Use your library in Claude, LM Studio and other AI apps

AI Summary Helper can share your library with AI apps that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP): Claude Desktop, LM Studio, Cursor, VS Code, Jan, and local agents. Your app asks a question, AI Summary Helper looks it up in your saved articles, and the answer goes straight back to the app on your machine.

It is off by default. Nothing about it involves our server: the extension and the app talk to each other through a small helper program on your computer, aish-mcp, which stores no articles and forwards nothing anywhere else.

What you can ask

• Ask your reading, not the internet. “What have I saved about AI and surveillance? Group it by theme and tell me where the articles disagree.”
• Write from your own sources. “Draft a post about the CO₂ cost of AI, and quote my highlights.”
• Answer a collection's question. “Use my collection on inflation. Answer its question using only those sources, and say what is missing.”
• Catch up on saved-for-later. “What is due this week from my saved-for-later list? Give me a five-minute version of each.”
• Triage your feeds. “Go through today's unread feed items about AI and tell me the three worth reading.”
• See your year. “Make my reading year in review for 2026: top topics, busiest month, and the articles that defined it.”
• Let an agent save for you. “Find three good sources on local-first software and save them to my AISH inbox with a note.”

With a local model in LM Studio, all of this works with your network switched off.

Set it up

You need AI Summary Helper in Chrome, Edge or Brave, Node.js 20 or newer, and an MCP app.

1. Turn it on. In AI Summary Helper, open Settings → AI apps (MCP) and switch on Let AI apps on this computer use my library.
2. Get your pairing code. In a terminal, run npx -y aish-mcp pair. It prints a pairing code and stores it in your user folder. Paste the code into the settings panel and select Connect.
3. Add AI Summary Helper to your app. Use the snippet for your app below, then quit the app completely and open it again.
4. Check the connection. The settings panel shows Connected once your app is running. Ask your app something about your library: every call it makes appears under Recent activity in the panel.

Claude Desktop

Settings → Developer → Edit Config, then add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aish": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "aish-mcp"] }
  }
}

If Claude Desktop cannot find npx, use its full path, which which npx prints in a terminal (for example /opt/homebrew/bin/npx).

Cursor

In ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (one project), add the same "aish" entry as for Claude Desktop.

VS Code

In .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "aish": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "aish-mcp"] }
  }
}

LM Studio and other apps

Apps with an mcpServers setting (LM Studio's mcp.json, Jan, and most others) take the same entry as Claude Desktop. Apps that only connect over HTTP can use npx -y aish-mcp --http at http://127.0.0.1:47616/, with the header Authorization: Bearer <your pairing code>. For a local model, pick one that supports tool calling, such as Qwen 3 or Llama 3.1 and newer.

What your app can do

Tool	What it does	Needs
search_library	Search your saved articles, optionally by tag, date or collection	Your library
get_article	One article with its summary and highlights	Your library
list_highlights	Your highlights, newest first	Your library
list_due	Saved-for-later items due soon	Your library
list_collections, get_collection	Your collections and their sources	Your library
library_stats	Counts only: saves over time, top tags and sites, mood, highlights	Your library
get_article with full text	The whole saved text of an article, as plain text	Full article text
list_feed_items	Items from your feed subscriptions	Feeds
save_url	Save a link to your inbox with a note, marked as added by an AI app	Save links

Only Your library is on when you switch the feature on. Turn on Full article text, Feeds and Save links in the settings panel if you want them; changes apply to the next call without reconnecting. Your app cannot edit or delete anything in AI Summary Helper.

Privacy and safety

• Nothing goes through our server. Data goes from your browser to the helper program and on to the app on your computer. What the app then sends to its model depends on the app and model you chose. A local model keeps everything on your machine.
• Articles you tag private never appear, in any result, count or collection. You can choose a different tag in the settings panel.
• Only your computer can connect. The helper listens on 127.0.0.1 only, so nothing else on your network can reach it. Websites you visit cannot use it either: it accepts only AI Summary Helper's own extension address, and every connection must carry your pairing code.
• You can see every call. The settings panel lists the last 50 calls with the tool name and time, never the content.
• You can cut it off at any time. Switch the feature off or select Disconnect. Run npx -y aish-mcp reset to make the old pairing code stop working.
• Saved pages are text from the web. Your app is told to treat them as information, not as instructions, but a saved page could still try to mislead an AI. Keep the Save links permission off unless you use it.

If something doesn't work

You see	What to do
The panel says Not connected	Your AI app isn't running, or isn't set up yet. Open it, or run npx -y aish-mcp in a terminal to test the connection.
Your app shows no AI Summary Helper tools, or misses new ones after an update	Quit the app completely and open it again. Some apps only read the tool list when they start.
“AISH is not running”	Your browser is closed, or the feature is switched off. Open the browser and check the settings panel.
“Scope … is not enabled”	Your app asked for something you haven't allowed. Turn it on in the settings panel if you want it.
The panel never connects after you pasted the code	Run npx -y aish-mcp pair and paste the code it prints again. It changes after reset.

Running several AI apps at once is fine: they share one connection.