy Access Token

2. Pick a connection mode

2a. Local — stdio (Claude Desktop / Claude Code CLI / Cursor / Windsurf)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "burn": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["burn-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "BURN_MCP_TOKEN": "<your-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

2b. Remote — HTTPS (claude.ai Connectors / Claude Code Routines / any cloud MCP client)

Endpoint:

https://burn-mcp-server.vercel.app/api/mcp

Auth: Authorization: Bearer <BURN_MCP_TOKEN> header.

For claude.ai Connectors (Settings → Connectors → Add custom MCP):

URL: https://burn-mcp-server.vercel.app/api/mcp
Header: Authorization: Bearer <your BURN_MCP_TOKEN>

For Claude Code Routines: link globally in Settings → Connectors; Routines will auto-include it.

Direct curl test:

curl -X POST https://burn-mcp-server.vercel.app/api/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BURN_MCP_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-03-26","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"curl","version":"1.0"}}}'

Transport: stateless StreamableHTTP, JSON-response mode. Same 26 tools, same token, no install.

3. Start asking

"What did I save about system design?"
"Triage my Flame — what should I keep?"
"Create a collection from my AI bookmarks"

Tools (26)

Search & Read

Tool	What it does
`search_vault`	Search permanent bookmarks by keyword
`list_vault`	List Vault bookmarks by category
`list_sparks`	List recently read bookmarks (30-day window)
`search_sparks`	Search Sparks by keyword
`list_flame`	List inbox — what's about to burn
`get_flame_detail`	Full detail on a Flame bookmark
`get_bookmark`	Get any bookmark by ID
`get_article_content`	Get full article content + analysis
`fetch_content`	Fetch content from a URL (X, Reddit, YouTube, WeChat)
`list_categories`	All Vault categories with counts
`get_collections`	List all Collections
`get_collection_overview`	Collection detail with AI overview

Triage (Agent as your filter)

Tool	What it does
`move_flame_to_spark`	Keep it — worth reading. Optional insight.
`move_flame_to_ash`	Burn it. Optional reason.
`move_spark_to_vault`	Promote to permanent. Optional category.
`move_spark_to_ash`	Not valuable enough to keep.
`batch_triage_flame`	Triage up to 20 at once.

Collections (Agent as your curator)

Tool	What it does
`create_collection`	Create a topic bundle with initial bookmarks
`add_to_collection`	Add bookmarks (deduplicates)
`remove_from_collection`	Remove bookmarks
`update_collection_overview`	Write AI overview (theme, synthesis, gaps)

Analysis (Agent as your analyst)

Tool	What it does
`write_bookmark_analysis`	Write structured analysis back to a bookmark

Auto-Feed (Agent as your scout)

Tool	What it does
`add_watched_source`	Watch an X user, RSS feed, or YouTube channel. New posts flow into Flame automatically.
`list_watched_sources`	List all active watched sources
`remove_watched_source`	Stop watching a source
`scrape_watched_sources`	Fetch new content from watched sources on demand

Resources

URI	Content
`burn://vault/bookmarks`	All Vault bookmarks (JSON)
`burn://vault/categories`	Category list (JSON)

Use Cases

Personal knowledge management — Your agent searches your reading history to answer questions, find patterns, and surface forgotten gems.

Research workflows — Create collections on topics you're exploring. Agent writes overviews synthesizing your sources.

Reading triage — Agent reviews your Flame inbox, reads the content, decides what's worth keeping based on your interests.

Cross-tool intelligence — Use with Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf. Your bookmarks become context for coding, writing, and thinking.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`BURN_MCP_TOKEN`	Yes*	Long-lived MCP token (recommended)
`BURN_SUPABASE_TOKEN`	Yes*	Legacy JWT token (still supported)
`BURN_API_URL`	No	Custom API URL (default: production)

*One of BURN_MCP_TOKEN or BURN_SUPABASE_TOKEN required.

Security

Token scoped to your data only (Row Level Security)
Status flow enforced: Flame → Spark → Vault, or → Ash
Rate limit: 30 calls/min per session
Tokens expire after 30 days

License

MIT

burn-mcp-server