MCP lets you use refile in the Claude desktop app or Cursor. We provide an MCP server for your convenience.

This is a very early beta of MCP integration. The entire stack is highly experimental. It’s also not compatible with self-hosted instances of refile as of now.

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Using the refile MCP server with Claude Desktop App

  1. Open the Claude for Desktop app and navigate to app settings (Mac: Cmd + ,)

  2. Under “Developer”, click “Edit config”, open the MCP config file in a text editor

  3. In the config file, insert the command for the refile MCP server:

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"refile": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["refile-mcp"],
			"env": {
				"REFILE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
			}
		}
	}
}
  1. Restart the Claude app

You should now be ready to use refile in the Claude app! A tool icon should appear on the bottom right of the chat entry box.

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Using the refile MCP with Cursor

  1. Naviagate to Cursor Settings from Command Palette

  2. Select “MCP”

  3. Click “Add a global MCP server” and “Create File”

  4. Paste the refile MCP info into the mcp.json file

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"refile": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["refile-mcp"],
			"env": {
				"REFILE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
			}
		}
	}
}
  1. Check the MCP exists in Cursor settings and ask Cursor to create a PDF

That’s it - you’re done adding refile to Cursor via MCP.