How to connect Apple Health to Claude Desktop

What do you get?

Claude Desktop can read selected Apple Health data through your local Syncky agent and request permitted write-back with source and undo. This registration does not disable syncky_send or syncky_ack; review tool requests deliberately. Free during launch; plans are coming later. See launch access and pricing.

Client health-data envelopes are sealed end to end. Relay sees delivery metadata and plaintext hub notices, but no health values. The local agent keeps plaintext JSON in its inbox; your chosen model sees what the agent supplies. iOS decides background timing and Health reads need an unlocked iPhone. Data can be hours old and writes wait for sync; undelivered envelopes leave Relay on acknowledgment or expiry, at most 7 days.

What do you need before setup?

Use Claude Desktop locally on the machine holding the agent home, Syncky Health on your iPhone, npm and Node.js 22.15 or newer available to the client process. The first npm run may download the agent. Choose your data and model deliberately. Package availability and acceptance by your installed client remain prerequisites.

Follow the official manual MCP tutorial in the MCP documentation linked by the Anthropic local-server guide. The steps below use that manual local setup on macOS or Windows. Source documentation was checked on November 3, 2026; this does not establish acceptance by your installed Desktop version.

Setup, receiver and MCP must use the same paired SYNCKY_AGENT_HOME and matching saved relay; agent setup explains relay selection for each app build.

How do you set up Claude Desktop?

1. Check the runtime and initialize only a fresh home:

   npx -y @syncky/agent selftest
   npx -y @syncky/agent init --name "My agent"
   

   Reuse an existing initialized home instead of initializing again.

2. Request a private QR and code:

   npx -y @syncky/agent pair
   

   Pair your iPhone: scan in Syncky Health and pick the code on the iPhone. Scanning alone does not confirm trust. Select read types, allowed write types and Health permissions deliberately. Keep pairing credentials, invites and home files out of chat and logs. Let an existing receiver collect the proof; otherwise wait for it after the code pick:

   npx -y @syncky/agent wait --timeout 600
   

3. For ongoing receipt, deliberately start:

   npx -y @syncky/agent receive
   

   Keep one receiver per home and reuse an existing receiver. For on-demand use, run npx -y @syncky/agent receive --once when you want updates. MCP reads the agent's inbox files and neither pairs nor starts a receiver. Services and schedules require a separate choice.

4. In Claude Desktop open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Merge this server into the file, preserving other servers. The official manual tutorial specifies macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json or Windows %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

   {"mcpServers":{"syncky":{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@syncky/agent","mcp"]}}}
   

   This starts a local stdio process with your user account's permissions. The default agent home is ~/.syncky-agent. For a custom home, the manual server entry can add env.SYNCKY_AGENT_HOME with the absolute path of the same initialized/paired home used by your receiver; do not rely on shell path expansion.

5. Save, completely quit Claude Desktop and restart it to load the configuration. Use the conversation's + → Connectors or the Local MCP servers settings to inspect the server and tools. Anthropic's Help page describes the current Settings → Desktop app → Manage Extensions layout and the older Settings → Extensions layout; older versions also expose connection status under Developer. Review permission requests and approve only intended actions. Run the scope-only prompt below before reading selected data.

   The canonical npm command is npx -y @syncky/agent mcp. A generic alternative for compatible clients is the matching release's checksum-verified syncky-health.mcpb; verify its .sha256 sidecar and SHA256SUMS from releases before importing. Node.js is still required. Checksums detect damage, not a compromised release; local packaging tests do not establish client acceptance.

   Anthropic documents custom bundle import through Extensions → Advanced settings → Install Extension and publishes the MCPB manifest specification, currently 0.3. Syncky's bundle uses that schema with a Node entry point; this schema check is separate from actual Desktop acceptance. Treat importing this release as a separate compatibility check. The bundle exposes no custom-home configuration field; use the manual recipe for a custom home. Avoid duplicate registrations.

