Paperless‑NGX MCP Server

The Paperless‑NGX MCP server bridges Claude (and other AI assistants) with a self‑hosted Paperless‑NGX instance, turning your document repository into an intelligent, conversational workspace. By exposing a rich set of tools that mirror the Paperless‑NGX API—such as listing, searching, tagging, and downloading documents—the server lets developers turn routine document‑management tasks into natural language queries. This eliminates the need for manual UI navigation or custom scripts, enabling AI assistants to become first‑class interfaces for enterprise content.

Why It Matters

Modern organizations store millions of documents in Paperless‑NGX, yet accessing and organizing them often requires web navigation or custom tooling. The MCP server solves this friction by providing a standardized, language‑agnostic endpoint that AI assistants can call directly. Developers can integrate document workflows into broader automation pipelines—such as invoice processing, compliance checks, or knowledge‑base updates—without writing new adapters. The server also handles authentication and URL configuration automatically, so the assistant can perform secure operations on behalf of a user with minimal setup.

Key Features

• Document CRUD: List, retrieve, search, and download documents with simple parameter objects.
• Tag Management: Create, update, or delete tags and assign colors for visual categorization.
• Correspondent & Document Type Handling: Manage the metadata that drives Paperless‑NGX’s classification engine.
• Bulk Operations: Execute batch edits on multiple documents, improving efficiency for large migrations or cleanup tasks.
• Pagination Support: Control page size and offset to handle large collections without overwhelming the assistant.
• Secure API Integration: Uses API tokens and configurable URLs, ensuring that only authorized actions are performed.

Real‑World Use Cases

• Automated Invoice Intake: An assistant can pull all documents tagged “Invoice,” extract key fields, and route them to accounting software.
• Compliance Audits: Quickly locate all documents containing specific regulatory terms and flag them for review.
• Document Retrieval: Users can ask the assistant to “download document #123” and receive a direct link or file stream.
• Metadata Enrichment: Bulk‑tagging of documents based on content or external data sources, improving searchability.
• Content Migration: When moving to a new Paperless‑NGX instance, the assistant can list all documents and re‑apply tags automatically.

Integration with AI Workflows

The server exposes its tools through the MCP protocol, so any client that understands MCP—Claude Desktop, Smithery, or custom agents—can invoke them with natural language. Developers can wrap these calls in higher‑level prompts or chain multiple operations to build sophisticated document‑centric assistants. Because the MCP server handles authentication and pagination internally, developers can focus on business logic rather than boilerplate code.

Standout Advantages

• Zero‑Code Interaction: No need to write API wrappers; the assistant interprets tool calls directly.
• Declarative Tooling: Each operation is a well‑defined function with clear parameters, making it easy to audit and extend.
• Scalable Deployment: Works in STDIO mode for local use or HTTP mode via Docker, fitting both development and production environments.
• Rich Metadata Support: Full control over tags, correspondents, and document types allows the assistant to perform sophisticated categorization and retrieval tasks.

In summary, the Paperless‑NGX MCP server turns a powerful document management platform into an AI‑driven knowledge hub, enabling developers to create conversational interfaces that can search, organize, and manipulate documents with natural language precision.