OneNote Browser MCP server

This MCP server enables AI assistants and other MCP-compatible clients to programmatically browse and interact with OneNote notebooks that are shared via web links. It provides a bridge to navigate, read, and modify OneNote content through browser automation.

Requirements

• Python 3.10 or higher
• browser-use 0.1.40 or higher
• MCP SDK 1.2.0 or higher
• Playwright
• Internet connection
• A shared OneNote notebook URL (must be accessible without authentication)

Installation

To install the OneNote MCP server:

# Clone the repository or create the project structure
# Then navigate to the project directory
cd onenote-mcp

# Install the package and dependencies
pip install -e .

# Install Playwright browsers
playwright install

Running the Server

Standalone Mode

You can run the server directly with:

python -m onenote_mcp

Integration with Claude Desktop

To use the OneNote MCP server with Claude Desktop:

1. Configure Claude Desktop by editing the configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onenote": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "onenote_mcp"]
    }
  }
}

2. Launch Claude Desktop, which will automatically start the OneNote MCP server

3. Use the available tools in your chat with Claude, for example:

Can you help me navigate my OneNote notebook at https://example.com/my-shared-notebook? 
First, please launch OneNote with this URL and tell me what notebooks are available.

Available Tools

The OneNote MCP server provides these functions:

• launch_onenote(shared_url): Launch the OneNote web app with a shared notebook URL
• get_all_notebooks(): List all available notebooks
• get_all_sections(): List all sections in the current notebook
• get_all_pages(): List all pages in the current section
• navigate_to_notebook_by_name(notebook_name): Go to a specific notebook
• navigate_to_section_by_name(section_name): Go to a specific section
• navigate_to_page_by_name(page_name): Go to a specific page
• get_current_page_content(): Get the content of the current page
• add_content_to_page(content): Add content to the current page
• create_new_page_with_name(page_name): Create a new page
• search_in_onenote(search_term): Search OneNote for specific terms
• take_screenshot(): Take a screenshot of the current view
• get_onenote_state(): Get the current state information
• close_onenote(): Close the OneNote session and clean up resources

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

• Ensure the shared link is accessible without login if the server fails to connect
• The OneNote UI may have changed if selectors fail - check the server code
• For other issues, check the server logs for error details
• Performance may vary based on network conditions and OneNote's responsiveness

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.