AnyType Skill

Direct integration with AnyType's local REST API. No MCP dependency — uses HTTP calls via a TypeScript CLI tool.

Prerequisites

• AnyType desktop app running (provides REST API on localhost)
• bun runtime installed
• API key configured (run Auth workflow if not set up)

Configuration

Per-machine config is resolved in order:

1. Environment variables: ANYTYPE_API_KEY, ANYTYPE_HOST, ANYTYPE_PORT
2. Config file: ~/.config/anytype-skill/config.json
3. Defaults: host=localhost, port=31009

Auto-space: Commands that require a space ID will auto-detect it when you have a single space. Use --space <id> to override or when you have multiple spaces.

Tool Location

All operations go through a single CLI tool at Tools/AnyType.ts relative to this skill's root directory. Construct the full path based on where this SKILL.md was loaded from.

bun <skill-root>/Tools/AnyType.ts <command> [options]

Workflow Routing

Workflow	Trigger	File
Auth	Set up API key, authenticate, auth status	Workflows/Auth.md
Search	Search objects, find notes, query AnyType	Workflows/Search.md
Read	Get object, read note, view object details	Workflows/Read.md
Tasks	List tasks, create task, mark done, manage tasks	Workflows/Tasks.md

Tool Reference

Authentication

Command	Description
auth challenge	Start auth flow (4-digit code appears in AnyType)
auth verify <challenge_id> <code>	Exchange code for API key
auth set-key <key>	Manually set an API key
auth status	Check current config and connectivity

Querying

Command	Description
spaces	List all spaces
search --query <text> [--types <t1,t2>] [--sort <prop>] [--direction asc|desc] [--space <id>] [--limit N]	Search objects
get --id <id> [--space <id>]	Get a specific object
list [--space <id>] [--limit N]	List objects in a space
tasks [--done] [--all]	List tasks (default: open/uncompleted)

Task Shortcuts

Command	Description
task-add "name" [--due YYYY-MM-DD] [--body <text>]	Quick-create a task
done <task_id>	Mark a task as complete

Mutating

Command	Description
create --type <key> --name <name> [--body <md>] [--properties <json>]	Create an object
update --id <id> [--name <n>] [--body <md>] [--due DATE] [--properties <json>]	Update an object
delete --id <id>	Archive an object

All commands output JSON to stdout. --space is optional for all mutating/querying commands (auto-detected).

Search Behavior

• Search query is required and searches object content, not just names
• To list all objects of a type, use a space as wildcard: search --query " " --types <type_key>
• The --types flag filters which object types are returned, not what text is searched
• Type keys (e.g., page, task, note) vary per space — discover them by running a broad search and inspecting the type.key field in results
• Objects may contain anytype:// links in their markdown body that reference other objects by objectId and spaceId — use these with the get command to follow links
• Use --sort last_modified_date --direction desc to get most recently modified first
• Use --space <id> to scope search to a single space

Property Format Reference

When using --properties with create or update, match the property format:

Format	JSON Example
checkbox	{"key": "done", "checkbox": true}
text	{"key": "description", "text": "Some text"}
select	{"key": "status", "select": {"name": "In Progress"}}
date	{"key": "due_date", "date": "2026-03-01T00:00:00Z"}

Note: update also accepts --due YYYY-MM-DD as a shorthand for setting the due_date property.

API Quirks

• Unchecked checkboxes are omitted: When done is false, the property is absent from the response (not returned as false). The tasks command handles this automatically.
• No server-side property filtering: The API filters by type but not property values. The tasks command filters client-side.
• Delete = archive: The DELETE endpoint archives objects; they can be restored in AnyType.

Examples

List open tasks:

bun Tools/AnyType.ts tasks

Quick-create a task with due date:

bun Tools/AnyType.ts task-add "Review pull request" --due 2026-03-01

Mark task done:

bun Tools/AnyType.ts done <task_id>

Set a due date on existing task:

bun Tools/AnyType.ts update --id <task_id> --due 2026-03-15

Search with sorting:

bun Tools/AnyType.ts search --query "meeting" --sort last_modified_date --direction desc

Read a specific object:

bun Tools/AnyType.ts get --id <object_id>

Create with full control:

bun Tools/AnyType.ts create --type page --name "Meeting Notes" --body "## Agenda\n- Item 1"