MCP Outline Server

Instructions

    Modifies an existing document's title or content.
    
    IMPORTANT: This tool replaces the document content rather than just 

    Use this tool when you need to:
    - Edit or update document content
    - Change a document's title
    - Append new content to an existing document
    - Fix errors or add information to documents
    
    Args:
        document_id: The document ID to update
        title: New title (if None, keeps existing title)
        text: New content (if None, keeps existing content)
        append: If True, adds text to the end of document instead of 
replacing
        
    Returns:
        Result message confirming update
    

Implementation Reference

• src/mcp_outline/features/documents/document_content.py:91-156 (handler)

  The primary handler for the 'update_document' tool. This async function, registered via @mcp.tool decorator, handles updating document title and/or content by calling the Outline API's documents.update endpoint. Supports optional append mode.

      annotations=ToolAnnotations(
          readOnlyHint=False,
          destructiveHint=True,
          idempotentHint=False,
      )
  )
  async def update_document(
      document_id: str,
      title: Optional[str] = None,
      text: Optional[str] = None,
      append: bool = False,
  ) -> str:
      """
      Modifies an existing document's title or content.
  
      IMPORTANT: This tool replaces the document content rather
      than just adding to it.
      To update a document with changed data, you need to first
      read the document, add your changes to the content, and
      then send the complete document with your changes.
  
      Use this tool when you need to:
      - Edit or update document content
      - Change a document's title
      - Append new content to an existing document
      - Fix errors or add information to documents
  
      Note: For Mermaid diagrams, use ```mermaidjs (not ```mermaid)
      as the code fence language identifier for proper rendering.
  
      Args:
          document_id: The document ID to update
          title: New title (if None, keeps existing title)
          text: New content (if None, keeps existing content)
          append: If True, adds text to the end of document
              instead of replacing
  
      Returns:
          Result message confirming update
      """
      try:
          client = await get_outline_client()
  
          # Only include fields that are being updated
          data: Dict[str, Any] = {"id": document_id}
  
          if title is not None:
              data["title"] = title
  
          if text is not None:
              data["text"] = text
              data["append"] = append
  
          response = await client.post("documents.update", data)
          document = response.get("data", {})
  
          if not document:
              return "Failed to update document."
  
          doc_title = document.get("title", "Untitled")
  
          return f"Document updated successfully: {doc_title}"
      except OutlineClientError as e:
          return f"Error updating document: {str(e)}"
      except Exception as e:
          return f"Unexpected error: {str(e)}"

• src/mcp_outline/features/documents/__init__.py:43-53 (registration)

  Conditional registration of write tools including document_content.register_tools(mcp), which defines the update_document tool. Only enabled if OUTLINE_READ_ONLY env var is not set to true/1/yes.

  # 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/__init__.py:15-17 (registration)

  Registration chain entry point: calls documents.register(mcp), leading to document content tools registration.

  # Register document management features
  documents.register(mcp)

• src/mcp_outline/server.py:31-32 (registration)

  Top-level registration: register_all(mcp) invoked after creating FastMCP instance, which cascades to include update_document tool.

  # Register all features
  register_all(mcp)

• src/mcp_outline/features/documents/document_content.py:103-130 (schema)

  Docstring and type annotations defining the input schema (document_id: str, title/text: Optional[str], append: bool) and output (str confirmation message), along with usage guidelines and hints.

  """
  Modifies an existing document's title or content.
  
  IMPORTANT: This tool replaces the document content rather
  than just adding to it.
  To update a document with changed data, you need to first
  read the document, add your changes to the content, and
  then send the complete document with your changes.
  
  Use this tool when you need to:
  - Edit or update document content
  - Change a document's title
  - Append new content to an existing document
  - Fix errors or add information to documents
  
  Note: For Mermaid diagrams, use ```mermaidjs (not ```mermaid)
  as the code fence language identifier for proper rendering.
  
  Args:
      document_id: The document ID to update
      title: New title (if None, keeps existing title)
      text: New content (if None, keeps existing content)
      append: If True, adds text to the end of document
          instead of replacing
  
  Returns:
      Result message confirming update
  """