Enhance Your Workflow Automatic Markdown Formatting For Apple Notes

Introduction

This article discusses an enhancement to the Apple Notes MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables automatic markdown formatting. This improvement addresses the issue of raw markdown syntax appearing in Apple Notes when notes are created using markdown through Claude. The solution involves implementing a function within the MCP server to convert markdown syntax into HTML before the content is sent to Apple Notes, ensuring proper formatting and a more intuitive note-taking experience.

The Problem: Raw Markdown in Apple Notes

When users create notes using markdown syntax (e.g., headers, bullet points, bold text, checkboxes) via Claude or other similar services, the content often appears as raw markdown within Apple Notes. This means that instead of seeing formatted text, users see the markdown symbols themselves (e.g., # for headers, ** for bold text, - for bullet points). This lack of formatting makes the notes less readable and the note-creation workflow less productive. Users are forced to either write HTML manually, use external markdown converters, or simply create notes with poor formatting, all of which are suboptimal solutions.

Why is this a problem?

• Readability: Raw markdown is less visually appealing and harder to read than formatted text.
• Productivity: Users spend time manually formatting notes instead of focusing on content creation.
• Workflow Integration: Using external converters or manual HTML formatting disrupts the note-taking workflow.

The Solution: Automatic Markdown-to-HTML Conversion

The proposed solution involves adding automatic markdown-to-HTML conversion within the Apple Notes MCP server. This conversion would occur before the content is sent to Apple Notes, ensuring that the notes are displayed with proper formatting. The server would detect common markdown patterns and convert them into equivalent HTML elements. For example:

• Headers (#, ##, ###) would be converted to <h1>, <h2>, and <h3> tags.
• Bold text (**text**) would be converted to <strong> tags.
• Bullet points (- item) would be converted to <ul> and <li> tags.
• Checkboxes (- [ ] and - [x]) would be converted to visual symbols (☐ and ☑) that can be easily highlighted and converted into interactive Apple Notes checklists.

This approach ensures that notes created with markdown are displayed correctly within Apple Notes, preserving the intended formatting and improving readability.

Key Features of the Solution

• Intelligent Markdown Detection: The server accurately identifies markdown patterns within the content.
• HTML Conversion: Markdown syntax is converted into corresponding HTML elements for proper formatting.
• Checklist Support: Markdown checkboxes are transformed into visual symbols for easy checklist creation.
• HTML Preservation: Existing HTML and non-markdown content are left untouched, ensuring compatibility.
• Seamless Integration: The solution works seamlessly with Apple Notes' native checklist features.
• Backward Compatibility: The implementation is backward compatible, ensuring that existing functionality is not affected.

Benefits of Automatic Markdown Formatting

• Improved Readability: Notes are displayed with proper formatting, making them easier to read and understand. Improved readability is a key benefit, as it directly enhances the user experience and the effectiveness of note-taking.
• Enhanced Productivity: Users can focus on content creation without worrying about manual formatting. Enhanced productivity is crucial for users who rely on note-taking for organizing information and tasks. By automating the formatting process, users can save time and effort, allowing them to focus on generating and structuring their thoughts.
• Streamlined Workflow: The note-creation process is more intuitive and efficient. A streamlined workflow ensures a smooth and seamless experience, eliminating unnecessary steps and obstacles. This integration simplifies the process of transferring information from sources like Claude to Apple Notes, making the entire workflow more efficient.
• Better Integration: The solution seamlessly integrates with Apple Notes' existing features, such as checklists. Better integration with Apple Notes' features means that the converted notes can fully utilize the functionalities offered by the platform, such as interactive checklists. This creates a more unified and powerful note-taking environment.
• Consistent Formatting: Notes created with markdown will have a consistent appearance across different platforms. Consistent formatting is vital for maintaining a uniform appearance of notes across various devices and platforms. This consistency enhances readability and professional presentation, regardless of where the notes are viewed.

Implementation Details: The formatContentAsHTML() Function

The core of the solution is the formatContentAsHTML() function, which is added to the Apple Notes MCP server. This function takes the note content as input and performs the following steps:

1. Check for Markdown Patterns: The function first checks if the content contains any markdown-style patterns. This is done using a regular expression that looks for headers, bullet points, bold text, and checkboxes. This markdown pattern detection ensures that the formatting logic is only applied when necessary, avoiding unintended modifications to non-markdown content.
2. Convert Headers: Markdown headers (e.g., # Header 1, ## Header 2) are converted to corresponding HTML header tags (<h1>, <h2>, etc.). This header conversion is crucial for structuring the note content and creating a clear hierarchy of information. The function uses regular expressions to identify and replace the markdown header syntax with the appropriate HTML tags.
3. Convert Bold Text: Markdown bold text (**text**) is converted to <strong> tags. This bold text conversion ensures that important information is visually highlighted within the notes. The function uses a regular expression to find and replace the markdown bold syntax with the <strong> tags.
4. Convert Checkboxes: Markdown checkboxes (- [ ] and - [x]) are converted to visual symbols (☐ and ☑). This checkbox conversion is a key feature for creating interactive checklists within Apple Notes. By converting the markdown syntax into visual symbols, the function enables users to easily transform these symbols into native Apple Notes checklists, enhancing the functionality and usability of the notes.
5. Convert Bullet Lists: Markdown bullet points (- item) are converted to HTML unordered lists (<ul> and <li> tags). The bullet list conversion is implemented using a stateful approach that tracks whether the current line is part of a list. This method ensures that the list items are correctly grouped within the <ul> tags. The function iterates through each line, checking for bullet point syntax and converting it to the appropriate HTML list structure.
6. Convert Numbered Lists: Markdown numbered lists (1. item) are converted to HTML ordered lists (<ol> and <li> tags). Similar to bullet lists, the numbered list conversion uses a stateful approach to ensure correct list structuring. The function identifies lines starting with a number followed by a period and converts them into ordered list items within <ol> tags.
7. Preserve Existing HTML: The function is designed to preserve existing HTML within the content. This HTML preservation is important for maintaining compatibility with notes that already contain HTML formatting. By avoiding modifications to existing HTML, the function ensures that the enhancement does not negatively impact previously created notes.
8. Handle Non-Markdown Content: The function only applies formatting to content that matches markdown patterns, leaving other content untouched. This non-markdown content handling is crucial for ensuring that plain text and other types of content within the notes are not inadvertently modified. The function’s initial check for markdown patterns helps to achieve this selective formatting.

