Notion MCP Server

Notion MCP Server

What is Notion MCP Server about?

Enables developers and AI agents to interact with the Notion API through a standardized MCP server. It abstracts authentication, handles request routing, and supplies optimized tool definitions that reduce token usage.

How to use Notion MCP Server?

1. Create a Notion integration (internal) and obtain a token (ntn_****).
2. Configure the server – the most convenient setup uses npx:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "notion-mcp": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"],
         "env": { "NOTION_TOKEN": "<YOUR_NOTION_TOKEN>" }
       }
     }
   }
   

   Add this to the MCP client configuration file (e.g., .cursor/mcp.json or claude_desktop_config.json).
3. Run the server – default STDIO transport:

   npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server
   

   For HTTP transport, add --transport http and optionally --auth-token or AUTH_TOKEN env var.
4. Connect the client – configure your AI client (Claude, Cursor, Zed, etc.) to point to the server name defined above.

Key Features of Notion MCP Server

• One‑click OAuth setup – no manual JSON or API‑key handling.
• Two transport modes: STDIO (default) and streamable HTTP with bearer‑token security.
• Docker support – official image mcp/notion or local build via docker compose.
• Optimized tool definitions for AI agents, minimizing token consumption.
• Fine‑grained permission control through Notion integration capabilities.
• Easy installation via Smithery for Claude Desktop.

Use Cases of Notion MCP Server

• AI‑assisted content creation: agents can add, comment, or retrieve Notion pages without dealing with raw API calls.
• Workflow automation: trigger Notion updates from other tools by invoking MCP methods.
• Knowledge‑base querying: agents fetch specific page IDs or search results to feed downstream reasoning.
• Custom integrations: embed Notion interactions inside IDE extensions (e.g., Zed) or web apps via HTTP transport.

FAQ from the Notion MCP Server

• Do I need to expose my Notion token to the client? Only the server process requires the token. Clients communicate with the server via MCP, never see the raw token.
• Can I limit the server’s capabilities? Yes. Adjust the integration’s capabilities (e.g., read‑only) in the Notion dashboard.
• Which transport should I choose? STDIO works for most desktop AI clients. HTTP is useful for web‑based front‑ends or when you need to expose the server over a network.
• How is authentication handled for HTTP transport? The server generates a random token if none is provided, or you can supply a custom token via --auth-token or AUTH_TOKEN environment variable.
• Is there a Docker‑only way to run the server? Yes, use the official image mcp/notion with NOTION_TOKEN env var, or build locally with docker compose build and run the resulting image.

Notion MCP Server

[!NOTE]

We’ve introduced Notion MCP, a remote MCP server with the following improvements:

• Easy installation via standard OAuth. No need to fiddle with JSON or API token anymore.
• Powerful tools tailored to AI agents. These tools are designed with optimized token consumption in mind.

Learn more and try it out here

This project implements an MCP server for the Notion API.

Installation

1. Setting up Integration in Notion:

Go to https://www.notion.so/profile/integrations and create a new internal integration or select an existing one.

While we limit the scope of Notion API's exposed (for example, you will not be able to delete databases via MCP), there is a non-zero risk to workspace data by exposing it to LLMs. Security-conscious users may want to further configure the Integration's Capabilities.

For example, you can create a read-only integration token by giving only "Read content" access from the "Configuration" tab:

2. Connecting content to integration:

Ensure relevant pages and databases are connected to your integration.

To do this, visit the Access tab in your internal integration settings. Edit access and select the pages you'd like to use.

Alternatively, you can grant page access individually. You'll need to visit the target page, and click on the 3 dots, and select "Connect to integration".

