@baruchiro/paperless-mcp
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Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with Paperless-NGX document management system. Enables AI assistants to manage documents, tags, correspondents, and document types through the Paperless-NGX API.
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# Paperless-NGX MCP Server
[](https://smithery.ai/server/@baruchiro/paperless-mcp)
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for interacting with a Paperless-NGX API server. This server provides tools for managing documents, tags, correspondents, and document types in your Paperless-NGX instance.
## Quick Start
[](https://cursor.com/install-mcp?name=paperless&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IC15IEBiYXJ1Y2hpcm8vcGFwZXJsZXNzLW1jcEBsYXRlc3QiLCJlbnYiOnsiUEFQRVJMRVNTX1VSTCI6Imh0dHA6Ly95b3VyLXBhcGVybGVzcy1pbnN0YW5jZTo4MDAwIiwiUEFQRVJMRVNTX0FQSV9LRVkiOiJ5b3VyLWFwaS10b2tlbiJ9fQ%3D%3D)
### Installing via Smithery
To install Paperless NGX MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via [Smithery](https://smithery.ai/server/@baruchiro/paperless-mcp):
```bash
npx -y @smithery/cli install @baruchiro/paperless-mcp --client claude
```
### Manual Installation
Add these to your MCP config file:
// STDIO mode (recommended for local or CLI use)
```json
"paperless": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@baruchiro/paperless-mcp@latest",
],
"env": {
"PAPERLESS_URL": "http://your-paperless-instance:8000",
"PAPERLESS_API_KEY": "your-api-token",
"PAPERLESS_PUBLIC_URL": "https://your-public-domain.com"
}
}
```
// HTTP mode (recommended for Docker or remote use)
```json
"paperless": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run",
"-i",
"--rm",
"ghcr.io/baruchiro/paperless-mcp:latest",
],
"env": {
"PAPERLESS_URL": "http://your-paperless-instance:8000",
"PAPERLESS_API_KEY": "your-api-token",
"PAPERLESS_PUBLIC_URL": "https://your-public-domain.com"
}
}
```
3. Get your API token:
1. Log into your Paperless-NGX instance
2. Click your username in the top right
3. Select "My Profile"
4. Click the circular arrow button to generate a new token
4. Replace the placeholders in your MCP config:
- `http://your-paperless-instance:8000` with your Paperless-NGX URL
- `your-api-token` with the token you just generated
- `https://your-public-domain.com` with your public Paperless-NGX URL (optional, falls back to PAPERLESS_URL)
That's it! Now you can ask Claude to help you manage your Paperless-NGX documents.
### Example Usage
Here are some things you can ask Claude to do:
- "Show me all documents tagged as 'Invoice'"
- "Search for documents containing 'tax return'"
- "Create a new tag called 'Receipts' with color #FF0000"
- "Download document #123"
- "List all correspondents"
- "Create a new document type called 'Bank Statement'"
## Available Tools
### Document Operations
#### list_documents
Get a paginated list of all documents.
Parameters:
- page (optional): Page number
- page_size (optional): Number of documents per page
```typescript
list_documents({
page: 1,
page_size: 25
})
```
#### get_document
Get a specific document by ID.
Parameters:
- id: Document ID
```typescript
get_document({
id: 123
})
```
#### search_documents
Full-text search across documents.
Parameters:
- query: Search query string
```typescript
search_documents({
query: "invoice 2024"
})
```
#### download_document
Download a document file by ID.
Parameters:
- id: Document ID
- original (optional): If true, downloads original file instead of archived version
```typescript
download_document({
id: 123,
original: false
})
```
#### bulk_edit_documents
Perform bulk operations on multiple documents.
