anythingllm-mcp

A small, safe helper that lets an AI assistant (like Claude) search and ask questions about your own documents — the ones you've stored in AnythingLLM.

New to this? No problem. This README explains everything step by step and defines the jargon as it comes up. If you can install an app and copy-paste a few lines, you can use this.

The 30-second version

• AnythingLLM is an app that stores your documents and lets you chat with them ("What does my handbook say about vacation days?").

• MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way for AI assistants to use outside tools. Think of it as a power strip: an assistant plugs into it and suddenly has new abilities.

• This project is one of those plugs. Once connected, your AI assistant can ask your AnythingLLM documents questions and get answers — without you copying and pasting anything.

It is read-only: it can look things up, but it can never change, delete, or mess up your AnythingLLM data. More on that below.

Related MCP server: AnythingLLM MCP Server

What it can do

Once connected, your assistant gains four abilities ("tools"):

That's the whole toolbox. Nothing that can write, delete, or reconfigure anything.

Before you start, you need three things

1. Node.js, version 18 or newer. Node is the program that runs this helper. Check if you already have it by opening a terminal and typing:

   node --version

   If you see something like v20.11.0, you're set. If you get an error, install Node here (the "LTS" version is the safe choice).

2. AnythingLLM up and running, and reachable in your browser (for many people that's http://localhost:3001).

3. An AnythingLLM API key. An API key is like a password that lets programs talk to AnythingLLM on your behalf. To get one: open AnythingLLM → Settings → Tools → Developer API → create a key, and copy it somewhere safe. You'll paste it into your setup in a moment.

   🔒 Treat this key like a password. Don't post it publicly or commit it to GitHub. (This tool is built so the key never has to appear in your chat.)

Install it

In a terminal, download the project and install the pieces it needs:

git clone https://github.com/DezGDNY/anythingllm-mcp.git
cd anythingllm-mcp
npm install

• git clone copies the project onto your computer.

• npm install downloads the small libraries this project depends on. (npm comes with Node.) You'll see it create a node_modules folder — that's normal.

That's it — there's nothing to "build." The helper is ready to run.

Connect it to your AI assistant

An MCP helper doesn't run on its own; your assistant starts it when needed. You tell the assistant about it by adding a few lines to its configuration file. For example, in Claude Code (.mcp.json) or Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anythingllm": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/full/path/to/anythingllm-mcp/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "ANYTHINGLLM_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:3001",
        "ANYTHINGLLM_API_KEY": "paste-your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

What each part means:

• command / args — how to start the helper: run node on this project's index.js. Use the full path to the file (e.g. on Windows, C:\\Users\\you\\anythingllm-mcp\\index.js — note the double backslashes in JSON).

• env — settings passed to the helper when it starts:

  • ANYTHINGLLM_BASE_URL — the web address where your AnythingLLM lives. Leave it as http://localhost:3001 unless yours is elsewhere. (You don't need to add /api/v1; the helper adds that for you.)

  • ANYTHINGLLM_API_KEY — the key you copied earlier.

Save the file and restart your assistant so it picks up the new helper.

Tip: putting the key in the env block here means it's handled by your assistant, not typed into a chat. If you'd rather not keep the key in this file at all, you can set it as an environment variable on your system instead — the helper reads ANYTHINGLLM_API_KEY from wherever it's provided.

Try it

Ask your assistant something like:

"Use the anythingllm tools to ask my Project Docs workspace what our refund policy is, and show me which documents the answer came from."

Behind the scenes it calls query_workspace, and you get an answer grounded in your actual documents, with the sources listed.

By default, questions run in query mode, which means the answer comes only from your documents (it won't make things up from general knowledge). If you'd rather let the assistant blend in its own knowledge, ask it to use chat mode instead.

If something doesn't work

"Not authenticated" / auth errors — the API key is missing or wrong. Double- check you copied the whole key, and that ANYTHINGLLM_BASE_URL points at your actual AnythingLLM address.

"Failed to connect" in your assistant — the helper couldn't start. The two usual causes:

• The assistant can't find node. Some assistants start helpers with a stripped-down environment — a bare setup where the system doesn't know where node is installed. If you hit this, point command at the full path to your node program instead of just "node" (find it by running where node on Windows or which node on macOS/Linux).

• The key wasn't passed in. Make sure the env block above is filled in.

Want to see what actually happened? Start the helper by hand to read its messages:

node /full/path/to/anythingllm-mcp/index.js

If it prints anythingllm-mcp ready … and then seems to "hang," that's actually success — it's running and waiting for your assistant to talk to it. Press Ctrl+C to stop. If it prints an error instead, that error tells you what's wrong.

Is it safe? (Yes — here's why)

This helper can only read and ask questions. On purpose, it has no tools that create, delete, or change anything in AnythingLLM — no deleting workspaces, no editing documents, no changing settings. So even if an AI assistant went completely haywire, the worst it could do through this helper is look things up. Your data is safe.

It also keeps no secrets in the code. Your address and key come from the settings you provide, never from this file — which is why it's safe to share and publish.

How it works (optional, for the curious)

It's one small file (index.js). When your assistant starts it, the helper:

1. reads your AnythingLLM address and key from the environment,

2. waits for the assistant to ask for one of the four tools,

3. makes a normal web request to AnythingLLM's API, and

4. hands the answer back.

It uses the official MCP SDK and Node's built-in networking — no heavy dependencies.

License

MIT — free to use, change, and share. Please keep the copyright line.