Automated Development Journaling with MCP and CLAUDE.md

Table of content

You finish a coding session. Two days later, you return. What did you change? What was working? What broke? If you rely on git logs, you get commit messages. If you kept manual notes, you interrupted your flow to write them.

The solution: make Claude write your development journal for you.

How It Works

Two pieces connect:

MCP server exposes your note app to Claude
CLAUDE.md instructs Claude to log work after each task

[You] → [Claude Code] → CLAUDE.md says "log to journal"
                     → [MCP Server] → [Note App]
                     → Journal entry created

No manual logging. No flow interruption. Documentation happens as you work.

Why Automated Journaling

When AI handles implementation, work moves faster than memory.

Problem	Automated Solution
Forget what you finished	Claude logs every completed task
Context lost between sessions	Journal provides session continuity
Manual notes interrupt flow	Logging happens in background
Git logs show what, not why	Journal captures decisions and blockers

Takuya Matsuyama built this pattern for his note app Inkdrop. His observation: when you’re in flow with AI, things progress faster than you can track mentally.

MCP Servers for Note Apps

Note App	MCP Server	Install
Obsidian	obsidian-mcp	`npm run build`, then configure
Notion	notion-mcp	`npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server`
Inkdrop	@inkdropapp/mcp-server	`npm install -g @inkdropapp/mcp-server`
Apple Notes	mcp-apple-notes	Clone and build
Plain files	MCPNotes	Markdown files in a directory

For Obsidian, you also need the Local REST API community plugin enabled.

Configuring Your MCP Server

Add your note server to Claude Code. For Obsidian:

claude mcp add obsidian --command "node /path/to/obsidian-mcp/build/main.js /path/to/vault"

Or edit ~/.claude/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/obsidian-mcp/build/main.js",
        "/path/to/your/vault"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Verify connection:

claude mcp list
claude mcp status

CLAUDE.md Instructions

The MCP connection gives Claude access. The CLAUDE.md file tells Claude when and what to log.

Add a journaling section to your project’s CLAUDE.md:

## Development Journal

After completing each task, log to the development journal:

1. Use the `create_note` or `update_note` tool
2. Journal location: `Dev Journal/2026-01-21.md` (use today's date)
3. Append to existing content, don't overwrite

Entry format:
- **Time**: Current timestamp
- **Task**: What was requested
- **Done**: What was accomplished
- **Approach**: How you solved it
- **Issues**: Any blockers or unexpected problems

Keep entries concise. One paragraph per section maximum.

The Journal Entry

What Claude writes:

## 10:42 - Add user authentication

**Task**: Implement login/logout with session handling

**Done**: Created auth module with JWT tokens, added login/logout
routes, integrated with existing user model

**Approach**: Used existing bcrypt setup for passwords. Added
middleware for protected routes. Session stored in httpOnly cookie.

**Issues**: Initial CORS issue with credentials. Fixed by adding
withCredentials to fetch config.

One session produces one file with multiple timestamped entries.

Entry Frequency

Instruction	Behavior
“After each task”	Entry per completed request
“After significant changes”	Entry per feature or major fix
“At session end”	One summary entry

Start with per-task logging. Adjust if entries become too granular.

Tool Names by Server

Different MCP servers expose different tool names. Check what your server provides:

Server	List Notes	Create/Update	Search
obsidian-mcp	`list_files_in_vault`	`create_file`, `update_file`	`search_notes`
notion-mcp	`list_pages`	`create_page`, `update_page`	`search`
inkdrop-mcp	`list-notes`	`create-note`, `update-note`	`search-notes`

Reference the correct tool names in your CLAUDE.md instructions.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Server connected but Claude ignores logging	Check CLAUDE.md is in project root
Overwrites previous entries	Add “append to existing content”
Creates scattered files	Specify exact path with date pattern
Too verbose entries	Add “keep entries concise”
Missing timestamps	Include timestamp in format specification
Wrong tool names	Check `claude mcp status` for available tools

Minimal Setup Checklist

Install your note app’s MCP server
Add server to ~/.claude/mcp.json
Verify with claude mcp status
Add journaling section to project CLAUDE.md
Run a task and check if journal entry appears

Beyond Development Logs

The pattern extends to other use cases:

Use Case	What to Log
Research sessions	Sources found, key findings
Debugging	Hypotheses tested, root causes
Architecture decisions	Options considered, rationale
Learning	Concepts covered, questions remaining

Any repetitive documentation task can run in the background.