Frequently asked questions

Magpie is a memory layer for Claude. You save ideas from Claude mid-conversation, Magpie organizes them automatically, and the next time you sit down to write, Claude already has everything you’ve been thinking about. Your notes are stored as plain text markdown files in your own GitHub repository, so they’re yours forever. Magpie is not a note-taking app or a second brain. It’s the missing layer between your ideas and your AI.

Magpie connects to Claude as a connector. Once it’s set up, you can ask Claude to save something to Magpie mid-conversation, or ask Claude to pull up your saved notes when you’re ready to write. It works across every Claude surface: claude.ai in the browser, Claude iOS app, Claude desktop (Cowork), and Claude Code. You don’t need a separate app. Claude is the interface.

Anything you want Claude to remember later. Voice notes, links, articles, half-formed thoughts, quotes, ideas from conversations. You save by asking Claude to save something to Magpie during any conversation. You can also save by texting a dedicated Magpie number if you’re not at your computer.

Yes. Magpie handles folders, tags, titles, and structure automatically. Zero setup required. There are folders and tags, but you never have to think about them. The filing is invisible. Magpie learns from what you add, and the more you save, the better the organization gets.

Your notes are stored in your own GitHub repository as plain text markdown files. Magpie does not store your notes in a proprietary database. You can see them, read them, edit them, or move them anytime. They’re standard files you can open in any text editor.

GitHub is the primary store. Magpie maintains a search index so Claude can find your notes quickly, but your GitHub repository is always the source of truth. You can read, edit, or delete your files directly in GitHub at any time.

Claude does have memory, and it’s useful. But Claude’s memory is platform memory. You don’t control what it keeps, how it’s organized, or where it goes. You can’t browse it, export it, or take it with you if you switch tools. Magpie is the part you own. You decide what goes in, it’s organized automatically, and it’s stored as plain text files in your GitHub. The distinction is platform memory vs. your memory.

Notion asks you to organize before you’ve even had the idea. Which workspace? Which database? Page or sub-page? You spend more time managing structure than using your ideas. Notion is built for humans to browse, with rich text and nested databases. Magpie is built for Claude to read: plain text files, organized automatically, zero setup. And when Claude needs your ideas, it doesn’t have to parse a rich-text database. It just reads your words.