npx easy-notion-mcp

Contents: Comparison · Setup · Config · Why markdown · How it works · Tools · Block types · Round-trip · Databases · Security · FAQ · Community

How does easy-notion-mcp compare to other Notion MCP servers?

How many tokens does easy-notion-mcp save?

⚠️ better-notion-mcp page reads appear smaller because they silently drop 11 block types (callouts, toggles, tables, task lists, equations, bookmarks, embeds). On equal content coverage, easy-notion-mcp is more efficient.

Measured by running all three MCP servers against the same Notion content and counting tokens with tiktoken cl100k_base. Raw responses saved for verification.

How do I set up easy-notion-mcp?

With API token

Create a Notion integration, copy the token, share your pages with it.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add notion -s user \
  -e NOTION_TOKEN=ntn_your_integration_token \
  -- npx -y easy-notion-mcp

This registers the server in your Claude Code user-level config (-s user) and passes NOTION_TOKEN directly to the MCP child process via -e. Your shell environment and rcfiles are untouched — the token lives in Claude Code's config file, scoped to this server, and is not visible to other processes. To set a default parent page for create_page, add -e NOTION_ROOT_PAGE_ID=<page-id> to the same command.

OpenClaw:

openclaw config set mcpServers.notion.command "npx"
openclaw config set mcpServers.notion.args '["-y","easy-notion-mcp"]'

Then provide the token via the parent shell environment before starting OpenClaw:

export NOTION_TOKEN=ntn_your_integration_token

This export form is the generic fallback for any MCP client that inherits the parent shell environment. Caveat: it only persists for the current shell session unless you add it to your shell rcfile, which has its own security implications — prefer the -e form above when using Claude Code specifically.

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf — add to your MCP config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notion": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "easy-notion-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_TOKEN": "ntn_your_integration_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Config file locations: Claude Desktop → claude_desktop_config.json · Cursor → .cursor/mcp.json · Windsurf → ~/.windsurf/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "notion": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "easy-notion-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_TOKEN": "ntn_your_integration_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

With OAuth

API-token + stdio is the lower-friction default. If you're running a shared deployment or want per-user access, OAuth handles authentication with no token to copy-paste.

Start the server:

npx easy-notion-mcp-http

Requires NOTION_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID and NOTION_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET env vars. See OAuth setup below.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add notion --transport http http://localhost:3333/mcp

OpenClaw:

openclaw config set mcpServers.notion.transport "http"
openclaw config set mcpServers.notion.url "http://localhost:3333/mcp"

Claude Desktop:

Go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, enter http://localhost:3333/mcp.

Your browser will open to Notion's authorization page. Pick the pages to share, click Allow, done.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "easy-notion-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "easy-notion-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_TOKEN": "ntn_your_integration_token",
        "NOTION_ROOT_PAGE_ID": "your_root_page_id"
      }
    }
  }
}

Dify / n8n / FlowiseAI (Docker-based platforms):

Run the HTTP server on your host machine:

export NOTION_MCP_BEARER=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
NOTION_TOKEN=ntn_your_integration_token \
  NOTION_MCP_BIND_HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  NOTION_MCP_BEARER=$NOTION_MCP_BEARER \
  npx easy-notion-mcp-http

In your platform's MCP server settings, use host.docker.internal instead of localhost, and add the bearer to the request headers:

http://host.docker.internal:3333/mcp
Authorization: Bearer <your NOTION_MCP_BEARER value>

Why not localhost? These platforms typically run in Docker. localhost inside a container refers to the container itself, not your host machine. host.docker.internal bridges the gap.

HTTP host and bearer: The HTTP server binds 127.0.0.1 by default and static-token mode requires NOTION_MCP_BEARER. host.docker.internal reaches the host's bridge IP, so set NOTION_MCP_BIND_HOST=0.0.0.0 on the host and send the bearer header on every client request. OAuth mode, which issues per-user bearers, is the alternative for shared Docker deployments.

easy-notion-mcp works with any MCP-compatible client. The server runs via stdio (API token mode) or HTTP (OAuth or API token mode).

If you run into questions during setup, the Discord community is a good place to ask. The #easy-notion-mcp channel covers setup and design discussion. Bugs go on GitHub issues.

Configuration

Stdio mode (API token)

About .env files (contributors only): easy-notion-mcp loads a .env file from the current working directory via dotenv. In practice this means .env only "just works" when you run the server from a cloned repo checkout (node dist/index.js after npm install && npm run build), because the repo root is your cwd. It is not loaded when the package is invoked via npx easy-notion-mcp or a global install from an arbitrary directory — that is standard npm CLI behavior. For the npx path, pass NOTION_TOKEN via the -e flag in the Claude Code setup above, or via your MCP client's config env block.

OAuth / HTTP transport

Run npx easy-notion-mcp-http to start the HTTP server with OAuth support.

To get OAuth credentials, create a public integration at notion.so/profile/integrations and configure http://localhost:3333/callback as the redirect URI.