Parameters:
- documents: Array of document IDs
- method: One of:
- set_correspondent: Set correspondent for documents
- set_document_type: Set document type for documents
- set_storage_path: Set storage path for documents
- add_tag: Add a tag to documents
- remove_tag: Remove a tag from documents
- modify_tags: Add and/or remove multiple tags
- delete: Delete documents
- reprocess: Reprocess documents
- set_permissions: Set document permissions
- merge: Merge multiple documents
- split: Split a document into multiple documents
- rotate: Rotate document pages
- delete_pages: Delete specific pages from a document
- Additional parameters based on method:
- correspondent: ID for set_correspondent
- document_type: ID for set_document_type
- storage_path: ID for set_storage_path
- tag: ID for add_tag/remove_tag
- add_tags: Array of tag IDs for modify_tags
- remove_tags: Array of tag IDs for modify_tags
- permissions: Object for set_permissions with owner, permissions, merge flag
- metadata_document_id: ID for merge to specify metadata source
- delete_originals: Boolean for merge/split
- pages: String for split "[1,2-3,4,5-7]" or delete_pages "[2,3,4]"
- degrees: Number for rotate (90, 180, or 270)
Examples:
```typescript
// Add a tag to multiple documents
bulk_edit_documents({
documents: [1, 2, 3],
method: "add_tag",
tag: 5
})
// Set correspondent and document type
bulk_edit_documents({
documents: [4, 5],
method: "set_correspondent",
correspondent: 2
})
// Merge documents
bulk_edit_documents({
documents: [6, 7, 8],
method: "merge",
metadata_document_id: 6,
delete_originals: true
})
// Split document into parts
bulk_edit_documents({
documents: [9],
method: "split",
pages: "[1-2,3-4,5]"
})
// Modify multiple tags at once
bulk_edit_documents({
documents: [10, 11],
method: "modify_tags",
add_tags: [1, 2],
remove_tags: [3, 4]
})
// Modify custom fields
bulk_edit_documents({
documents: [12, 13],
method: "modify_custom_fields",
add_custom_fields: {
"2": "שנה"
}
})
```
#### post_document
Upload a new document to Paperless-NGX.
Parameters:
- file: Base64 encoded file content
- filename: Name of the file
- title (optional): Title for the document
- created (optional): DateTime when the document was created (e.g. "2024-01-19" or "2024-01-19 06:15:00+02:00")
- correspondent (optional): ID of a correspondent
- document_type (optional): ID of a document type
- storage_path (optional): ID of a storage path
- tags (optional): Array of tag IDs
- archive_serial_number (optional): Archive serial number
- custom_fields (optional): Array of custom field IDs
```typescript
post_document({
file: "base64_encoded_content",
filename: "invoice.pdf",
title: "January Invoice",
created: "2024-01-19",
correspondent: 1,
document_type: 2,
tags: [1, 3],
archive_serial_number: "2024-001",
custom_fields: [1, 2]
})
```
### Tag Operations
#### list_tags
Get all tags.
```typescript
list_tags()
```
#### create_tag
Create a new tag.
Parameters:
- name: Tag name
- color (optional): Hex color code (e.g. "#ff0000")
- match (optional): Text pattern to match
- matching_algorithm (optional): One of "any", "all", "exact", "regular expression", "fuzzy"
```typescript
create_tag({
name: "Invoice",
color: "#ff0000",
match: "invoice",
matching_algorithm: "fuzzy"
})
```
### Correspondent Operations
#### list_correspondents
Get all correspondents.
```typescript
list_correspondents()
```
#### create_correspondent
Create a new correspondent.
Parameters:
- name: Correspondent name
- match (optional): Text pattern to match
- matching_algorithm (optional): One of "any", "all", "exact", "regular expression", "fuzzy"
```typescript
create_correspondent({
name: "ACME Corp",
match: "ACME",
matching_algorithm: "fuzzy"
})
```
### Document Type Operations
#### list_document_types
Get all document types.
```typescript
list_document_types()
```
#### create_document_type
Create a new document type.
Parameters:
- name: Document type name
- match (optional): Text pattern to match
- matching_algorithm (optional): One of "any", "all", "exact", "regular expression", "fuzzy"
```typescript
create_document_type({
name: "Invoice",
match: "invoice total amount due",
matching_algorithm: "any"
})
```
### Custom Field Operations
#### list_custom_fields
Get all custom fields.
