Give ChatGPT Long-Term Memory
ChatGPT has built-in memory. Hjarni adds notes you can inspect, edit, and share with Claude and other connected AI tools. When you resume a task, ask ChatGPT to check Hjarni for the context you saved.
Hjarni hosts the MCP server, so you do not need to install an MCP server or keep one running locally. Connect the published Hjarni app from the ChatGPT Apps Directory to search, read, create, and update your saved notes.
Why connect ChatGPT to your notes?
Stop repeating yourself
Every conversation starts from scratch on your notes. With Hjarni, ChatGPT can search and read them when you ask, so the context is one request away.
Your notes, your rules
Set instructions per folder. ChatGPT follows your conventions for tone, format and workflow instead of its defaults.
Works across AI tools
Your notes aren't locked into ChatGPT. Use them with Claude, the API, or just as a notes app.
Before you start
What ChatGPT gets
After you connect Hjarni, ChatGPT can use MCP within your account's access and the limits you choose for that connection. You can select folders, make it read-only, or both.
What ChatGPT does not get
It does not gain access before you authorize it, and it does not become your long-term memory unless you save things into Hjarni.
If you're evaluating trust, permissions, or ownership concerns before connecting, read privacy, permissions, and AI boundaries first.
Limit ChatGPT to one client folder and check its access. The walkthrough uses fictional notes and checks read-only access too.
What ChatGPT can do with Hjarni
Once connected, ChatGPT can:
Search notes
Full-text search across all your notes, containers, and tags.
Create and update notes
Create new Markdown notes or edit the content of existing notes you have permission to edit. Review saved changes in note history.
Organize notes into containers
Place notes in the right folder, or create new folders.
Add tags
Tag notes for filtering and grouping.
Link notes
Create wiki-links between related notes.
Follow container instructions
Respect your custom AI instructions for specific folders and topics.
Requirements
- ChatGPT plan
- Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Education
- Hjarni account
- Free or paid. You can create an account during connection. MCP works on all plans
- Where
- chatgpt.com, or the ChatGPT app on iPhone and Android
- Setup time
- Under 2 minutes
How to connect ChatGPT to Hjarni
Install from the ChatGPT Apps Directory
Hjarni is a published app in the ChatGPT Apps Directory.
Use this recommended connection path. You do not need to enable developer mode or enter an MCP server URL.
- Open Hjarni in the ChatGPT Apps Directory.
- Click Connect.
- Sign in to Hjarni or create an account when redirected.
- On Hjarni’s authorization screen, review the connection and click Allow access to return to ChatGPT.
If Hjarni shows a prompt for your first note, copy it before allowing access, then paste it into ChatGPT after you return. The prompt helps you save something useful right away.
Alternative: Manual setup via developer mode
1. Enable developer mode
- On a personal account, go to Settings > Security and login in ChatGPT and toggle Developer mode on.
- In a workspace, go to Settings > Apps, scroll to Advanced settings, and toggle Developer mode on.
2. Add the Hjarni server
- On a personal account, open Plugins and tap the + button. In a workspace, add it from Settings > Apps.
- Set the name to
hjarni. - Set the MCP Server URL to
https://hjarni.com/mcp - Set authentication to OAuth.
- Check I understand and want to continue.
- Tap Create.
- Sign in to Hjarni or create an account when redirected.
- Review the connection on Hjarni’s authorization screen and click Allow access.
- Done. In a conversation, tap +, choose Developer mode, and select Hjarni.
ChatGPT handles authentication automatically through OAuth. No tokens to manage.
Connect from your phone
You don't need a computer. Open Hjarni in the ChatGPT Apps Directory on your phone, tap Connect, and sign in or create your account. Review the connection in Hjarni and tap Allow access to return to ChatGPT. More than half of the people who start using Hjarni through ChatGPT do it on a phone.
Once connected, the same notes are there on the web and in the ChatGPT app. Save a note from your phone on the train and ask about it from your laptop later.
Hjarni also has its own app for iPhone and Android, free on every plan. Use it to read what ChatGPT saved, fix a note, or add one by hand.
Try your first note
Try saving a simple weekend plan. Use the prompts below with Hjarni enabled in your chat, or follow the same steps with a plan of your own. If you already have a note called Weekend plan, choose a different name.
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Save a plan.
Ask: “Save a note called Weekend plan that says: Visit the museum on Saturday at 10 am.”
Open Hjarni and check that your plan is there. If ChatGPT asks where to save it, choose a folder.
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Find it in a new chat.
Start a new ChatGPT chat with Hjarni enabled, then ask:
Ask: “Find my Weekend plan note. What time am I visiting the museum? Link to the note.”
The answer should be 10 am, based on your saved note. You do not need to paste the plan again.
