Instapaper MCP Server

How to use

Interact with Instapaper through your MCP client to manage bookmarks, folders, highlights, and reading progress. You can list, search, fetch content, and perform bulk operations in parallel for efficiency. Common workflows include organizing unread articles into topic folders, reviewing starred items, archiving old content, and synthesizing insights from multiple articles.

How to install

# Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+ installed on your system
- Instapaper account with API credentials

# Step 1: Get Instapaper API Credentials
- Open https://www.instapaper.com/api and request API access
- Obtain Consumer Key and Consumer Secret

# Step 2: Set up project
# Clone or download this MCP server repository
cd instapaper-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create your environment file
cp .env.example .env

Additional configuration and usage notes

Configure your environment with your Instapaper credentials to enable the MCP server to authenticate with the Instapaper API. The server is started locally and communicates with MCP clients via standard input/output.

# Environment variables used by the server
INSTAPAPER_CONSUMER_KEY=your_consumer_key_here
INSTAPAPER_CONSUMER_SECRET=your_consumer_secret_here
[email protected]
INSTAPAPER_PASSWORD=your_instapaper_password

Starting the server

Build the server and run it locally so your MCP client can connect. The final startup command runs the Node process that hosts the MCP server built artifact.

# Build the server
npm run build

# Start (example command shown in configuration)
node /absolute/path/to/instapaper-mcp-server/build/index.js

Configuration for Claude Desktop integration

To enable Claude Desktop to use this MCP server, configure the MCP connection as follows. Use an absolute path to the built server and provide your credentials in the environment section.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instapaper": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/instapaper-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "INSTAPAPER_CONSUMER_KEY": "your_consumer_key",
        "INSTAPAPER_CONSUMER_SECRET": "your_consumer_secret",
        "INSTAPAPER_USERNAME": "your_email",
        "INSTAPAPER_PASSWORD": "your_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Security notes and best practices

Keep credentials in a local, git-ignored environment file. Do not commit the .env file. The MCP server runs locally within your environment and communicates with Instapaper via the official API.

Troubleshooting hints

If you encounter authentication errors, verify your .env values, ensure API access is granted for your account, and restart the client after making changes.

Development and project structure

Development helpers let you watch files and test with an MCP inspector. The server is implemented in TypeScript and builds into a JavaScript artifact under build.

Integrations and workflows

You can combine Instapaper MCP with automation prompts to organize reading, synthesize summaries, and save research back to Instapaper for later perusal.

Tools and capabilities in this MCP server

The server exposes a rich set of tools for content management, bulk operations, folder handling, highlights, search, and content access. Each tool is designed to help you manage your Instapaper bookmarks and reading progress efficiently.

License and contribution

This MCP server is released under the MIT license. Contributions are welcome.

add_bookmark

Save an article with title, description, and folder to Instapaper via MCP

add_private_bookmark

Save private content without exposing URLs (emails, notes, generated content)

delete_bookmark

Remove a bookmark from Instapaper

archive_bookmark

Move a bookmark to the archive folder

unarchive_bookmark

Restore an archived bookmark

star_bookmark

Mark a bookmark as important/starred

unstar_bookmark

Remove the star from a bookmark

move_bookmark

Move a bookmark into a different folder

update_read_progress

Update reading progress for a bookmark

move_bookmarks_bulk

Move multiple bookmarks to a folder in parallel

star_bookmarks_bulk

Star multiple bookmarks in parallel

unstar_bookmarks_bulk

Unstar multiple bookmarks in parallel

archive_bookmarks_bulk

Archive multiple bookmarks in parallel

unarchive_bookmarks_bulk

Restore multiple bookmarks from archive in parallel

update_read_progress_bulk

Update reading progress for multiple articles in parallel

list_folders

List all folders to view organization structure

create_folder

Create a new folder for bookmarks

delete_folder

Delete a folder and its contents

reorder_folders

Reorder the folders to customize presentation

add_highlight

Save important passages as highlights tied to a bookmark

list_highlights

List highlights for a specific article

delete_highlight

Remove highlights from an article

list_bookmarks

List bookmarks, with optional filters and sync support

search_bookmarks

Search bookmarks by title, URL, or description

get_article_content

Fetch full text of a single article

get_articles_content_bulk

Fetch full text for multiple articles in bulk for analysis