The SignNow REST API empowers users to deliver a seamless eSignature experience for signers, preparers, and senders. Pre-fill documents, create embedded branded workflows for multiple signers, request payments, and track signature status in real-time. Ensure signing is simple, secure, and intuitive on any device.

What you can do with the SignNow API:

• Send documents and document groups for signature in a role-based order

• Create reusable templates from documents

• Pre-fill document fields with data

• Collect payments as part of the signing flow

• Embed the document sending, signing, or editing experience into your website, application, or any system of record

• Track signing progress and download the completed documents

SignNow MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives AI agents secure, structured access to SignNow eSignature workflows — templates, embedded signing, invites, status tracking, and document downloads — over STDIO or Streamable HTTP.

Table of contents

• Features

• Quick start

  • Local (STDIO)

  • Local/Remote (HTTP)

  • Docker

  • Docker Compose

• Configuration

  • Authentication options

  • SignNow & OAuth settings

  • Production key management

• Client setup

  • VS Code — GitHub Copilot (Agent Mode)

  • Claude Desktop

  • Cursor

  • MCP Inspector (testing)

• Tools

• FAQ / tips

• Examples

• Useful resources

  • Sample apps

  • API documentation

  • GitHub Copilot extension

• License

Features

• Templates & groups

  • Browse all templates and template groups

  • Create documents or groups from templates (one-shot flows included)

• Invites & embedded UX

  • Email invites and ordered recipients

  • Embedded signing/sending/editor links for in-app experiences

• Status & retrieval

  • Check invite status and step details

  • Download final documents (single or merged)

  • Read normalized document/group structure for programmatic decisions

• Transports

  • STDIO (best for local clients)

  • Streamable HTTP (best for Docker/remote)

Quick start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+ installed on your system

• Environment variables configured

1. Setup Environment Variables

2. Install and Run

Option A: Install from PyPI (Recommended)

Option B: Install from Source (Development)

STDIO is ideal for desktop clients and local testing.

Local/Remote (HTTP)

By default, the Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint is served under /mcp. Example URL:

Docker

STDIO inside containers is unreliable with many clients. Prefer HTTP when using Docker.

Docker Compose

Configuration

Copy .env.example → .env and fill in values. All settings are validated via pydantic-settings at startup.

Authentication options

1) Username / Password (recommended for desktop dev flows)

2) OAuth 2.0 (for hosted/advanced scenarios)

When running via some desktop clients, only user/password may be supported.

SignNow & OAuth settings

Production key management

If OAUTH_RSA_PRIVATE_PEM is missing in production, a new RSA key will be generated on each restart, invalidating all existing tokens. Always provide a persistent private key via secrets management in prod.

Client setup

VS Code — GitHub Copilot (Agent Mode)

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

STDIO (local):

HTTP (remote or Docker):

Then open Chat → Agent mode, enable the signnow tools, and use them in prompts.

Claude Desktop

Use Desktop Extensions or the manual MCP config (Developer → Edit config) to add either:

• STDIO command: sn-mcp serve

• HTTP endpoint: http://localhost:8000/mcp

Follow Claude’s MCP guide for exact steps and secure secret handling.

Cursor

Add the server in Cursor’s MCP settings using either STDIO (sn-mcp serve) or the HTTP URL (http://localhost:8000/mcp).

MCP Inspector (testing)

Great for exploring tools & schemas visually.

You can list tools, call them with JSON args, and inspect responses.

Tools

Each tool is described concisely; use an MCP client (e.g., Inspector) to view exact JSON schemas.

• list_all_templates — List templates & template groups with simplified metadata.

• list_document_groups — Browse your document groups and statuses.

• create_from_template — Make a document or a group from a template/group.

• send_invite — Email invites (documents or groups), ordered recipients supported.

• create_embedded_invite — Embedded signing session without email delivery.

• create_embedded_sending — Embedded “sending/management” experience.

• create_embedded_editor — Embedded editor link to place/adjust fields.

• send_invite_from_template — One-shot: create from template and invite.

• create_embedded_sending_from_template — One-shot: template → embedded sending.

• create_embedded_editor_from_template — One-shot: template → embedded editor.

• create_embedded_invite_from_template — One-shot: template → embedded signing.

• get_invite_status — Current invite status/steps for document or group.

• get_document_download_link — Direct download link (merged output for groups).

• get_document — Normalized document/group structure with field values.

• update_document_fields — Prefill text fields in individual documents.

Tip: Start with list_all_templates → create_from_template → create_embedded_* / send_invite, then get_invite_status and get_document_download_link.

FAQ / tips

• STDIO vs Docker? Prefer STDIO for local dev; inside Docker, use HTTP.

• Sandbox vs production? Start with SignNow’s sandbox/dev credentials; production requires proper OAuth and persistent RSA private key.

• Where do I see exact tool schemas? Use MCP Inspector or your client’s “tool details” view.

• Where are examples? See examples/ in this repo for starter integrations.

Examples

The examples/ directory contains working examples of how to integrate the SignNow MCP Server with popular AI agent frameworks:

• LangChain - Integration with LangChain agents using langchain-mcp-adapters

• LlamaIndex - Integration with LlamaIndex agents using llama-index-tools-mcp

• SmolAgents - Integration with SmolAgents framework using native MCP support

Each example demonstrates how to:

• Start the MCP server as a subprocess

• Convert MCP tools to framework-specific tool formats

• Create agents that can use SignNow functionality

• Handle environment variable configuration

To run an example:

Useful resources

Sample apps

Explore ready-to-use sample apps to quickly test preparing, signing, and sending documents from your software using the SignNow API.

Try the sample apps.

API documentation

Find technical details on SignNow API requests, parameters, code examples, and possible errors. Learn more about the API functionality in detailed guides and use cases.

Read the API documentation.

GitHub Copilot extension

Develop eSignature integrations directly in GitHub using AI-powered code suggestions. Copilot recommends API calls and code snippets that align with SignNow API guidelines.

Get SignNow for GitHub Copilot.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.md.

About SignNow MCP Server — maintained by the SignNow team. Issues and contributions welcome via GitHub pull requests.