In OAuth mode, create_page works without NOTION_ROOT_PAGE_ID — pages are created in the user's private workspace section by default.

HTTP mode security posture

The HTTP transport is designed for trusted networks: single-operator self-hosting with a bearer secret, or OAuth for shared deployments. It is not hardened for direct exposure to the open internet; put a reverse proxy with TLS in front of it if you need remote access.

Static-token mode requires a bearer. Starting npx easy-notion-mcp-http with only NOTION_TOKEN set will refuse to start. Set a shared-secret bearer in the server's environment, then configure your MCP client to send it as Authorization: Bearer <secret> on every /mcp request:

export NOTION_MCP_BEARER=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
NOTION_TOKEN=ntn_your_integration_token npx easy-notion-mcp-http

The bearer is compared with crypto.timingSafeEqual. Missing or wrong bearers get 401 { "error": "invalid_token" }. Rotate the secret by restarting the server with a new value.

Default bind is loopback. The server binds 127.0.0.1 by default — local processes only. Set NOTION_MCP_BIND_HOST=0.0.0.0 to expose all interfaces, or a specific IP like 192.168.1.5 to expose one. Bearer is required regardless of bind.

Bearer-always is the trust boundary. DNS-rebinding protection is not wired on the /mcp endpoint, and CORS on the OAuth registration/token endpoints (/register, /token, /revoke) is permissive. Treat the bearer, or OAuth's per-user bearer, as the only thing standing between the network and your Notion workspace. Keep it set even for loopback-only deployments. If you need to expose this server beyond a trusted network, put it behind a reverse proxy that handles TLS and origin checks.

OAuth mode for multi-user / remote. OAuth has its own per-user bearer enforcement; NOTION_MCP_BEARER is not required in OAuth mode. For shared deployments, OAuth's per-user identity model is the right shape — static-token + bearer is intended for single-operator self-hosting.

file:// uploads are stdio-only. Markdown passed to create_page, append_content, replace_content, update_section, or update_page.cover with file:// URLs is rejected over HTTP. Use stdio mode for local-file workflows (create_page_from_file is also stdio-only), or host the file at an HTTPS URL and use that URL in the markdown.

Why markdown-first?

The official Notion MCP npm package returns raw API JSON — deeply nested block objects with ~120 tokens of metadata per block. Other servers convert to markdown but support only a handful of block types, silently dropping callouts, toggles, tables, equations, and more.

easy-notion-mcp uses standard GFM markdown that agents already know. There's nothing new to learn, no custom tag syntax, no block objects to construct. The agent writes markdown, easy-notion-mcp handles the conversion to Notion's block API — and back again, with 24 block types preserved.

This means agents can edit existing content. Read a page, get markdown back, modify the string, write it back. Nothing is lost. Agents edit Notion pages the same way they edit code — as text.

How does easy-notion-mcp work?

Pages — write and read markdown:

create_page({
  title: "Sprint Review",
  markdown: "## Decisions\n\n- Ship v2 by Friday\n- [ ] Update deploy scripts\n\n> [!WARNING]\n> Deploy window is Saturday 2–4am only"
})

Read it back — same markdown comes out:

read_page({ page_id: "..." })

{ "markdown": "## Decisions\n\n- Ship v2 by Friday\n- [ ] Update deploy scripts\n\n> [!WARNING]\n> Deploy window is Saturday 2–4am only" }

Modify the string, call replace_content, done. Or target a single section by heading name with update_section. Or do a surgical find_replace without touching the rest of the page. Pages can also have emoji icons and cover images set via create_page or update_page.

Databases — write simple key-value pairs:

add_database_entry({
  database_id: "...",
  properties: { "Status": "Done", "Priority": "High", "Due": "2026-05-15", "Tags": ["v2", "launch"] }
})

No property type objects, no nested { select: { name: "Done" } } wrappers. easy-notion-mcp fetches the database schema at runtime and converts automatically. Agents pass { "Status": "Done" }, easy-notion-mcp does the rest.

Errors tell you how to fix them. A wrong heading name returns the available headings. A missing page suggests sharing it with the integration. A bad filter tells you to call get_database first. Agents can self-correct without asking the user for help.

Complex content works. Nested toggles inside toggles, columns with mixed content types (lists + code blocks + blockquotes), deep list nesting, and full unicode (Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, emoji) all round-trip cleanly. update_section heading search is case-insensitive and returns available headings on miss. add_database_entries handles partial failures — succeeded and failed entries are returned separately so agents can retry just the failures.

What tools does easy-notion-mcp provide?

easy-notion-mcp includes 29 individually-named tools across 5 categories. Each tool is self-documenting with complete usage examples — agents know exactly how to use every tool from the first message, with no extra round-trips needed.

