MCP Outline Server

Instructions

    Creates a new document in a specified collection.
    
    Use this tool when you need to:
    - Add new content to a knowledge base
    - Create documentation, guides, or notes
    - Add a child document to an existing parent
    - Start a new document thread or topic
    
    Args:
        title: The document title
        collection_id: The collection ID to create the document in
        text: Optional markdown content for the document
        parent_document_id: Optional parent document ID for nesting
        publish: Whether to publish the document immediately (True) or 
            save as draft (False)
        
    Returns:
        Result message with the new document ID
    

Implementation Reference

• src/mcp_outline/features/documents/document_content.py:25-89 (handler)

  The core handler function for the 'create_document' tool. It uses the OutlineClient to POST to 'documents.create' endpoint with the provided title, collection_id, text, parent, and publish parameters.

  @mcp.tool(
      annotations=ToolAnnotations(
          readOnlyHint=False,
          destructiveHint=False,
          idempotentHint=False,
      )
  )
  async def create_document(
      title: str,
      collection_id: str,
      text: str = "",
      parent_document_id: Optional[str] = None,
      publish: bool = True,
  ) -> str:
      """
      Creates a new document in a specified collection.
  
      Use this tool when you need to:
      - Add new content to a knowledge base
      - Create documentation, guides, or notes
      - Add a child document to an existing parent
      - Start a new document thread or topic
  
      Note: For Mermaid diagrams, use ```mermaidjs (not ```mermaid)
      as the code fence language identifier for proper rendering.
  
      Args:
          title: The document title
          collection_id: The collection ID to create the document in
          text: Optional markdown content for the document
          parent_document_id: Optional parent document ID for nesting
          publish: Whether to publish the document immediately (True) or
              save as draft (False)
  
      Returns:
          Result message with the new document ID
      """
      try:
          client = await get_outline_client()
  
          data = {
              "title": title,
              "text": text,
              "collectionId": collection_id,
              "publish": publish,
          }
  
          if parent_document_id:
              data["parentDocumentId"] = parent_document_id
  
          response = await client.post("documents.create", data)
          document = response.get("data", {})
  
          if not document:
              return "Failed to create document."
  
          doc_id = document.get("id", "unknown")
          doc_title = document.get("title", "Untitled")
  
          return f"Document created successfully: {doc_title} (ID: {doc_id})"
      except OutlineClientError as e:
          return f"Error creating document: {str(e)}"
      except Exception as e:
          return f"Unexpected error: {str(e)}"

• src/mcp_outline/features/documents/__init__.py:43-52 (registration)

  Conditional registration of write tools including document_content.register_tools(mcp) which registers the create_document handler, only when OUTLINE_READ_ONLY is not set.

  # Conditionally register write tools (disabled in read-only mode)
  if os.getenv("OUTLINE_READ_ONLY", "").lower() not in (
      "true",
      "1",
      "yes",
  ):
      document_content.register_tools(mcp)
      document_lifecycle.register_tools(mcp)
      document_organization.register_tools(mcp)
      batch_operations.register_tools(mcp)

• src/mcp_outline/features/documents/__init__.py:18-19 (registration)

  The register function that orchestrates registration of all document tools, calling document_content.register_tools among others conditionally.

  def register(
      mcp, api_key: Optional[str] = None, api_url: Optional[str] = None

• src/mcp_outline/features/documents/document_content.py:32-38 (schema)

  The function signature defines the input schema via type hints: title (str required), collection_id (str required), text (str optional), parent_document_id (str optional), publish (bool default True). Returns str message with new doc ID.

  async def create_document(
      title: str,
      collection_id: str,
      text: str = "",
      parent_document_id: Optional[str] = None,
      publish: bool = True,
  ) -> str: