Sep 19
@remind tag added via MCP server does not sync to Apple Reminders until the line is touched in the app
Summary: Adding a task containing an @remind(...) tag via the noteplan-mcp server does not create a corresponding Apple Reminders entry. The reminder only appears to sync after the task line is edited and saved from inside the NotePlan app itself.
Steps to reproduce:
1. Add a task to a calendar note via MCP (noteplan_paragraphs, action: add) with content containing @remind(YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM).
2. Confirm the note content shows the task with the @remind(...) tag.
3. Check Apple Reminders - no matching reminder is created, even after several seconds, with the NotePlan app running in the background.
4. Open the note in the NotePlan app and make a trivial edit to the task line (e.g. add a line break, then remove it) so the app registers and saves a change.
5. Re-check Apple Reminders - the reminder now appears correctly.
Expected: A task with @remind(...) added via MCP should sync to Apple Reminders the same way it does when typed directly in the app's editor, without requiring a manual touch.
Environment: NotePlan app (Setapp) running locally alongside the MCP server, macOS.
This suggests the @remind -> Reminders sync is triggered by an in-app editor save/change event rather than by the underlying note content itself, so writes made through the MCP bridge don't trigger it.
Pending
Can confirm the same behavior with a different write path — no MCP server involved, just a script writing directly to the note file on disk (NotePlan running in the background at the time). What I tested: Added a task with @remind(19:35) directly to a note file from outside the app. Opened the note in NotePlan — the tag rendered correctly as the reminder pill, but nothing showed up in Apple Reminders. Clicked the pill itself — still nothing in Apple Reminders. Only after making an actual text edit to that line inside the app (adding/removing an indent) did the reminder finally appear in Apple Reminders. So it's not MCP-specific — it looks like the sync is tied to an in-app editor save/change event rather than to the note content itself, exactly as you described. Any external writer (script, plugin, MCP, etc.) hits the same wall. Would love to see this fixed so @remind works reliably for automation use cases, not just manual typing.