MCP Outline Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enabling AI assistants to interact with Outline (https://www.getoutline.com)

Overview

This project implements a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants (like Claude) to interact with Outline document services, providing a bridge between natural language interactions and Outline's document management capabilities.

Features

Currently implemented:

Document Search: Search for documents by keywords
Collection Management: List collections and view document structure
Document Reading: Read document content, export as markdown
Comment Management: View and add comments on documents
Document Creation: Create new documents in collections
Document Editing: Update document content and move documents
Backlink Management: View documents that link to a specific document

Add to Cursor with Docker

We recommend running this python MCP server using Docker to avoid having to install dependencies on your machine.

Install and run Docker (or Docker Desktop)
Build the Docker image docker buildx build -t mcp-outline .
In Cursor, go to the "MCP Servers" tab and click "Add Server"
{ "mcpServers": { "mcp-outline": { "command": "docker", "args": [ "run", "-i", "--rm", "--init", "-e", "DOCKER_CONTAINER=true", "-e", "OUTLINE_API_KEY", "-e", "OUTLINE_API_URL", "mcp-outline" ], "env": { "OUTLINE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OUTLINE_API_KEY>", "OUTLINE_API_URL": "<YOUR_OUTLINE_API_URL>" } } } }
OUTLINE_API_URL is optional, defaulting to https://app.getoutline.com/api
Debug the docker image by using MCP inspector and passing the docker image to it:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector docker run -i --rm --init -e DOCKER_CONTAINER=true --env-file .env mcp-outline

Development

Prerequisites

Python 3.10+
Outline account with API access
Outline API key (get this from your Outline account settings)

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Vortiago/mcp-outline.git
cd mcp-outline

# Install in development mode
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

Configuration

Create a .env file in the project root with the following variables:

# Outline API Configuration
OUTLINE_API_KEY=your_outline_api_key_here

# For cloud-hosted Outline (default)
# OUTLINE_API_URL=https://app.getoutline.com/api

# For self-hosted Outline
# OUTLINE_API_URL=https://your-outline-instance.example.com/api

Running the Server

# Development mode with the MCP Inspector
mcp dev src/mcp_outline/server.py

# Or use the provided script
./start_server.sh

# Install in Claude Desktop (if available)
mcp install src/mcp_outline/server.py --name "Document Outline Assistant"

When running the MCP Inspector, go to Tools > Click on a tool > it appears on the right side so that you can query it.

Usage Examples

Search for Documents

Search for documents containing "project planning"

List Collections

Show me all available collections

Read a Document

Get the content of document with ID "docId123"

Create a New Document

Create a new document titled "Research Report" in collection "colId456" with content "# Introduction\n\nThis is a research report..."

Add a Comment

Add a comment to document "docId123" saying "This looks great, but we should add more details to the methodology section."

Move a Document

Move document "docId123" to collection "colId789"

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Development

# Run tests
uv run pytest tests/

# Format code
uv run ruff format .

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Built with MCP Python SDK
Uses Outline API for document management

Deploy Server

HTTP connection URL

security – no known vulnerabilities

license - permissive license

quality - confirmed to work

How are these scores calculated?

remote-capable server

The server can be hosted and run remotely because it primarily relies on remote services or has no dependency on the local environment.

Tools

View all tools

A Model Context Protocol server that enables AI assistants like Claude to interact with Outline document services, supporting document searching, reading, creation, editing, and comment management.

Related Resources

Reddit Discussion about this server

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