mcp-outline

Overview

This MCP server provides comprehensive access to Outline documentation systems, enabling AI assistants to perform document operations like search, read, create, edit, and archive documents. It supports collection management, threaded comments, backlink tracking, and features MCP resources for direct content access via URI scheme. The server implements transparent rate limiting and supports various access control configurations including read-only mode and granular permission settings.

Try asking AI

After installing, here are 6 things you can ask your AI assistant:

• search_documentssearch_documents(query, collection_id?, limit?, offset?)

  Search documents by keywords with pagination

  Try:Find articles about AI in the engineering collectionTry:Search for project documentation with pagination
• list_collectionslist_collections()

  List all collections

  Try:Show me all my collectionsTry:List available document collections
• read_documentread_document(document_id)

  Get document content

  Try:Retrieve the content of document 123Try:Show me the project requirements document
• create_documentcreate_document(title, collection_id, text?, parent_document_id?, publish?)

  Create new document

  Try:Create a new meeting notes documentTry:Add a new technical spec to the engineering collection
• update_documentupdate_document(document_id, title?, text?, append?)

  Update document with optional append mode

  Try:Update the project timeline documentTry:Append new information to the meeting notes
• archive_documentarchive_document(document_id)

  Archive document for later restoration

  Try:Archive the old project documentationTry:Move completed document to archive
• add_commentadd_comment(document_id, text, parent_comment_id?)

  Add comment to document with optional threaded reply

  Try:Add a comment to the design documentTry:Reply to comment 456 with feedback
• list_document_commentslist_document_comments(document_id, include_anchor_text?, limit?, offset?)

  View document comments with pagination

  Try:Show all comments on the project planTry:Get recent comments with context
• create_collectioncreate_collection(name, description?, color?)

  Create new collection for document organization

  Try:Create a new product documentation collectionTry:Add a team knowledge base collection
• get_document_backlinksget_document_backlinks(document_id)

  Find documents that link to this document

  Try:Which documents reference the API specification?Try:Find all documents that link to this requirements doc
• batch_create_documentsbatch_create_documents(documents)

  Create multiple documents at once

  Try:Create several sprint planning documents at onceTry:Bulk create meeting notes for the quarter
• ask_ai_about_documentsask_ai_about_documents(question, collection_id?, document_id?)

  Ask natural language questions about your documents

  Try:What are the key features of our product?Try:Summarize recent project updates

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Installation

uvx mcp-outline          # using uv
pip install mcp-outline   # using pip

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-outline": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-outline"],
      "env": {
        "OUTLINE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_API_KEY>",
        "OUTLINE_API_URL": "<YOUR_OUTLINE_URL>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

What access permissions does this MCP server need?

The server requires an API key from Outline with appropriate permissions for the operations you want to perform (read, write, delete). You can create API keys in Outline's Settings → API Keys section.

Can this work with self-hosted Outline instances?

Yes, simply set the OUTLINE_API_URL environment variable to your self-hosted instance's API endpoint (e.g., https://your-domain.com/api) instead of the default cloud service.

Is there a read-only mode available?

Yes, set OUTLINE_READ_ONLY=true to disable all write operations, leaving only search, read, and export tools available.

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