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Change your plan.
Ask: “Change the museum visit to 11 am and save it in the same note.”
If asked, approve the edit. Your original Weekend plan note should be updated.
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Check your note.
Open Weekend plan in Hjarni. It should now say 11 am. You can see the previous time in note history. Next time you start a chat, ask about the plan again to read the latest saved version.
Not seeing your plan? Check that you connected the right Hjarni account and enabled Hjarni in this chat. Check whether the note was saved in Hjarni before asking again, so you do not create a duplicate. Your notes stay available across chats, but the assistant still needs to look them up when you ask.
If the connection is still pending, finish the Allow access step in Hjarni. If you used manual setup, also check that the MCP URL is exactly https://hjarni.com/mcp.
Use ChatGPT and Claude? See how they work with the same note and try it yourself. Connect both to the same Hjarni account. You can also download a sample export to see how your notes and attachments open outside Hjarni.
For client work, start with the Client Project Context template or follow the freelancer client-brief walkthrough.
Open and edit notes beside the chat
Where ChatGPT supports the Hjarni note panel, you can read and edit a note beside your conversation.
Read the recording transcript
- Open Hjarni Notes from the ChatGPT sidebar.
- In the note picker, choose Folders, then Recipes.
- Open Weeknight shakshuka. The recipe note is attached as context for the next message.
- Ask ChatGPT: “Can you create a shopping list for 5 people?”
- ChatGPT answers with a shopping list based on the recipe, scaled for five people.
- Ask ChatGPT to open a note by title:
Open my Website launch planning note in Hjarni.Or open Hjarni Notes from the ChatGPT sidebar and choose the note under Recent or Folders. - To edit it yourself, click Edit, make your changes, then click Save changes. You need permission to edit that note.
- To get help with a passage, select its text in the panel, then ask in the chat:
Suggest a shorter version of the selected passage.
Suggestions stay in the chat until you ask to apply or save them. Review the wording, then ask Save that version in the Hjarni note. Save or discard any unsaved panel edits first.
Review saved changes in note history.
After sending a message, the panel may ask you to attach the note again. Use Attach this note, or Attach note and selection, to include it with your next message. If the panel is unavailable, ask ChatGPT to read or update the note instead.
Choose a note as context
In the ChatGPT desktop app, use the composer's @ picker to find and select a Hjarni note by title. Check its folder to distinguish notes with similar names.
Add your question before sending, for example: Use this launch plan to draft this week's priorities. ChatGPT can read the selected note's saved content. On ChatGPT web or mobile, ask ChatGPT to find and read the note by title.
What workflows work best
Weekly planning
Ask ChatGPT to review your recent notes and draft a weekly summary or plan based on what you've captured.
Research capture
Paste an article or idea into the chat and have ChatGPT save it as a structured note with tags and links.
Project memory
Use a container for each project. ChatGPT reads existing notes for context before helping you think through problems.
Writing assistant with source notes
Ask ChatGPT to search your notes for relevant material, then draft a document using your own sources.
For a workflow that starts when you create a note, follow Turn new Hjarni notes into automatic AI workflows. The guide uses ChatGPT Work to extract action items from meeting notes and save them back to the same note.
For note panels, desktop mentions, files and automation examples, explore what Hjarni can do inside ChatGPT.
What ChatGPT can and cannot do
Can do
- Search, read, create, and update notes
- Delete notes (recoverable from Trash for 30 days)
- Organize notes in containers
- Add and manage tags
- Create wiki-links between notes
- Follow your custom AI instructions
- Attach files to notes
Cannot do
- Guarantee automatic retrieval of your Hjarni notes in every new chat. Ask ChatGPT to search or read the notes you need.
- Access notes without you connecting Hjarni first
- Bypass your permissions or instructions
- File notes silently. ChatGPT is instructed to confirm the destination folder when it's ambiguous, and deleted notes go to Trash, recoverable for 30 days
Common questions
FAQ
Does Hjarni give ChatGPT long-term memory?
Not automatically. But when you save important information as notes, ChatGPT can search and retrieve it in future conversations. The notes act as your memory. ChatGPT is the interface.
Does Hjarni include its own AI model?
No. Hjarni is a knowledge base, not an AI model. It gives your existing AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude) access to your notes through MCP.
Do I need a paid ChatGPT plan?
Yes. ChatGPT's MCP support requires Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Education. Hjarni itself works on any plan, including free.
Can ChatGPT edit existing notes?
Yes. ChatGPT can update the content, tags, container, and status of any existing note.
Need help connecting?
Email evert@hjarni.com and we'll sort it out.
Give your AI a memory. Free.
Connect Claude or ChatGPT to notes they can actually read and write.
Give your AI a memory. Free.