Siddhant-K-code/memory-journal-mcp-server

Search your Apple Photos library by date, location, labels and named people, then view previews to make a shortlist in Codex or another local MCP client.
Inspired by burningion/video-editing-mcp.
## Install
Requirements: macOS, an Apple Photos library, Python 3.11+, and uv.
sh
git clone https://github.com/Siddhant-K-code/memory-journal-mcp-server.git
cd memory-journal-mcp-server
uv sync --locked --no-dev
The server uses the last-opened Photos library by default. Set PHOTOLIBRARYPATH to select a specific .photoslibrary directory. This is useful when automatic library discovery cannot read the Photos preferences file.
### ChatGPT, Codex and other desktop apps
Start with the desktop setup guide for ChatGPT Desktop, Codex Desktop/CLI, Claude Desktop and Cursor. It includes complete configuration examples, macOS permissions, privacy controls and a first-search checklist. This server uses local stdio, not an HTTP URL; the local film editor is a separate optional application.
### Codex Desktop / CLI quick start
Add this to ~/.codex/config.toml, using absolute paths on your Mac:
toml
[mcpservers.smart-photo-journal]
command = "/absolute/path/to/uv"
args = ["--directory", "/absolute/path/to/memory-journal-mcp-server", "run", "--locked", "--no-dev", "server.py"]
startuptimeoutsec = 120
tooltimeoutsec = 180
[mcpservers.smart-photo-journal.env]
PHOTOLIBRARYPATH = "/Users/YOURUSERNAME/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary"
Find the uv executable with command -v uv. Restart the client after editing its configuration. See the official Codex MCP configuration documentation.
### Claude Desktop quick start
Merge this entry into Claude Desktop's existing configuration. See the setup guide for the configuration-file location. Do not replace your other servers. For Cursor, use examples/cursor.json, which explicitly sets type to stdio, and follow the Cursor setup steps.
json
"mcpServers": {
"smart-photo-journal": {
"command": "/absolute/path/to/uv",
"args": ["--directory", "/absolute/path/to/memory-journal-mcp-server", "run", "--locked", "--no-dev", "server.py"],
"env": {
"PHOTOLIBRARYPATH": "/Users/YOURUSERNAME/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary"
### macOS permissions and startup
Tools can be discovered before Photos is opened. The first search loads the library in a background thread; concurrent calls share the load. Search work also runs off the protocol event loop. A slow library can be retried after the load timeout.
If macOS denies access, allow the host app (Codex/ChatGPT, Claude Desktop, or your terminal) in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos. Direct database access may require Full Disk Access instead; that permission also covers protected data beyond Photos. Restart the client/server after changing permissions. Loading failures are returned as MCP tool errors, rather than being reported as “still loading” forever.
Library metadata is cached for the server process. Restart it to pick up new imports, changed tags or library edits. Logs go to stderr, without creating a file in the current directory.
## Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
| search-photos | Combine date, location, people, label/keyword and media filters. |