GitHub - njbrake/notion-mcp-server: Notion MCP Server with LLM optimized return values (original) (raw)

Notion MCP Server

This is a fork of the official Notion MCP Server by @njbrake, which returns content optimized for LLM consumptionThis fork improves the original MCP server by returning LLM-optimized output instead of raw JSON:

• Page and block content returned as clean, readable markdown
• Block, page, and database IDs included as [block:id], [page:id], [db:id] for easy reference
• Different response formats for different endpoints (pages, databases, search results, users)
• Human-readable output significantly reduces LLM context consumption
• Links and mentions formatted with proper ID tags for follow-up operations

This project implements an MCP server for the Notion API.

Output Format Examples

This MCP server converts raw Notion API responses into LLM-friendly formats:

Page Content

Original MCP Server (raw JSON):

{"object":"page","id":"abc123","properties":{"title":{"type":"title","title":[{"type":"text","text":{"content":"Project Plan"}...}]}}...}

Ours (formatted markdown):

Project Plan [page:abc123]

Icon: 📋

Properties:

• Status: In Progress
• Assignee: John Doe
• Due date: 2024-12-31

URL: https://notion.so/abc123 Created: 1/1/2024, 10:00:00 AM Last edited: 1/15/2024, 3:30:00 PM

Block Content

Original: Nested JSON objects with rich_text arrays

Ours:

Project Overview [block:def456]

This is the main project description with bold text and italics.

Tasks [block:ghi789]

• Complete design phase [block:jkl012]
• Initial research [block:mno345]

See the requirements document for more details.

Database Query Results

Original: Complex JSON with nested property schemas

Ours:

Database: Project Tasks [db:xyz789]

Properties:

• Name (title)
• Status (select: Not started, In progress, Done)
• Assignee (people)
• Due date (date)

Found 15 pages

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 GitHub Container Registry:

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", "ghcr.io/njbrake/notion-mcp-server:latest" ], "env": { "NOTION_TOKEN": "ntn_****" } } } }

Using OPENAPI_MCP_HEADERS (for advanced use cases):

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

This approach:

• Uses the GitHub Container Registry image
• Multi-platform support (linux/amd64 and linux/arm64)
• 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:

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.

Tool Filtering

You can control which Notion API operations are available by setting environment variables to filter the tools exposed by the MCP server. This is useful for:

• Limiting access to specific Notion API operations for security
• Reducing the number of tools presented to the LLM
• Creating specialized MCP server instances for different use cases

Filter Configuration

Three environment variables control tool filtering:

NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_INCLUDE - Comma-separated list of operation IDs to include (allowlist mode)

Only expose user and page retrieval operations

NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_INCLUDE="get-user,get-users,retrieve-a-page"

NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_EXCLUDE - Comma-separated list of operation IDs to exclude (blocklist mode)

Hide all delete operations

NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_EXCLUDE="delete-a-block"

NOTION_MCP_RESOURCE_TYPES - Comma-separated list of resource types to expose (category-based filtering)

Only expose pages and blocks operations

NOTION_MCP_RESOURCE_TYPES="pages,blocks"

Available resource types: users, pages, blocks, databases, comments, search

Wildcard Patterns

Both NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_INCLUDE and NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_EXCLUDE support wildcard patterns:

• * matches any number of characters
• ? matches a single character

Include all "get" operations

NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_INCLUDE="get-*"

Exclude all delete and patch operations

NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_EXCLUDE="delete-,patch-"

Include all operations related to pages

NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_INCLUDE="-page,-pages"

Filter Combinations

Filters are applied in this order:

1. Resource types filter (if set)
2. Include filter (if set)
3. Exclude filter (if set)

Only expose page operations, but exclude delete

NOTION_MCP_RESOURCE_TYPES="pages" NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_EXCLUDE="delete-*"

Available Operation IDs

All 19 Notion API operations that can be filtered:

Users:

• get-user - Retrieve a user
• get-users - List all users
• get-self - Retrieve bot information

Blocks:

• retrieve-a-block - Retrieve a block
• update-a-block - Update a block
• delete-a-block - Delete a block
• get-block-children - Retrieve block children
• patch-block-children - Append block children

Pages:

• retrieve-a-page - Retrieve a page
• patch-page - Update page properties
• post-page - Create a page
• retrieve-a-page-property - Retrieve a page property item

Databases:

• create-a-database - Create a database
• update-a-database - Update a database
• retrieve-a-database - Retrieve a database
• post-database-query - Query a database

Comments:

• retrieve-a-comment - Retrieve comments
• create-a-comment - Create a comment

Search:

• post-search - Search by title

Example Configurations

Read-only access:

{ "mcpServers": { "notionApi": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"], "env": { "NOTION_TOKEN": "ntn_****", "NOTION_MCP_TOOLS_INCLUDE": "get-,retrieve-,post-search,post-database-query" } } } }

Pages and blocks only:

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

No destructive operations:

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

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

1. 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"

1. You may also reference content ID directly

Get the content of page 1a6b35e6e67f802fa7e1d27686f017f2

Development

Build

Execute

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

Publish

npm publish --access public