Connector guide4-minute read9 MCP tools7 languages

How to Connect Paperless-ngx to Microsoft Copilot — via MCP

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

HCBy HelpCode teamUpdated 4 min read Open-source on GitHub

No credit card · 7-day trial · Self-host alternative available

Paperless-ngx

Paperless-ngx

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

tools

9

Region

DE

Category

Document Management

Authentication

API Key

Required env vars

PAPERLESS_URLPAPERLESS_API_TOKEN
Install in one click on Cloud

7-day free trial · No credit card

  • 7-day free trial
    No credit card required
  • GDPR & SOC 2 ready
    EU data residency, audit logs
  • Open-source on GitHub
    Open source · AGPL-3.0
  • Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
    Any MCP-compatible client

Skip the install. Get this working in under 2 minutes.

Start a free trial on cloud.anythingmcp.com, add the Paperless-ngx in one click, then point your AI client (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Cursor) at the generated MCP endpoint. No Docker, no git clone, zero engineering experience required.

Start free trial

Summary

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

Try asking

Example prompts for Paperless-ngx

Click any prompt to copy it. Paste into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, Copilot or OpenClaw to run it against this connector.

Paperless-ngx · live via MCP
Share
Opus 4.7

Claude is AI and can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.

💡 No install? Use cloud.anythingmcp.com directly. Sign in, click Connectors → Paperless-ngx, paste your credentials, mint an MCP API key — done. No Docker, no git clone, no local server.

Paperless-ngx + Microsoft Copilot

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

Prerequisites

See the full setup instructions baked into the connector (visible in the in-app store when you select the connector). The required environment variables for this connector are:

PAPERLESS_URL, PAPERLESS_API_TOKEN

Step 1 — Get credentials

Getting a token

  1. Sign in to Paperless-ngx, open the user menu → My Profile, and copy the API Auth Token (create one if the field is empty).
  2. Put it in PAPERLESS_API_TOKEN and your instance's base URL in PAPERLESS_URL — no trailing slash and no /api, e.g. https://paperless.example.com.

The Authorization header is Token …, Django REST Framework's scheme — not Bearer. The adapter sends it correctly.

…(continued in the in-app connector instructions)

Step 2 — Install the adapter

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HelpCode-ai/anythingmcp/main/docker-compose.quickstart.yml -o docker-compose.yml
printf 'JWT_SECRET=%s\nENCRYPTION_KEY=%s\n' "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
docker compose up -d

Step 3 — Add the connector in Microsoft Copilot

Your server URL: in AnythingMCP, open MCP Servers → the server this connector is on, and copy its URL (https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/…). Use it wherever this guide shows YOUR_SERVER_ID.

Microsoft Copilot uses MCP servers through agents built in Copilot Studio: you add AnythingMCP to an agent as a tool, then publish the agent to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams. Copilot Studio connects from Microsoft's cloud over Streamable HTTP, which AnythingMCP supports.

  1. In Copilot Studio, open your agent (or create one), go to Tools and choose Add a tool → New tool → Model Context Protocol.
  2. Enter a Server name (for example AnythingMCP), a Server description that says what the connector does, and the Server URL https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/YOUR_SERVER_ID. Copilot Studio uses the description to decide when to call the server.
  3. Under authentication, choose API key, set Type to Header and the header name to X-API-Key, then select Create.
  4. In Add tool, choose Create a new connection, paste an MCP API key from AnythingMCP (MCP Servers → your server → API keys) and select Add to agent.
  5. Try it in the agent's Test pane: ask for something that needs the Paperless-ngx tools.
  6. Select Publish, then Channels → Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams, keep Make agent available in Microsoft Copilot selected and choose Add channel. See agent in Teams installs it for you; in Microsoft 365 Copilot, type @ and pick the agent.

Prefer per-user sign-in? Choose OAuth 2.0 → Dynamic discovery instead of an API key: each user then signs in to AnythingMCP the first time the agent calls it.

Self-hosting? Use your instance's public HTTPS address instead of https://cloud.anythingmcp.com. Copilot Studio connects from Microsoft's cloud, so localhost does not work.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
paperless_ngx_search_documentsFull-text search across the OCR'd content of every document
paperless_ngx_list_documentsList documents filtered by correspondent, document type, tag or creation date — the structured alternative to full-text search when you alre
paperless_ngx_get_documentRead one document's metadata: title, correspondent, type, tags, created and added dates, archive serial number and the full OCR'd content
paperless_ngx_get_document_metadataRead the technical metadata of one document: original filename, media type, checksum, page count and any embedded PDF metadata
paperless_ngx_list_correspondentsList correspondents — the senders documents are filed under — with their document count and matching rules
paperless_ngx_list_document_typesList the document types configured in the instance (invoice, contract, payslip …) with their document counts
paperless_ngx_list_tagsList tags with their colour, inbox flag and document count
paperless_ngx_list_storage_pathsList the storage paths documents are filed into, with their path template and document count
paperless_ngx_get_statisticsRead instance-wide statistics: total documents, documents in the inbox, character count and the breakdown by file type

FAQ

Which Copilot is this for? Microsoft 365 Copilot at work, through agents built in Copilot Studio. The Microsoft Copilot app for personal accounts has no option to add your own MCP server.

What do I need? A work account with access to Copilot Studio (a license or a trial) to build the agent. People who use it in Microsoft 365 Copilot or Teams need access to the agent: share it with them, or ask an admin to publish it to the organization. If your organization applies data policies to Power Platform connectors, they cover MCP servers too.

The agent doesn't call the tools. Check that the header name is exactly X-API-Key and that the key belongs to the same MCP server as the URL, and make the server description specific: Copilot Studio uses it to decide when to call the server. Publish the agent again after each change; in an open chat, type "start over" to get the new version.

Next steps

Was this guide helpful?

Your Paperless-ngx agent is one click away.

Install the connector, paste the key, prompt Microsoft Copilot. Free for 7 days, no credit card.

Related guides

Connectors

How to Connect Paperless-ngx to Meta Muse — via MCP

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

Connectors

How to Connect Paperless-ngx to ChatGPT — via MCP

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

Connectors

How to Connect Paperless-ngx to Claude — via MCP

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

Connectors

How to Connect Paperless-ngx to Cursor — via MCP

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

Connectors

How to Connect Paperless-ngx to Gemini — via MCP

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.

Connectors

Paperless-ngx to MCP — Drive Paperless-ngx from any AI Agent

Paperless-ngx document management: full-text search over scanned documents, correspondents, document types, tags, storage paths and the OCR'd content of any document. REST API on your own instance, token auth.