function formatContentAsHTML(content) {
 if (!content || typeof content !== 'string') {
 return content;
 }
 
 // Only auto-format if content contains markdown-style patterns
 const hasMarkdownPatterns = /^#{1,6}\s|^\*\s|^-\s|\*\*.*\*\*|^\d+\.\s|^-\s*${[ x]}$/m.test(content);
 
 if (!hasMarkdownPatterns) {
 return content;
 }
 
 let formatted = content;
 
 // Convert headers
 formatted = formatted.replace(/^# (.*$)/gm, '<div><h1>$1</h1></div>');
 formatted = formatted.replace(/^## (.*$)/gm, '<div><h2>$1</h2></div>');
 formatted = formatted.replace(/^### (.*$)/gm, '<div><h3>$1</h3></div>');
 
 // Convert bold text
 formatted = formatted.replace(/\*\*(.*?)\*\*/g, '<strong>$1</strong>');
 
 // Convert markdown checkboxes to symbols before processing other lists
 formatted = formatted.replace(/^-\s*${\s*}$\s*(.*)$/gm, '☐ $1');
 formatted = formatted.replace(/^-\s*${x}$\s*(.*)$/gmi, '☑ $1');
 
 // Convert bullet lists (but skip checkbox items we just converted)
 const lines = formatted.split('\n');
 let inList = false;
 let result = [];
 
 for (let i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
 const line = lines[i];
 const isBullet = /^[*\-]\s(.*)/.test(line) && !/^[☐☑]/.test(line.trim());
 const isCheckbox = /^[☐☑]/.test(line.trim());
 
 if (isBullet) {
 if (!inList) {
 result.push('<ul>');
 inList = true;
 }
 const content = line.replace(/^[*\-]\s(.*)/, '$1');
 result.push(`<li>${content}</li>`);
 } else if (isCheckbox) {
 if (inList) {
 result.push('</ul>');
 inList = false;
 }
 result.push(`<div>${line}</div>`);
 } else {
 if (inList) {
 result.push('</ul>');
 inList = false;
 }
 result.push(line);
 }
 }
 
 if (inList) {
 result.push('</ul>');
 }
 
 // Convert numbered lists
 formatted = result.join('\n');
 const numberedLines = formatted.split('\n');
 inList = false;
 result = [];
 
 for (let i = 0; i < numberedLines.length; i++) {
 const line = numberedLines[i];
 const isNumbered = /^\d+\.\s(.*)/.test(line);
 
 if (isNumbered) {
 if (!inList) {
 result.push('<ol>');
 inList = true;
 }
 const content = line.replace(/^\d+\.\s(.*)/, '$1');
 result.push(`<li>${content}</li>`);
 } else {
 if (inList) {
 result.push('</ol>');
 inList = false;
 }
 result.push(line);
 }
 }
 
 if (inList) {
 result.push('</ol>');
 }
 
 return result.join('\n');
}

This function is called in both the add_note and update_note_content functions within the MCP server, ensuring that all note content is properly formatted before being sent to Apple Notes. The implementation is designed to be backward compatible and significantly improves the note-taking workflow.

Alternatives Considered

Several alternatives were considered before implementing the automatic markdown-to-HTML conversion solution:

1. Writing HTML Manually: Users could manually write HTML code to format their notes. However, this approach is verbose, error-prone, and requires users to have knowledge of HTML. Manual HTML writing was deemed impractical for most users due to its complexity and time-consuming nature.
2. Using External Markdown Converters: Users could use external tools or services to convert markdown to HTML before creating notes. However, this approach breaks workflow integration and adds extra steps to the process. External markdown converters introduce friction into the workflow and do not provide a seamless experience.
3. Creating Notes Without Formatting: Users could create notes without any formatting. However, this results in poor readability and makes it difficult to organize and understand the content. Unformatted notes were considered unacceptable as they compromise the clarity and usability of the information.
4. UI Scripting: UI scripting could be used to format the notes after they are created in Apple Notes. However, this approach is unreliable and complex, as it depends on the specific UI elements and behavior of Apple Notes. UI scripting was rejected due to its inherent instability and maintenance challenges.

The chosen solution of automatic markdown-to-HTML conversion within the MCP server was deemed the most effective and efficient approach, as it addresses the core problem while minimizing disruption to the user workflow.

Conclusion

The addition of automatic markdown formatting to the Apple Notes MCP server is a significant enhancement that improves the note-taking experience for users who rely on markdown syntax. By automatically converting markdown to HTML, the solution ensures that notes are displayed with proper formatting in Apple Notes, enhancing readability, productivity, and workflow integration. The formatContentAsHTML() function provides a robust and efficient way to handle markdown conversion, and its implementation is backward compatible and seamlessly integrates with Apple Notes' existing features. This enhancement represents a valuable improvement to the Apple Notes ecosystem, making it a more versatile and user-friendly platform for note-taking and information management.