Notion (via Dify) MCP server

This MCP server connects your Notion knowledge base to the Cline VSCode extension, allowing you to query your Notion content directly while coding. Get detailed answers with page references without leaving your development environment.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• uv package manager
• Cline VSCode extension
• A Dify API key for accessing the Notion knowledge base

Installation

Step 1: Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/notion-mcp-server.git
cd notion-mcp-server

Step 2: Set up your API key

Create a .env file with your Dify API key:

echo "DIFY_API_BACKEND_KEY=your-api-key-here" > .env

Step 3: Install the server in Cline

fastmcp install notion_mcp_server.py

This command automatically:

• Installs all required dependencies using uv
• Configures the server in Cline's settings
• Makes the server available to use with Cline

Usage

Once installed, you can query your Notion knowledge base directly from Cline. Simply ask questions in natural language:

Tell me about internal tooling

The server will respond with:

• Detailed answers based on your Notion content
• Links to relevant Notion pages
• Page IDs for reference

Configuration

The installation process configures the server automatically, but you can manually update settings if needed. The Cline configuration file is located at:

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

Example configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notion-kb": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--with", "fastmcp",
        "--with", "python-dotenv",
        "--with", "requests",
        "fastmcp",
        "run",
        "/absolute/path/to/notion_mcp_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DIFY_API_BACKEND_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Server connection issues

• Verify your API key in the .env file
• Ensure the server path in Cline's config is absolute
• Check that uv is installed and in your PATH

Dependency problems

• Try reinstalling with fastmcp install notion_mcp_server.py --force
• Verify uv is installed correctly

Server hangs

• Ensure you're using the uv run command as specified in the config
• Check the server logs for errors

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.