Tag a link bloom. The network finds it.

The convention

Two words, and no central authority.

bloom is a signal tag. It means: I want this surfaced to other people. Pair it with a place so the people nearby can find it.

• bloom
• houston
• austin
• detroit
• global

Start here

Getting started

You need a computer, Claude Desktop (not the web version), Python 3.10 or later, and a Pinboard account. About ten minutes.

1. Step 1

   Get your Pinboard token

   Log in, open pinboard.in/settings/password, and copy the API token. It looks like yourname:ABC123DEF456. Keep it somewhere you can paste from, and nowhere public — it is a password.

2. Step 2

   Download the server, install what it needs

   Get the folder from GitHub and put it wherever you keep projects — or paste this prompt to an AI on your computer and let it do the fetching.

   Show the prompt that fetches it

   prompt-to-get-the-server.txt Copy

   Get me the Bloom Pinboard MCP server.
   1. Ask me where I keep projects before you put anything anywhere. If I have no answer, suggest a place on this computer and wait for a yes.
   2. Get https://github.com/HoustonBloom/PinboardMCP into a folder called PinboardMCP in that place: clone it if git is on this computer, otherwise download https://github.com/HoustonBloom/PinboardMCP/archive/refs/heads/main.zip and unzip it there.
   3. Check Python 3.10 or later. Try python --version, then python3 --version. If neither answers, send me to https://www.python.org/downloads/ and stop.
   4. Install the two dependencies: pip install httpx mcp.
   5. Give me two full paths: the Python you just checked, and bloom-houston-mcp/server.py inside that folder. I need both for the next step.
   If something fails, tell me which step and the exact error.

3. Step 3

   Point Claude Desktop at it

   Claude Desktop reads one config file. On Mac it is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; on Windows, %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. Create it if it is not there. Paths must be absolute, and on Windows the backslashes are doubled.

   Show the config to paste

   claude_desktop_config.json Copy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "pinboard": {
         "command": "C:\\Path\\To\\Your\\python.exe",
         "args": [
           "C:\\Path\\To\\PinboardMCP\\bloom-houston-mcp\\server.py"
         ],
         "env": {
           "PINBOARD_API_TOKEN": "your-username:YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE"
         }
       }
     }
   }

4. Step 4

   Restart, then ask it something

   Quit Claude Desktop properly — Cmd+Q on Mac, or right-click the tray icon on Windows. Closing the window is not enough. Reopen it and try “show me my Pinboard tags” or “find bloom-tagged resources about mutual aid”. If Claude answers from your bookmarks, you are set.

5. Step 5

   Tag one thing bloom

   That is the whole contribution. Save a link, tag it bloom and your city, and it is discoverable by everyone else running this. No account with us, no permission, no platform.

Make your own

Your city, your directory.

Once the server is connected, Claude can read the real bookmarks and build a searchable directory for wherever you are. Here is one we made. Paste this and swap in your city.

Connect to the Pinboard MCP and make me a Bloom Network directory artifact.
1. Fetch every bookmark tagged bloom and [your-city]. Pull the real data from my Pinboard account and embed it in the artifact — do not invent entries.
2. Include a search that matches what someone means, not just the words they typed.
3. Include tag filtering by topic.
4. Include a short section showing how someone adds their own resource: tag it bloom plus the city.
5. Keep the design clean and accessible: real contrast, keyboard reachable, readable on a phone.
6. Tell me how many bookmarks you found and how many contributors they came from.