3. Adding MCP config to your client:

Using npm:

Cursor & Claude:

Add the following to your .cursor/mcp.json or claude_desktop_config.json (MacOS: ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json)

Option 1: Using NOTION_TOKEN (recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notionApi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_TOKEN": "ntn_****"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Using OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS (for advanced use cases)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notionApi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS": "{\"Authorization\": \"Bearer ntn_****\", \"Notion-Version\": \"2022-06-28\" }"
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed

Add the following to your settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "some-context-server": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"],
        "env": {
          "OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS": "{\"Authorization\": \"Bearer ntn_****\", \"Notion-Version\": \"2022-06-28\" }"
        }
      },
      "settings": {}
    }
  }
}

Using Docker:

There are two options for running the MCP server with Docker:

Option 1: Using the official Docker Hub image:

Add the following to your .cursor/mcp.json or claude_desktop_config.json:

Using NOTION_TOKEN (recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notionApi": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e", "NOTION_TOKEN",
        "mcp/notion"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_TOKEN": "ntn_****"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS (for advanced use cases):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notionApi": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e", "OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS",
        "mcp/notion"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS": "{\"Authorization\":\"Bearer ntn_****\",\"Notion-Version\":\"2022-06-28\"}"
      }
    }
  }
}

This approach:

• Uses the official Docker Hub image
• Properly handles JSON escaping via environment variables
• Provides a more reliable configuration method

Option 2: Building the Docker image locally:

You can also build and run the Docker image locally. First, build the Docker image:

docker compose build

Then, add the following to your .cursor/mcp.json or claude_desktop_config.json:

Using NOTION_TOKEN (recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notionApi": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "NOTION_TOKEN=ntn_****",
        "notion-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Using OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS (for advanced use cases):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notionApi": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS={\"Authorization\": \"Bearer ntn_****\", \"Notion-Version\": \"2022-06-28\"}",
        "notion-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Don't forget to replace ntn_**** with your integration secret. Find it from your integration configuration tab:

Installing via Smithery

To install Notion API Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @makenotion/notion-mcp-server --client claude

Transport Options

The Notion MCP Server supports two transport modes:

STDIO Transport (Default)

The default transport mode uses standard input/output for communication. This is the standard MCP transport used by most clients like Claude Desktop.

# Run with default stdio transport
npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server

# Or explicitly specify stdio
npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server --transport stdio

Streamable HTTP Transport

For web-based applications or clients that prefer HTTP communication, you can use the Streamable HTTP transport:

# Run with Streamable HTTP transport on port 3000 (default)
npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server --transport http

# Run on a custom port
npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server --transport http --port 8080

# Run with a custom authentication token
npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server --transport http --auth-token "your-secret-token"

When using Streamable HTTP transport, the server will be available at http://0.0.0.0:<port>/mcp.

Authentication

The Streamable HTTP transport requires bearer token authentication for security. You have three options:

Option 1: Auto-generated token (recommended for development)

npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server --transport http

The server will generate a secure random token and display it in the console:

Generated auth token: a1b2c3d4e5f6789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789ab
Use this token in the Authorization header: Bearer a1b2c3d4e5f6789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789ab

Option 2: Custom token via command line (recommended for production)

npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server --transport http --auth-token "your-secret-token"

Option 3: Custom token via environment variable (recommended for production)

AUTH_TOKEN="your-secret-token" npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server --transport http

The command line argument --auth-token takes precedence over the AUTH_TOKEN environment variable if both are provided.

Making HTTP Requests

All requests to the Streamable HTTP transport must include the bearer token in the Authorization header:

# Example request
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer your-token-here" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -H "mcp-session-id: your-session-id" \
     -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "initialize", "params": {}, "id": 1}' \
     http://localhost:3000/mcp

Note: Make sure to set either the NOTION_TOKEN environment variable (recommended) or the OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS environment variable with your Notion integration token when using either transport mode.

Examples

1. Using the following instruction

Comment "Hello MCP" on page "Getting started"

AI will correctly plan two API calls, v1/search and v1/comments, to achieve the task

2. Similarly, the following instruction will result in a new page named "Notion MCP" added to parent page "Development"

Add a page titled "Notion MCP" to page "Development"

3. You may also reference content ID directly

Get the content of page 1a6b35e6e67f802fa7e1d27686f017f2

Development

Build

npm run build

Execute

npx -y --prefix /path/to/local/notion-mcp-server @notionhq/notion-mcp-server

Publish

npm publish --access public