outline

MCP server from HelicopterHelicopter/outline-mcp-server

Installation

Run this command in your terminal to add the MCP server to Claude Code.

Run in terminal:

Command

claude mcp add --transport stdio helicopterhelicopter-outline-mcp-server node /path/to/outline-mcp-server/dist/index.js \
  --env OUTLINE_API_KEY="your-api-token-here" \
  --env OUTLINE_BASE_URL="https://your-outline-instance.com"

How to use

This MCP server acts as a bridge to your Outline instance, exposing a set of standard MCP tools that let you read, create, update, and delete documents, as well as manage collections and perform full-text searches. It uses the Outline API behind the scenes, so you can integrate it with any MCP client that communicates over stdio. The provided tools cover common Outline operations such as retrieving a document by ID, searching documents, listing documents (optionally filtered by collection), and creating or updating documents with Markdown content. Collections can be listed and inspected to understand how your documents are organized within Outline. Examples demonstrate how to perform typical actions like searching for documents, creating a new document with Markdown text, and updating an existing document. To use it, configure the server command in your MCP client configuration and ensure the required environment variables for Outline authentication are set.

How to install

Prerequisites:

Node.js (LTS) and npm installed
Access to an Outline instance with an API token
A project directory for the MCP server (or clone this repository)

Installation steps:

Clone the repository or download the source files
Install dependencies
```
npm install
```
Build the project (transpile TypeScript to JavaScript)
```
npm run build
```
Start the server locally to verify it runs (uses stdout/stdin for MCP clients)
```
npm start
```
Ensure environment variables for Outline are configured, or set them in your deployment environment as shown in the configuration section.

Notes:

The server is designed to be run via MCP clients that support stdio transport. Adjust your deployment method if you’re containerizing or using a different runtime.

Additional notes

Environment variables:

OUTLINE_BASE_URL: Base URL of your Outline instance (e.g., https://your-outline-instance.com)
OUTLINE_API_KEY: API token with appropriate permissions

Common issues:

Missing or invalid Outline API credentials: double-check OUTLINE_BASE_URL and OUTLINE_API_KEY
Network connectivity problems between the MCP server and Outline: ensure HTTP requests can reach the Outline API
Correct path to the compiled server file in the MCP configuration: ensure /path/to/outline-mcp-server/dist/index.js points to the built artifact

Security:

Never commit API tokens to version control
Use restricted API tokens with minimal permissions where possible
Consider restricting access to the MCP server to trusted clients

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