I built a CLI to break my highlights out of Apple Books

Description and use

A macOS CLI exports Apple Books highlights to Markdown and exposes an MCP server so AI assistants can access notes directly, enabling summaries, flashcards, and cross‑book search.

Problem

Apple Books lacks a way to export highlights and notes, forcing users to copy each highlight manually.

Outcome

Users can now easily export highlights to Markdown or query them via AI assistants, enabling summaries, flashcards, and cross‑book searches without manual copy‑paste.

Workflow

• Install the CLI via Homebrew
• Run ibooks_notes_exporter books to list available books
• Run ibooks_notes_exporter export --book_id <id> to export a book’s highlights to Markdown
• Optionally start the MCP server with ibooks_notes_exporter mcp and configure your AI editor to connect via MCP

Evidence

Apple Books problem: There’s no export. No API. No menu option.

Source

The CLI reads two SQLite databases and gives you Markdown.

Source

MCP server exposes list_books, get_notes, search_notes tools.

Source