paperless-ngx-mcp

MCP server for Paperless-ngx document management. Enables AI agents (Claude Code, CoWork) to search, browse, and manage documents and metadata in a Paperless-ngx instance.

Features

• 100+ MCP tools covering the full Paperless-ngx REST API v9
• Document management — list, search, get, update, delete, upload, download, email
• Metadata CRUD — tags, correspondents, document types, storage paths, custom fields
• Full-text search with tag filtering, date ranges, and custom field queries
• Bulk operations — batch edit, reprocess, merge, split, rotate, delete
• Notes — add, list, and delete notes on documents
• Saved views, share links, mail, workflows — full admin toolset
• User & group management — CRUD, profile, TOTP deactivation
• System tools — status, tasks, logs, config, trash management
• In-memory caching of metadata lists (tags, correspondents, document types, storage paths, custom fields) with automatic invalidation

Installation

CoWork / Claude Desktop (MCPB bundle)

Download the .mcpb bundle for your platform from the latest release and install it as an extension. You'll be prompted for your Paperless-ngx URL and API token.

Claude Code (CLI)

Add to your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "paperless": {
      "command": "/path/to/paperless-ngx-mcp",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PAPERLESS_URL": "http://localhost:8000",
        "PAPERLESS_TOKEN": "your-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Docker

docker run --rm -i \
  -e PAPERLESS_URL=http://localhost:8000 \
  -e PAPERLESS_TOKEN=your-api-token \
  ghcr.io/freeformz/paperless-ngx-mcp:latest mcp

From source

go install github.com/freeformz/paperless-ngx-mcp@latest

Configuration

Variable	Required	Description
PAPERLESS_URL	yes	Base URL of the Paperless-ngx instance
PAPERLESS_TOKEN	yes	API authentication token

Generate an API token in Paperless-ngx under Settings > Administration > Auth Tokens.

CLI Flags

Flag	Default	Description
--download-concurrency	5	Max parallel document downloads

Tools

Documents

document_list, document_get, document_update, document_delete, document_upload, document_download, document_metadata, document_suggestions, document_next_asn, document_share_links, document_history, document_email

Document Notes

document_note_list, document_note_add, document_note_delete

Downloads

document_download (disk or base64 inline), cleanup_downloads

Tags

tag_list, tag_get, tag_create, tag_update, tag_delete

Correspondents

correspondent_list, correspondent_get, correspondent_create, correspondent_update, correspondent_delete

Document Types

document_type_list, document_type_get, document_type_create, document_type_update, document_type_delete

Storage Paths

storage_path_list, storage_path_get, storage_path_create, storage_path_update, storage_path_delete, storage_path_test

Custom Fields

custom_field_list, custom_field_get, custom_field_create, custom_field_update, custom_field_delete

Search & Statistics

search_autocomplete, search_global, statistics

Bulk Operations

document_bulk_edit, document_selection_data, bulk_edit_objects

Saved Views

saved_view_list, saved_view_get, saved_view_create, saved_view_update, saved_view_delete

Share Links

share_link_list, share_link_get, share_link_create, share_link_update, share_link_delete

Users & Groups

user_list, user_get, user_create, user_update, user_delete, user_deactivate_totp, group_list, group_get, group_create, group_update, group_delete, profile_get, profile_update

Mail

mail_account_list, mail_account_get, mail_account_create, mail_account_update, mail_account_delete, mail_account_test, mail_account_process, mail_rule_list, mail_rule_get, mail_rule_create, mail_rule_update, mail_rule_delete, processed_mail_list, processed_mail_get, processed_mail_bulk_delete

Workflows

workflow_list, workflow_get, workflow_create, workflow_update, workflow_delete, workflow_trigger_list, workflow_trigger_get, workflow_trigger_create, workflow_trigger_update, workflow_trigger_delete, workflow_action_list, workflow_action_get, workflow_action_create, workflow_action_update, workflow_action_delete

System

system_status, remote_version, ui_settings_get, config_list, config_get, config_update, task_list, task_get, task_acknowledge, task_run, log_list, log_get, trash_list, trash_action

Development

make build          # build binary
make test           # run tests
make test-coverage  # tests with coverage report
make lint           # vet + staticcheck + test

License

MIT