I rebuilt this local MCP server so Claude can read and write my local Microsoft OneNote notebooks directly — no Microsoft account, API key, or Azure app registration needed, everything runs on my own machine. Windows only, since it drives the OneNote desktop app directly — no macOS/Linux support. It reads from OneNote's local backup snapshots for quick browsing and search, and talks directly to the running OneNote desktop app via its COM automation interface for always-current reads and for writing and organizing content.

Story

I run a D&D campaign, and years of session notes, NPC write-ups, quizzes, and my DM diary all live in OneNote. I didn't want to migrate all of that to Notion or one of the other note apps that already have an official Claude connector — OneNote is simply where the notes already were, and restructuring years of notebooks just to get a connector felt like the wrong trade-off. But I also didn't want to keep manually copy-pasting pages into Claude every time I needed context — "wait, what actually happened in session 4?" shouldn't mean digging through OneNote by hand every time. So instead of switching tools, I built the bridge myself.

This started as mhzarem/onenote-mcp, a small MCP server for reading local OneNote backup files and writing to OneNote via COM. It covered the basics, but couldn't read a single page or a whole section straight from the live app, couldn't organize sections at all, and had a small escaping bug in page titles. I picked it up and substantially extended it to close those gaps. It stays open source.

Added Features

Type	Feature	Description
Reading	`read_live_page`	Read the full text of a single page directly from the running OneNote app
Reading	`read_live_section`	Read every page in a section directly from the running app
Reading	`list_recycle_bin`	List sections and pages currently in a notebook's recycle bin
Reading	OCR text extraction	`read_live_page`/`read_live_section` also surface text OneNote recognizes in embedded images (e.g. a stat block screenshot), clearly labeled since OCR can contain errors
Writing	`insert_image_from_file`	Insert an image onto a page from a local file path — or by filename alone if it's in the default Downloads folder
Organizing	`create_section`	Create a new section in a notebook
Organizing	`create_section_group`	Create a new section group (folder) in a notebook
Organizing	`move_section`	Move a section to a different section group, or back to the notebook's top level — also restores a section out of the recycle bin
Organizing	`rename_section`	Rename an existing section
Organizing	`rename_page`	Rename an existing page's title, without touching its content
Deleting	`delete_section`	Delete a section (moved to the OneNote recycle bin, not permanent) — requires an explicit confirmation before it executes
Deleting	`delete_page`	Delete a page — same recycle-bin safety net and confirmation requirement
Display	Nested hierarchy view	`list_live_notebooks` renders section groups as an indented tree instead of a flat section list
Fixed	Page-title escaping	Titles containing `]]>` could break the CDATA wrapper and corrupt a page's XML; titles are now escaped like bodies already were
Compatibility	Backup-folder detection	The local backup folder is auto-detected regardless of Windows/Office display language, instead of assuming the English name "Backup"
Compatibility	Real Downloads-folder detection	Resolves Windows' actual configured Downloads location (via `SHGetKnownFolderPath`), so filename-only image lookups work even if Downloads was relocated to another drive
Distribution	`.mcpb` packaging	Packaged as a self-contained bundle for one-click installation in Claude Desktop

See CHANGELOG.md for the version-by-version history.

Prerequisites

Windows, with the Microsoft OneNote desktop app installed
For the backup-based reading tools: OneNote must have run at least once so a local backup exists
For the live tools I made: OneNote just needs to be installed — its COM API starts it automatically if it isn't already running

Installation

Drag the .mcpb file onto Claude Desktop (or double-click it) and confirm the install prompt. Claude Desktop manages the Python/uv runtime itself, so nothing else needs to be installed. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

How it works

The backup-reading tools parse the .one files OneNote automatically keeps under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\OneNote\16.0\<Backup>\. The folder name is auto-detected regardless of Windows language (English "Backup", German "Sicherung", etc.) — it scans for whichever subfolder actually contains .one files.
The live tools drive the OneNote desktop app through its COM automation interface (OneNote.Application), invoked via PowerShell under the hood.

Credits & License

Originally created by mhzarem and released under the MIT license. I am not the original author — this is a modified, substantially extended derivative of that project. It stays open source under the same MIT license.