Pages (13 tools)

Navigation (3 tools)

Databases (9 tools)

Database write tools reject unknown property names and unsupported property types with a clear error instead of silently dropping them. Call get_database first to confirm property names and types. Supported property types for writes: title, rich_text, number, select, multi_select, date, checkbox, url, email, phone, status, relation, people. For people, pass a single user-ID string or an array of user IDs. Computed types (formula, rollup, unique_id, created_time, last_edited_time, created_by, last_edited_by) are populated by Notion and cannot be set via API. Value writes are also rejected for files, verification, place, location, and button. For relation writes, pass either a single page-ID string ("Projects": "page-id") or an array ("Projects": ["id-a", "id-b"]); an empty array clears the relation.

easy-notion-mcp fetches the database schema, maps values to Notion's property format, and handles type conversion automatically when agents pass simple key-value pairs like { "Status": "Done" }. Schema is cached for 5 minutes to avoid redundant API calls during batch operations.

Comments (2 tools)

Users (2 tools)

What block types does easy-notion-mcp support?

easy-notion-mcp supports 24 Notion block types using standard markdown syntax extended with conventions for Notion-specific blocks like toggles, columns, and callouts. Agents write familiar markdown — easy-notion-mcp handles the conversion to and from Notion's block format.

Standard markdown

Notion-specific syntax

Can I read and rewrite pages without losing formatting?

Yes. Round-trip fidelity is a core design guarantee of easy-notion-mcp, not a side effect.

What you write is what you read back. read_page returns the exact same markdown syntax that create_page accepts — headings, lists, tables, callouts, toggles, columns, equations, all of it.

When a page contains Notion block types this server does not yet represent, such as synced_block, child_database, child_page, or link_to_page, read_page includes a warnings field with the omitted block IDs and types. Round-tripping that markdown through replace_content would delete those blocks, so the warning lets agents avoid unsafe rewrites.

easy-notion-mcp enables agents to read a page, modify the markdown string, and write it back without losing formatting, structure, or content. No format translation. No block reconstruction. Agents edit Notion pages the same way they edit code — as text.

What's the difference between find_replace and replace_content?

easy-notion-mcp provides three editing strategies for different use cases:

• replace_content — Replaces all content on a page with new markdown. Best for full rewrites.
• update_section — Replaces a single section identified by heading name. Best for updating one part of a page.
• find_replace — Finds and replaces specific text anywhere on the page, preserving all other content and attached files. Best for surgical edits.

How does easy-notion-mcp handle databases?

easy-notion-mcp provides 9 database tools that abstract away Notion's complex property format. Agents pass simple key-value pairs like { "Status": "Done", "Priority": "High" }; easy-notion-mcp fetches the database schema at runtime, caches it for 5 minutes, and converts to Notion's property format automatically.

easy-notion-mcp supports creating and updating databases with typed schemas, querying with filters and sorts, and bulk operations via add_database_entries (multiple rows in one call).

What about security and prompt injection?

easy-notion-mcp includes two layers of security for production deployments:

Prompt injection defense: read_page responses include a content notice prefix instructing the agent to treat Notion data as content, not instructions. This prevents page content from hijacking agent behavior. Set NOTION_TRUST_CONTENT=true to disable this if you control the workspace.

URL sanitization: javascript:, data:, and other unsafe URL protocols are stripped and rendered as plain text. Only http:, https:, and mailto: are allowed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is easy-notion-mcp different from the official Notion MCP server?

The official Notion MCP npm package (@notionhq/notion-mcp-server) is a raw API proxy — it returns unmodified Notion JSON, costing ~90% more tokens per operation. easy-notion-mcp converts everything to standard GFM markdown that agents already know, supports 24 block types with round-trip fidelity, and includes prompt injection defense. Notion also offers a separate hosted remote MCP server (OAuth-based) that uses a custom HTML-tag-based markdown format — easy-notion-mcp uses standard markdown syntax instead.

What MCP clients does easy-notion-mcp work with?

easy-notion-mcp works with any MCP-compatible client, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, Windsurf, and OpenClaw. It supports both stdio transport (API token) and HTTP transport (OAuth). See the setup instructions for copy-pasteable configs for each client.

Does easy-notion-mcp support file uploads?

Yes. easy-notion-mcp supports file uploads using the file:/// protocol in markdown syntax. Upload images with ![alt](file:///path/to/image.png) and files with [name](file:///path/to/file.pdf).

Does easy-notion-mcp handle nested and complex content?

Yes. Nested toggles inside toggles, columns with mixed content types (lists, blockquotes, and code blocks in different columns), nested bullet and numbered lists, and full unicode support including Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and emoji — all round-tripping cleanly.

Does easy-notion-mcp handle partial failures in batch operations?

Yes. add_database_entries returns separate succeeded and failed arrays. If one entry fails validation, the others still get created. Agents can retry just the failures without re-sending the whole batch.

Community

There's a community Discord at discord.gg/S8cghJSVBU. The #easy-notion-mcp channel covers setup questions and design discussion, and the rest of the server is open for show-and-tell or general conversation. For bugs and concrete feature requests, GitHub issues remain the canonical channel.

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome on GitHub.

License

MIT