Overleaf MCP Server

If you need to manage multiple Overleaf projects, use a projects.json file instead of environment variables. When using this method, omit the env block from your Claude Desktop configuration.

1. Create the projects.json file: Place this file in the following location:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\overleaf-mcp\projects.json
• macOS / Linux: ~/.config/overleaf-mcp/projects.json (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/overleaf-mcp/projects.json)

File Content Format:

{
  "projects": {
    "default": {
      "name": "Main Paper",
      "projectId": "...",
      "gitToken": "olp_..."
    },
    "thesis": {
      "name": "PhD Thesis",
      "projectId": "...",
      "gitToken": "olp_..."
    }
  }
}

2. Update Claude Desktop Config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@mjyoo2/overleaf-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

(Note: Remove cmd /c on macOS/Linux)

3. Usage: Reference a specific project in tool calls using the projectName parameter (e.g., projectName: "thesis"). If omitted, the default entry is used. To use a custom path for the config file, set the OVERLEAF_PROJECTS_CONFIG environment variable.

To test the server locally without using the npm package or Claude Desktop, you can run the script directly via Node.js.

1. Clone and Install:

git clone https://github.com/mjyoo2/OverleafMCP.git
cd OverleafMCP
npm install

2. Smoke-test via Shell: Run the server and provide credentials via environment variables. You should see Overleaf MCP server running on stdio on stderr.

OVERLEAF_PROJECT_ID=... OVERLEAF_GIT_TOKEN=... node overleaf-mcp-server.js

3. Use in Claude Desktop (Local Script): Point the command to node and the args to the absolute path of the script.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/OverleafMCP/overleaf-mcp-server.js"],
      "env": {
        "OVERLEAF_PROJECT_ID": "...",
        "OVERLEAF_GIT_TOKEN": "olp_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

(On Windows, use double backslashes in the path: "C:\\Users\\you\\...")

To use the Overleaf MCP server with Claude Desktop, add the server configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json file. This method uses npx to run the package without manual cloning or installation.

Config file locations:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json

macOS / Linux Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@mjyoo2/overleaf-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OVERLEAF_PROJECT_ID": "YOUR_OVERLEAF_PROJECT_ID",
        "OVERLEAF_GIT_TOKEN": "YOUR_OVERLEAF_GIT_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows Configuration: (Note: Windows requires cmd /c to locate npx)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@mjyoo2/overleaf-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OVERLEAF_PROJECT_ID": "YOUR_OVERLEAF_PROJECT_ID",
        "OVERLEAF_GIT_TOKEN": "YOUR_OVERLEAF_GIT_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

After updating the config, restart Claude Desktop. The overleaf tools should appear in the 🔧 menu.

The following tools are exposed by the Overleaf MCP server:

• list_projects: List all configured projects.
• list_files: List files in a project.
  • extension (optional): Filter by extension.
  • projectName (optional): Defaults to "default".
• read_file: Read a specific file.
  • filePath (required)
  • projectName (optional)
• get_sections: Get all sections from a LaTeX file.
  • filePath (required)
  • projectName (optional)
• get_section_content: Get content of a specific section.
  • filePath (required)
  • sectionTitle (required)
  • projectName (optional)
• status_summary: Get a comprehensive project status summary.
  • projectName (optional)
• write_file: Write full content of a file.
  • filePath (required)
  • content (required)
  • commitMessage (required)
  • projectName (optional)
• write_section: Write content of a specific section.
  • filePath (required)
  • sectionTitle (required)
  • newContent (required): Must include the section heading.
  • commitMessage (required)
  • projectName (optional)