Lexicon Support

Help with Lexicon on the web, iPhone and iPad, and with connecting your AI. Email jake@quartzi.ai if your question isn't here.

Try it first

Tap Try the demo on the first screen. You get the whole app with sample words and quotes, with no server or sign-in, and the app sends nothing over the network apart from a link you tap or something you choose to share. In the demo, Fill only knows the sample word "laconic", Check my sentence doesn't use AI, and the share sheet and the Add Word and Add Quote shortcuts need a connected server. To leave, go to Settings and tap Leave the demo.

Make an account

Go to app.getlexicon.org, tap Create an account and enter your email and a password of at least 8 characters. Your notebook starts empty and only you can see it. The web app works in any browser; in Safari tap Share › Add to Home Screen to keep it like an app.

Get a token for the iPhone app or your AI

Sign in at app.getlexicon.org and open Settings.
Under Account, tap New token for iPhone or MCP and give it a name, such as iPhone or Claude.
Copy the token straight away; it is shown only once. Revoke it from the same list whenever you like.

In the iPhone app, connect with the address https://app.getlexicon.org and that token.

Connect your AI

Lexicon speaks MCP, the standard way AI apps use tools. Once it's connected, just talk to your AI: "save apricity to Lexicon", "what words did I save this week?", or "quiz me on my words". A word you save becomes that day's Word of the Day, so it shows on your widget.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http lexicon https://app.getlexicon.org/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Cursor and other apps that take an MCP URL

Add a server with the address https://app.getlexicon.org/mcp and the header Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN. In Cursor's mcp.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "lexicon": {
  "url": "https://app.getlexicon.org/mcp",
  "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" } } } }

On your own server, use its address followed by /mcp and your LEXICON_TOKEN. The tools are add_word, add_quote, search, get_random, due_for_review, mark_reviewed and fill_word.

Obsidian and Markdown

In Settings, Export Markdown downloads your whole notebook as one Markdown note. Drop it in your Obsidian vault and it reads like any other note, with a heading for each word and its meaning, examples, synonyms and tags underneath. To bring words in, paste a list or a Markdown note under Import, one word or quote per line, and turn on Fill to look them all up.

Connect to your server

Open Lexicon and enter your server's address, such as https://lexicon.example.com.
Enter the access token, which is the LEXICON_TOKEN value set on the server.
Tap Connect. The app checks the address and the token before saving them.

Run your own server

The server is one small Node.js program with no other dependencies, and it keeps everything in a SQLite file. The source and full instructions are at github.com/ForgeIT-Solutions/lexicon. You need Node.js 24 and a computer that stays on.

# .env, readable only by you
LEXICON_TOKEN=a-long-random-secret
LEXICON_DB=/path/to/lexicon.db
PORT=3180

node --env-file=.env server/index.js

Then give it an HTTPS address with a reverse proxy or tunnel, such as Caddy or Cloudflare Tunnel. Opening /health at that address should show "name":"lexicon". The token must be at least 16 characters. Anyone with it can read and change your notebook, so keep it private. Back up the database file.

On your home network, the app can also reach a plain http:// address such as http://192.168.1.20:3180 or http://myserver.local:3180. iOS may ask for permission to use the local network; allow it.

If Connect shows a message

"Can't find" the server

The name doesn't exist. Check the spelling of the address.

"Can't reach" the server

Nothing answered at that address. Check that the server is running, the port is right, and this device can reach that network.

"answered, but it isn't a Lexicon server"

Something else is at that address. Check the address, and check that /health shows "name":"lexicon".

"didn't accept that token"

The token doesn't match the server's LEXICON_TOKEN. Copy it again, with no extra spaces.

"iOS only allows https://"

iOS doesn't allow plain http:// to servers on the internet. Give your server an HTTPS address, or use its address on your home network.

"doesn't have an HTTPS certificate this device trusts"

The certificate is expired, self-signed or for another name. Use a certificate from a public authority; Caddy and Cloudflare Tunnel handle this for you.

Using the app

Fill

Fill looks the word up in a free dictionary, then asks your AI provider for anything still empty. Set the provider, model and key in Settings. Without a provider, you still get the dictionary results.

Widgets

Add Word of the Day or Quote of the Day from the Home Screen or Lock Screen editor. Widgets check your server about every half hour, and a word you save becomes that day's Word of the Day. When they can't reach the server, they show the last word and quote they saved.

Share sheet

Select text anywhere, tap Share, then Add to Lexicon. If it isn't listed, tap More and switch Lexicon on.

Moving to another server

Go to Settings, tap Disconnect, and connect with the new address and token. Your words stay on the old server.