A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools for reading, writing, and manipulating SimpleMind (.smmx) mind map files directly from Claude Desktop.
- 📂 list_mindmaps - Find all .smmx files in a directory
- 📖 read_mindmap - Load and parse mind maps (structured, markdown, json, or summary format)
- 🔍 search_nodes - Search for nodes by text in titles or notes
- 📌 get_node - Get detailed info about a specific node
- 🗺️ get_node_path - Get the breadcrumb trail from root to any node
- 🎯 find_nodes_without_notes - Find incomplete topics (nodes without content)
- ➕ add_node - Add new nodes to a mind map
- ✏️ update_node - Modify node text or notes
- 🗑️ delete_node - Remove nodes and their children
- 💾 export_mindmap - Export to Markdown or JSON
pip install mcpThat's it! The parser uses only Python standard library.
Edit your Claude Desktop config file:
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add this to the mcpServers section:
{
"mcpServers": {
"simplemind": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["/path/to/simplemind-mcp/simplemind_mcp_server.py"]
}
}
}Important: Replace /path/to/simplemind-mcp/ with the actual path where you saved these files!
Close and reopen Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.
Claude: Use the list_mindmaps tool to find all SimpleMind files in ~/Documents
You: What's in my project mind map?
Claude: [Uses read_mindmap with format="summary"]
Summary of project.smmx:
- Title: Project Planning
- Total nodes: 43
- Top-level branches:
• Overview (5 children)
• Research (4 children)
• Development (2 children)
• Testing (3 children)
• Documentation (7 children)
You: Find all nodes in my mind map related to "API"
Claude: [Uses search_nodes]
Found 3 nodes:
1. API Design (ID: 17)
2. API Documentation (ID: 8)
3. API Testing Strategy (ID: 22)
You: Which topics in my project mind map don't have content yet?
Claude: [Uses find_nodes_without_notes]
Found 8 nodes without notes:
- Security Considerations
- Performance Metrics
- User Authentication
- Database Schema
- Error Handling
...
Would you like me to help create content for any of these?
You: Add a new node under "Development" called "Code Review Process"
Claude: [Uses get_node to find Development ID, then add_node]
✓ Added node 'Code Review Process' with ID 44
✓ Saved to: project.smmx
You: Update the notes for node 17 with information about REST API design
Claude: [Uses update_node]
✓ Updated node 17: notes → 532 characters
✓ Saved to: project.smmx
You: Export my project mind map to Markdown
Claude: [Uses export_mindmap with format="markdown"]
✓ Exported to: project_export.md
Preview:
# Project Planning
## Overview
### Introduction
...
You: What topics in my project mind map need content?
Claude: [Finds nodes without notes]
You: Let's tackle "Database Schema" today
Claude: [Retrieves node, generates content, updates the mind map]
You: For each empty node under "Documentation", create a 300-word explanation and update the mind map
Claude: [Iterates through nodes, generates content, updates each one]
You: Show me the breadcrumb path for node 22
Claude: [Uses get_node_path]
Path: Project Planning > Research > User Studies > Interview Results
You: Export to Markdown for my knowledge base
Claude: [Exports hierarchical Markdown]
You: Now export to JSON for my automation workflow
Claude: [Exports structured JSON]
You can use SimpleMind as your planning tool and sync it with automation workflows:
- Plan in SimpleMind - Visual mind mapping of all your content
- Claude reads SimpleMind - Uses this MCP to find incomplete topics
- Generate content - Claude creates documentation, reports, etc.
- Update SimpleMind - Marks nodes as complete with timestamps
- Sync to knowledge base - Export to Markdown for your documentation system
- Automate distribution - Automation tools process content based on mind map structure
simplemind-mcp/
├── simplemind_parser.py # Core parsing library
├── simplemind_mcp_server.py # MCP server implementation
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies
├── README.md # This file
├── LICENSE # MIT License
├── examples.py # Example scripts
└── tests/ # Test files
└── test_parser.py
SimpleMind (.smmx) files are ZIP archives containing:
document/mindmap.xml- XML structure with all nodes and metadataimages/- (Pro version) Embedded images
Each node contains:
- id - Unique identifier
- text - Node title/label
- notes - Long-form content
- parent_id - Parent node ID
- position - X/Y coordinates
- children - Child nodes
This MCP supports SimpleMind Pro features including:
- Icons
- URL links
- Layout modes
- Cross-links (relations)
- Embedded images
All tools return JSON for structured data:
{
"id": "17",
"text": "API Design",
"notes": "REST API best practices...",
"parent_id": "14",
"child_count": 3,
"children": [
{"id": "18", "text": "Authentication"},
{"id": "19", "text": "Rate Limiting"},
{"id": "20", "text": "Error Handling"}
]
}- Check the config file path is correct
- Verify Python path:
which pythonorwhere python - Check Claude Desktop logs (Help → View Logs)
- Restart Claude Desktop
- Use absolute paths, not relative:
/Users/you/Documents/map.smmx - Check file permissions:
ls -la /path/to/file.smmx
# Make sure MCP SDK is installed
pip install --upgrade mcp
# Verify installation
python -c "import mcp; print('MCP installed successfully')"- Cannot edit visual styling (colors, fonts, etc.) - only content and structure
- Cannot modify images or attachments in nodes (read-only for Pro features)
- Position calculations are basic (new nodes placed near parent)
Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:
- Add support for node styling (colors, shapes)
- Implement batch operations
- Create merge/split tools for mind maps
- Improve position calculations for new nodes
- Add support for more export formats
MIT License - See LICENSE file for details
Having issues? Please open an issue on GitHub with:
- Your operating system and Python version
- The error message you're seeing
- Steps to reproduce the problem
- 1.0.0 (2024-11) - Initial release
- Full read/write support for .smmx files
- 10 core tools for mind map manipulation
- Export to Markdown and JSON
- SimpleMind Pro feature support
Happy Mind Mapping! 🧠✨