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  <img src="astrolabe.svg" alt="Nextcloud MCP Server" width="128" height="128">
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# Nextcloud MCP Server

[![Docker Image](https://img.shields.io/badge/docker-ghcr.io/cbcoutinho/nextcloud--mcp--server-blue)](https://github.com/cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server/pkgs/container/nextcloud-mcp-server)
[![smithery badge](https://smithery.ai/badge/@cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server)](https://smithery.ai/server/@cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server)

**A production-ready MCP server that connects AI assistants to your Nextcloud instance.**

Enable Large Language Models like Claude, GPT, and Gemini to interact with your Nextcloud data through a secure API. Create notes, manage calendars, organize contacts, work with files, and more - all through natural language conversations.

This is a **dedicated standalone MCP server** designed for external MCP clients like Claude Code and IDEs. It runs independently of Nextcloud (Docker, VM, Kubernetes, or local) and provides deep CRUD operations across Nextcloud apps.

> [!NOTE]
> **Looking for AI features inside Nextcloud?** Nextcloud also provides [Context Agent](https://github.com/nextcloud/context_agent), which powers the Assistant app and runs as an ExApp inside Nextcloud. See [docs/comparison-context-agent.md](docs/comparison-context-agent.md) for a detailed comparison of use cases.

## Quick Start

The fastest way to get started is via [Smithery](https://smithery.ai/server/@cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server) - no Docker or self-hosting required:

1. Visit the [Smithery marketplace page](https://smithery.ai/server/@cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server)
2. Click "Deploy" and configure:
   - **Nextcloud URL**: Your Nextcloud instance (e.g., `https://cloud.example.com`)
   - **Username**: Your Nextcloud username
   - **App Password**: Generate one in Nextcloud → Settings → Security → Devices & sessions

> [!NOTE]
> Smithery runs in stateless mode without semantic search. For full features, use [Docker](#docker-self-hosted) or see [ADR-016](docs/ADR-016-smithery-stateless-deployment.md).

## Docker (Self-Hosted)

For full features including semantic search, run with Docker:

```bash
# 1. Create a minimal configuration
cat > .env << EOF
NEXTCLOUD_HOST=https://your.nextcloud.instance.com
NEXTCLOUD_USERNAME=your_username
NEXTCLOUD_PASSWORD=your_app_password
EOF

# 2. Start the server
docker run -p 127.0.0.1:8000:8000 --env-file .env --rm \
  ghcr.io/cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server:latest

# 3. Test the connection
curl http://127.0.0.1:8000/health/ready

# 4. Connect to the endpoint
http://127.0.0.1:8000/sse

# Or with --transport streamable-http
http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp
```

**Next Steps:**
- Connect your MCP client (Claude Desktop, IDEs, `mcp dev`, etc.)
- See [docs/installation.md](docs/installation.md) for other deployment options (local, Kubernetes)

## Key Features

- **90+ MCP Tools** - Comprehensive API coverage across 8 Nextcloud apps
- **MCP Resources** - Structured data URIs for browsing Nextcloud data
- **Semantic Search (Experimental)** - Optional vector-powered search for Notes, Files, News items, and Deck cards (requires Qdrant + Ollama)
- **Document Processing** - OCR and text extraction from PDFs, DOCX, images with progress notifications
- **Flexible Deployment** - Docker, Kubernetes (Helm), VM, or local installation
- **Production-Ready Auth** - Basic Auth with app passwords (recommended) or OAuth2/OIDC (experimental)
- **Multiple Transports** - SSE, HTTP, and streamable-http support

## Supported Apps

| App | Tools | Capabilities |
|-----|-------|--------------|
| **Notes** | 7 | Full CRUD, keyword search, semantic search |
| **Calendar** | 20+ | Events, todos (tasks), recurring events, attendees, availability |
| **Contacts** | 8 | Full CardDAV support, address books |
| **Files (WebDAV)** | 12 | Filesystem access, OCR/document processing |
| **Deck** | 15 | Boards, stacks, cards, labels, assignments |
| **Cookbook** | 13 | Recipe management, URL import (schema.org) |
| **Tables** | 5 | Row operations on Nextcloud Tables |
| **Sharing** | 10+ | Create and manage shares |
| **Semantic Search** | 2+ | Vector search for Notes, Files, News items, and Deck cards (experimental, opt-in, requires infrastructure) |

Want to see another Nextcloud app supported? [Open an issue](https://github.com/cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server/issues) or contribute a pull request!

## Authentication

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **OAuth2/OIDC is experimental** and requires a manual patch to the `user_oidc` app:
> - **Required patch**: Bearer token support ([issue #1221](https://github.com/nextcloud/user_oidc/issues/1221))
> - **Impact**: Without the patch, most app-specific APIs fail with 401 errors
> - **Recommendation**: Use Basic Auth for production until upstream patches are merged
>
> See [docs/oauth-upstream-status.md](docs/oauth-upstream-status.md) for patch status and workarounds.

**Recommended:** Basic Auth with app-specific passwords provides secure, production-ready authentication. See [docs/authentication.md](docs/authentication.md) for setup details and OAuth configuration.