```typescript
list_custom_fields()
```
#### get_custom_field
Get a specific custom field by ID.
Parameters:
- id: Custom field ID
```typescript
get_custom_field({
id: 1
})
```
#### create_custom_field
Create a new custom field.
Parameters:
- name: Custom field name
- data_type: One of "string", "url", "date", "boolean", "integer", "float", "monetary", "documentlink", "select"
- extra_data (optional): Extra data for the custom field, such as select options
```typescript
create_custom_field({
name: "Invoice Number",
data_type: "string"
})
```
#### update_custom_field
Update an existing custom field.
Parameters:
- id: Custom field ID
- name (optional): New custom field name
- data_type (optional): New data type
- extra_data (optional): Extra data for the custom field
```typescript
update_custom_field({
id: 1,
name: "Updated Invoice Number",
data_type: "string"
})
```
#### delete_custom_field
Delete a custom field.
Parameters:
- id: Custom field ID
```typescript
delete_custom_field({
id: 1
})
```
#### bulk_edit_custom_fields
Perform bulk operations on multiple custom fields.
Parameters:
- custom_fields: Array of custom field IDs
- operation: One of "delete"
```typescript
bulk_edit_custom_fields({
custom_fields: [1, 2, 3],
operation: "delete"
})
```
## Error Handling
The server will show clear error messages if:
- The Paperless-NGX URL or API token is incorrect
- The Paperless-NGX server is unreachable
- The requested operation fails
- The provided parameters are invalid
## Development
Want to contribute or modify the server? Here's what you need to know:
1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies:
```bash
npm install
```
3. Make your changes to server.js
4. Test locally:
```bash
node server.js http://localhost:8000 your-test-token
```
The server is built with:
- [litemcp](https://github.com/wong2/litemcp): A TypeScript framework for building MCP servers
- [zod](https://github.com/colinhacks/zod): TypeScript-first schema validation
## API Documentation
This MCP server implements endpoints from the Paperless-NGX REST API. For more details about the underlying API, see the [official documentation](https://docs.paperless-ngx.com/api/).
## Running the MCP Server
The MCP server can be run in two modes:
### 1. stdio (default)
This is the default mode. The server communicates over stdio, suitable for CLI and direct integrations.
```
npm run start -- <baseUrl> <token>
```
### 2. HTTP (Streamable HTTP Transport)
To run the server as an HTTP service, use the `--http` flag. You can also specify the port with `--port` (default: 3000). This mode requires [Express](https://expressjs.com/) to be installed (it is included as a dependency).
```
npm run start -- <baseUrl> <token> --http --port 3000
```
- The MCP API will be available at `POST /mcp` on the specified port.
- Each request is handled statelessly, following the [StreamableHTTPServerTransport](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/typescript-sdk) pattern.
- GET and DELETE requests to `/mcp` will return 405 Method Not Allowed.
# Credits
This project is a fork of [nloui/paperless-mcp](https://github.com/nloui/paperless-mcp). Many thanks to the original author for their work. Contributions and improvements may be returned upstream.
## Debugging
To debug the MCP server in VS Code, use the following launch configuration:
```json
{
"type": "node",
"request": "launch",
"name": "Debug Paperless MCP (HTTP, ts-node ESM)",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/node_modules/ts-node/dist/bin.js",
"args": [
"--esm",
"src/index.ts",
"--http",
"--baseUrl",
"http://your-paperless-instance:8000",
"--token",
"your-api-token",
"--port",
"3002"
],
"env": {
"NODE_OPTIONS": "--loader ts-node/esm",
},
"console": "integratedTerminal",
"skipFiles": [
"<node_internals>/**"
]
}
```
**Important:** Before debugging, uncomment the following line in `src/index.ts` (around line 175):
```typescript
// await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 1000000));
```
This prevents the server from exiting immediately and allows you to set breakpoints and debug the code.