# helpscout-docs-mcp

MCP server for the [Help Scout Docs API](https://developer.helpscout.com/docs-api/). Gives Claude access to your Help Scout knowledge base — collections, articles, and search.

## Tools

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `list_collections` | List all knowledge-base collections (with article counts and visibility) |
| `list_articles` | List articles in a collection (metadata only — ID, name, status, URL, view count) |
| `get_article` | Fetch full article content by ID (HTML body, categories, related articles) |
| `search_articles` | Keyword search across articles (returns names, preview snippets, and IDs) |

## Setup

### 1. Get a Docs API key

In Help Scout, go to **Manage → Docs → API Keys** and generate a key.

### 2. Clone and install

```bash
git clone https://github.com/ryrykerr/helpscout-docs-mcp.git
cd helpscout-docs-mcp
npm install
```

### 3. Add to Claude Desktop

Add the following to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "helpscout-docs": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/helpscout-docs-mcp/server.js"],
      "env": {
        "HELPSCOUT_DOCS_API_KEY": "your-docs-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Replace `/path/to/helpscout-docs-mcp/` with the actual path and `your-docs-api-key` with your API key.

## How it works

The server uses Basic Auth against the Help Scout Docs API v1 (`https://docsapi.helpscout.net/v1`). It communicates over stdio using the [Model Context Protocol SDK](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/typescript-sdk).