### Authentication Modes

The server supports three authentication modes:

**Single-User Mode (BasicAuth):**
- One set of credentials shared by all MCP clients
- Simple setup: username + app password in environment variables
- All clients access Nextcloud as the same user
- Best for: Personal use, development, single-user deployments

**Multi-User Mode (OAuth):**
- Each MCP client authenticates separately with their own Nextcloud account
- Per-user scopes and permissions (clients only see tools they're authorized for)
- More secure: tokens expire, credentials never shared with server
- Best for: Teams, multi-user deployments, production environments with multiple users

**Hybrid Mode (Multi-User BasicAuth + OAuth):**
- MCP clients use BasicAuth (simple, stateless)
- Admin operations use OAuth (webhooks, background sync)
- Best for: Nextcloud deployments with admin-managed webhooks and semantic search
- Requires: `ENABLE_MULTI_USER_BASIC_AUTH=true` + `ENABLE_OFFLINE_ACCESS=true`

See [docs/authentication.md](docs/authentication.md) for detailed setup instructions.

## Semantic Search

The server provides an experimental RAG pipeline to enable _Semantic Search_ that enables MCP clients to find information in Nextcloud based on **meaning** rather than just keywords. Instead of matching "machine learning" only when those exact words appear, it understands that "neural networks," "AI models," and "deep learning" are semantically related concepts.

**Example:**
- **Keyword search**: Query "car" only finds notes containing "car"
- **Semantic search**: Query "car" also finds notes about "automobile," "vehicle," "sedan," "transportation"

This enables natural language queries and helps discover related content across your Nextcloud notes.

> [!NOTE]
> **Semantic Search is experimental and opt-in:**
> - Disabled by default (`ENABLE_SEMANTIC_SEARCH=false`)
> - Currently supports Notes app only (multi-app support planned)
> - Requires additional infrastructure: vector database + embedding service
> - Answer generation (`nc_semantic_search_answer`) requires MCP client sampling support
>
> See [docs/semantic-search-architecture.md](docs/semantic-search-architecture.md) for architecture details and [docs/configuration.md](docs/configuration.md) for setup instructions.

## Documentation

### Getting Started
- **[Installation](docs/installation.md)** - Docker, Kubernetes, local, or VM deployment
- **[Configuration](docs/configuration.md)** - Environment variables and advanced options
- **[Authentication](docs/authentication.md)** - Basic Auth vs OAuth2/OIDC setup
- **[Running the Server](docs/running.md)** - Start, manage, and troubleshoot

### Features
- **[App Documentation](docs/)** - Notes, Calendar, Contacts, WebDAV, Deck, Cookbook, Tables
- **[Document Processing](docs/configuration.md#document-processing)** - OCR and text extraction setup
- **[Semantic Search Architecture](docs/semantic-search-architecture.md)** - Experimental vector search (Notes, Files, News items, Deck cards; opt-in)
- **[Vector Sync UI Guide](docs/user-guide/vector-sync-ui.md)** - Browser interface for semantic search visualization and testing

### Advanced Topics
- **[OAuth Architecture](docs/oauth-architecture.md)** - How OAuth works (experimental)
- **[OAuth Quick Start](docs/quickstart-oauth.md)** - 5-minute OAuth setup
- **[OAuth Setup Guide](docs/oauth-setup.md)** - Detailed OAuth configuration
- **[Troubleshooting](docs/troubleshooting.md)** - Common issues and solutions
- **[Comparison with Context Agent](docs/comparison-context-agent.md)** - When to use each approach

## Examples

### Create a Note
```
AI: "Create a note called 'Meeting Notes' with today's agenda"
→ Uses nc_notes_create_note tool
```

### Import Recipes
```
AI: "Import the recipe from https://www.example.com/recipe/chocolate-cake"
→ Uses nc_cookbook_import_recipe tool with schema.org metadata extraction
```

### Schedule Meetings
```
AI: "Schedule a team meeting for next Tuesday at 2pm"
→ Uses nc_calendar_create_event tool
```

### Manage Files
```
AI: "Create a folder called 'Project X' and move all PDFs there"
→ Uses nc_webdav_create_directory and nc_webdav_move tools
```

### Semantic Search (Experimental, Opt-in)
```
AI: "Find notes related to machine learning concepts"
→ Uses nc_semantic_search to find semantically similar notes (requires Qdrant + Ollama setup)
```

**Note:** For AI-generated answers with citations, use `nc_semantic_search_answer` (requires MCP client with sampling support).

## Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

- Report bugs or request features: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server/issues)
- Submit improvements: [Pull Requests](https://github.com/cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server/pulls)
- Development guidelines: [CLAUDE.md](CLAUDE.md)

## Security

[![MseeP.ai Security Assessment](https://mseep.net/pr/cbcoutinho-nextcloud-mcp-server-badge.png)](https://mseep.ai/app/cbcoutinho-nextcloud-mcp-server)

This project takes security seriously:
- Production-ready Basic Auth with app-specific passwords
- OAuth2/OIDC support (experimental, requires upstream patches)
- Per-user access tokens
- No credential storage in OAuth mode
- Regular security assessments

Found a security issue? Please report it privately to the maintainers.

## License

This project is licensed under the AGPL-3.0 License. See [LICENSE](./LICENSE) for details.

## Star History

[![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server&type=Date)](https://www.star-history.com/#cbcoutinho/nextcloud-mcp-server&Date)

## References

- [Model Context Protocol](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol)
- [MCP Python SDK](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk)
- [Nextcloud](https://nextcloud.com/)