What can Claude Desktop read and write?

The MCP server offers five tools. syncky_status shows pairing, scope and relay progress from local state. syncky_inbox returns what the iPhone sent, as raw JSON kept 30 days on your computer. syncky_skill returns the signed instructions that describe every message format. syncky_send sends a message to the iPhone: a Health write, applied at the next sync when the owner has allowed writing for that type and iOS Health permits it, or a sync report or access request, which the owner approves on the phone. syncky_ack marks inbox entries as handled. Status, inbox and skill only read; send and ack change things. An empty result is not a measured zero. This registration does not disable syncky_send or syncky_ack.

The agent keeps what the iPhone sent as daily JSON files in its home (inbox/), prunes them after 30 days, and keeps the last 100 send receipts. There is no database and no built-in summaries: your AI agent reads the files it needs.

Every write to Apple Health, every sync report request and every request for more Health types is a message the agent sends to the iPhone. Writes apply only to the types the owner allowed for writing in the app; a sync report or more Health types need the owner's tap on the phone. The signed skill (syncky_skill) carries the exact formats and limits. A report arrives only after you Review and Confirm on the iPhone; you can decline instead.

Write only owner-requested entries or entries covered by explicit standing approval. A write is applied only when its type is in the app's write allowance, within the agent's write scope, and authorized by HealthKit (iOS write permission). Entries identify the requesting agent as their source. A queued or sent write is not an applied write: read the phone's result in the inbox after the next sync. To undo, use the iPhone's remove-written-entries control or have the agent send a delete command for its own entry. Follow the operator security rules.

How do you test the connection?

Ask Claude Desktop: Use syncky_status to check the paired iPhone and its read/write scope. Do not read sample values or write anything. Expect a confirmed iPhone and its last reported scope. This reads local state without contacting Relay; it does not establish fresh delivery or complete data.

How do you troubleshoot this setup?

• Server missing after editing: verify JSON syntax and the intended configuration file, then fully quit and restart Desktop. Inspect Connectors or Local MCP servers, rather than assuming a saved file connected.
• Runtime or startup error: ensure Node.js and npm are available to Desktop's process and use setup's selftest. A terminal's working runtime alone does not prove the app can find it.
• Bundle import fails: use the manual npm path. A valid 0.3 archive does not prove your Desktop version accepts it; organization policies can restrict extensions.
• Wrong or empty inbox: match the paired home and saved relay across setup, receiver and Desktop. Do not initialize over existing state.
• Phone unconfirmed or data old: pick the phone's code and receive its proof. Check the receiver, selected categories, unlocked iPhone and Health permissions, then use Sync now. iOS decides later background timing.

What are the frequently asked questions?

Does the bundle have a custom-home setting?

The shipped manifest has no custom-home UI field. Use the manual server's environment for an absolute paired-home path when needed, with the receiver on that same home.

Does a valid MCPB prove Desktop can import it?

No. Anthropic documents bundle import and the manifest schema, while accepting Syncky's particular archive requires a separate real-client check. The manual npm setup remains the recipe here.

Does this JSON disable Health writes?

No. Review tool requests and request only intended writes within the iPhone's allowed scope.

Review Privacy and the public security policy before sharing data with a model.

Agent setup · MCP comparison · All guides.

How do I approve writes and requests for access or reports?

This registration is not a read-only setup. Keep tool approval enabled and never auto-allow syncky_send or syncky_ack; approve only intended writes, sync report requests and access requests. For read-only work, disable or deselect syncky_send and syncky_ack using the client's supported tool controls; the model then cannot write to Health, request a report or more access, or mark inbox entries as handled. The registration itself disables neither. A report request sends a report only after Review and Confirm on the phone. An access request is queued, then the owner confirms individual read/write choices on the phone; the reply arrives in the inbox and the next ordinary sync delivers effective scope. Request approval is separate from permission to write Health values. See access request guidance.