OmniFocus Claude Extension

A powerful OmniFocus integration for Claude Desktop that enables advanced task management using GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology.

Features

Core

• Add Tasks: Create tasks with notes, projects, due dates, defer dates, and flags
• Inbox Management: View and process tasks in your OmniFocus inbox
• Today's Tasks: See all tasks due today at a glance
• Complete Tasks: Mark tasks as complete by name
• Weekly Review: Get a comprehensive summary for your GTD weekly review

Advanced

• Search Tasks: Search across all projects, contexts, and notes
• Edit Tasks: Modify any task property including defer dates and tags
• Batch Task Creation: Create multiple tasks with subtasks in one command
• Recurring Tasks: Create tasks with daily, weekly, monthly, or custom repeat patterns

Tags

• List Tags: View all tags with hierarchy
• Create Tags: Create tags, optionally nested under a parent
• Delete Tags: Remove tags from OmniFocus
• Tag Tasks: Add or remove tags on existing tasks
• Tags on Creation: Specify tags when adding tasks, batch-creating tasks, or editing tasks

Views

• List Projects: View all active projects with task counts
• Deferred Tasks: See tasks that aren't available yet
• Flagged Tasks: Quick access to all flagged items
• Overdue Tasks: Track tasks past their due date

Requirements

• macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later
• OmniFocus 3 or later
• Claude Desktop app
• Node.js 14+ (for development only)

Installation

Quick Install

1. Download the latest omnifocus-gtd.mcpb from the Releases page
2. Open Claude Desktop
3. Navigate to Extensions settings
4. Drag and drop the .mcpb file onto the Claude Desktop window
5. Restart Claude Desktop
6. The first time you use an OmniFocus tool, macOS will prompt you to grant node permission to control OmniFocus - click Allow

Build from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/geoffdavis/omnifocus-claude-extension.git
cd omnifocus-claude-extension

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the extension
npm run build

# The extension will be created at dist/omnifocus-gtd.mcpb

Usage Examples

Task Management

"Add task 'Review Q3 reports' due Friday to Work project, defer until Wednesday"
"Search for all tasks about 'budget'"
"Edit 'Team meeting' to be due tomorrow at 2pm"
"Complete the task about reviewing reports"

Batch Operations

"Create project plan: Research phase|-Literature review|-Market analysis|Development|-Prototype|-Testing|Launch"

Note: Use | to separate tasks and - prefix for subtasks

Recurring Tasks

"Create weekly recurring task 'Process inbox' due every Sunday"
"Add monthly recurring 'Review finances' on the 15th"

Tags

"List all my tags"
"Create a tag called 'Urgent'"
"Create a 'Home' tag under 'Locations'"
"Add tag 'Priority' to my 'Review reports' task"
"Remove tag 'Waiting' from 'Follow up with client'"
"Add task 'Fix login bug' with tags Priority, Computer"
"Edit 'Fix login bug' and set tags to Urgent, Computer"

Views and Reviews

"Show me my flagged tasks"
"List all overdue tasks"
"What tasks are deferred?"
"Show all projects with task counts"
"Give me a weekly review"

Available Commands

Command	Description	Example
add_task	Add a task with full properties	"Add task to buy milk due tomorrow, defer until morning"
search_tasks	Search across all tasks	"Search for budget tasks"
edit_task	Modify existing task	"Change due date of 'Report' to Friday"
batch_add_tasks	Create multiple tasks	"Add tasks: Task1|Task2|-Subtask"
create_recurring_task	Set up repeating task	"Create daily task 'Review email'"
list_inbox	Show inbox tasks	"Show my inbox"
today_tasks	List due today	"What's due today?"
list_projects	Show all projects	"List projects with counts"
list_deferred_tasks	Show deferred items	"What tasks are deferred?"
list_flagged_tasks	Show flagged items	"Show flagged tasks"
list_overdue_tasks	Show overdue items	"What's overdue?"
complete_task	Mark as complete	"Complete budget review"
weekly_review	GTD weekly review	"Show weekly review"
list_tags	Show all tags with hierarchy	"List my tags"
create_tag	Create a new tag	"Create tag 'Urgent'"
delete_tag	Delete a tag	"Delete the 'Old' tag"
add_tag_to_task	Add a tag to a task	"Tag 'Report' with 'Priority'"
remove_tag_from_task	Remove a tag from a task	"Remove 'Waiting' tag from 'Report'"

