Use the official Heptabase plugin to work with your cards, journals, whiteboards, and tag databases from Claude or Claude Code. The plugin connects to your Heptabase account online, so you do not need to install the Heptabase CLI.
Install and connect Heptabase
Claude
Open Claude on the web or in the desktop app.
Open Customize → Plugins → Discover.
Search for Heptabase, select the plugin, and click Add.
Sign in to Heptabase, review the permissions, and approve the connection.
Start a new chat and ask Claude to use Heptabase.
In a Team or Enterprise workspace, if you cannot find Heptabase, ask your workspace owner whether plugins are available. The steps may change as Claude is updated. See Claude's plugin guide for the latest instructions.
Claude Code
Plugins installed in Claude sync to Claude Code when you sign in with the same Claude account. Start a new session after installing. If prompted, run /reload-plugins.
You can also install it from the official Heptabase plugin repository. In Claude Code, run:
/plugin marketplace add heptameta/heptabase-agent-plugins
/plugin install heptabase@heptabase-agent-plugins
Choose Install for you to use it in all your projects. Then start a new session, enter /mcp, select the Heptabase connection, and sign in to Heptabase in your browser. See Claude Code's MCP guide for more about signing in.
Get started
Tell Claude what you want to do in Heptabase. For example:
"Find my Heptabase cards about renewable energy and summarize the main ideas."
"Save the key takeaways from this discussion as a new card in Heptabase."
"Save this paper as a PDF card and summarize its first section: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1706.03762"
"Open my 'Research' whiteboard and group its cards into sections by theme."
In Claude, you can also ask to see the cards Claude finds, creates, or edits. Select Open in Heptabase in a card preview to continue in the app. Claude Code's terminal shows results as text instead.
Open a whiteboard in Claude and Claude Code
In Claude, Claude can open one of your whiteboards right inside the chat. You can browse and edit it there, and watch Claude's changes appear as it works. Ask, for example, "Open my 'Research' whiteboard." You can switch whiteboards and open cards in it at any time; Claude checks what you have open before it acts on "this whiteboard" or "this card".
This also works in Claude Code in the Claude desktop app when it uses the Heptabase plugin or connector you added in Claude. If you installed the plugin in Claude Code with /plugin, or use Claude Code in a terminal or an IDE, Claude cannot open a whiteboard in the chat. Keep the Heptabase desktop app or the web app open instead.
What the plugin can do
Search and read cards, journals, whiteboards, tag databases, PDFs, images, highlights, and backlinks.
Create and edit note cards and journals, including images, videos, audio, and attachments.
Create PDF, image, audio, video, web, and YouTube cards from files or links.
Create and edit tag databases, add or remove cards in them, set card properties, organize tags, and trash or restore cards.
Read and organize your Inbox, and read or set your Space Instructions.
Create whiteboards, sections, connections, and mind maps, and arrange the objects on them.
Show cards in the chat, and open a whiteboard inside Claude and Claude Code in the Claude desktop app.
Whiteboard editing and a few other actions run in the Heptabase app. In Claude, and in Claude Code in the Claude desktop app, Claude opens Heptabase inside the chat when it needs to. Otherwise, keep the Heptabase desktop app or the web app open and signed in to the same account.
Uploading a file from your computer needs Claude Code, which can run commands. In Claude, Claude can save files from links.
See the Heptabase MCP tool reference for every supported action.
Permissions and connection issues
What Claude can do depends on the permissions you grant when you connect. A read-only connection can search and read, but cannot create or edit content. Reconnect with write access if you want Claude to make changes.
If the plugin is not working as expected:
Check that you connected the right Heptabase account.
Start a new chat or Claude Code session after installing.
If Claude is not using Heptabase, mention Heptabase in your request.
In Claude Code, enter
/mcpto check the connection and sign in if needed.If the connection has expired, reconnect it.
If the issue continues, contact Heptabase support with the app you use and the error message.
Other connection methods
To connect another AI service, see Heptabase MCP. For coding agents that work in a terminal next to the Heptabase desktop app, see Heptabase CLI.