Development

Project Structure

omnifocus-claude-extension/
├── src/
│   ├── server/
│   │   └── index.js               # MCP server (JSON-RPC 2.0)
│   ├── scripts/
│   │   ├── enhanced/               # Advanced AppleScript implementations
│   │   │   ├── search_tasks.applescript
│   │   │   ├── edit_task.applescript
│   │   │   ├── batch_add_tasks.applescript
│   │   │   ├── create_recurring_task.applescript
│   │   │   ├── list_projects.applescript
│   │   │   ├── list_deferred_tasks.applescript
│   │   │   ├── list_flagged_tasks.applescript
│   │   │   ├── list_overdue_tasks.applescript
│   │   │   ├── list_tags.applescript
│   │   │   ├── create_tag.applescript
│   │   │   ├── delete_tag.applescript
│   │   │   ├── add_tag_to_task.applescript
│   │   │   └── remove_tag_from_task.applescript
│   │   ├── add_task.applescript
│   │   ├── complete_task.applescript
│   │   ├── list_inbox.applescript
│   │   ├── today_tasks.applescript
│   │   └── weekly_review.applescript
│   └── manifest-template.json      # MCPB v0.3 manifest template
├── build.js                        # Build script
├── dist/
│   └── omnifocus-gtd.mcpb           # Built extension
└── tests/

Building

# Build the MCPB extension
npm run build

# Clean and rebuild
npm run rebuild

# Build and validate
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Validate the built extension
npm run validate

Adding New Tools

1. Create AppleScript in src/scripts/enhanced/
2. Add tool definition to src/server/index.js
3. Implement handler in the server's tool execution logic
4. Test with node test-server.js
5. Rebuild and validate: npm run dev

Architecture

The extension uses a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that:

1. Receives commands from Claude Desktop via JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio
2. Routes to the appropriate AppleScript file
3. Executes AppleScript via osascript with proper parameter handling
4. Returns formatted results to Claude

Troubleshooting

"Not authorized to send Apple events to OmniFocus" (error -1743)

This is the most common issue. Claude Desktop runs the extension via node, which needs macOS Automation permission for OmniFocus.

First install: macOS should show a permission dialog the first time you use an OmniFocus tool. Click Allow.

If the dialog doesn't appear or you accidentally denied it:

1. Reset Apple Events permissions:

   tccutil reset AppleEvents

2. Restart Claude Desktop
3. Use any OmniFocus tool - the permission dialog should appear
4. Click Allow

You can verify the permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation - look for node with OmniFocus enabled.

Extension Not Loading

1. Check Claude Desktop logs: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/
2. Ensure OmniFocus is installed and running
3. Try reinstalling the extension

Tasks Not Appearing

1. Ensure OmniFocus default document is open
2. Check that you're not in a filtered view

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue	Solution
"Not authorized" (-1743)	Run tccutil reset AppleEvents and restart Claude Desktop
"OmniFocus not found"	Ensure OmniFocus is in /Applications
"No tasks found"	Check search terms and task availability
"Multiple matches"	Be more specific in task names
"Cannot create recurring"	Ensure OmniFocus Pro features are available

Security

This extension:

• Only reads and writes to OmniFocus via AppleScript
• Does not store or transmit personal data
• Runs entirely locally on your machine
• Requires explicit user permission for automation
• Open source for full transparency

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

• OmniFocus by The Omni Group
• Claude Desktop by Anthropic
• GTD methodology by David Allen