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Install

Requirements

  • Node.js 20 or newer. Check with node --version.
  • A Chrome-family browser for the one-time sign-in: Google Chrome, Chromium, Brave, or Microsoft Edge.
  • An Overleaf account with access to the projects you want to work on.

1. Sign in once

npx overleaf-web-mcp login

A dedicated browser window opens with its own profile, separate from your everyday browser. Complete the normal Overleaf sign-in, including SSO or two-factor authentication if your account uses them. The window closes by itself once the session is detected.

Only cookies for the Overleaf origin are saved. On macOS and Linux the file is readable by your user alone. The command prints a short JSON summary ending in "authenticated": true when it worked. See configuration for the exact paths.

2. Connect your MCP client

One command registers the server for every project on this machine:

claude mcp add overleaf --scope user -- npx -y overleaf-web-mcp serve

claude mcp remove overleaf undoes it.

Add the server to claude_desktop_config.json. On macOS it is at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; on Windows at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "overleaf-web-mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

Add the same block to ~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects, or to .cursor/mcp.json inside one project.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "overleaf-web-mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace. VS Code uses a servers key and an explicit transport type.

{
  "servers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "overleaf-web-mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

The server speaks MCP over stdio. Start it with npx -y overleaf-web-mcp serve; serve is the default and can be omitted. It sends usage instructions in the initialize response, and every tool description is self-contained.

3. Restart and check

Restart the client so it starts the server, then ask it to check your Overleaf connection. That runs auth_status, which reports the account's project count without exposing anything else.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to connect" right after adding the server. Almost always one of two things.

  • No saved session. The server refuses to start until you have run npx overleaf-web-mcp login. Run it and try again.

  • Node is older than 20. If your default node is an older version, npx starts the server with it and it exits immediately. Check node --version. If you keep several versions with a manager such as nvm, register the server with an absolute path to a new enough binary instead of relying on PATH:

    npm install -g overleaf-web-mcp   # with Node 20+ active
claude mcp add overleaf --scope user -- \
  "$(dirname "$(nvm which 22)")/node" \
  "$(npm root -g)/overleaf-web-mcp/dist/cli.js" serve

AUTH_EXPIRED in a tool result. The saved session has expired or been revoked. Run npx overleaf-web-mcp login again. Nothing else needs to change.

You appear online to collaborators. While the server holds a project connection open, up to 90 seconds after the last call by default, the account can show as present in the editor. See configuration to shorten that.

Self-hosted Overleaf

Use the same origin for the login command and the server:

OVERLEAF_BASE_URL=https://overleaf.example.org npx overleaf-web-mcp login

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "overleaf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "overleaf-web-mcp", "serve"],
      "env": {
        "OVERLEAF_BASE_URL": "https://overleaf.example.org"
      }
    }
  }
}

Private API and feature availability vary by deployment and edition. Review comments and tracked changes, for example, are Server Pro features and are absent from Community Edition.

Run from a source checkout

git clone https://github.com/mhmdaskari/overleaf-web-mcp.git
cd overleaf-web-mcp
npm install
npm run build
npm run login
npm start

Point your client's command at node and args at dist/cli.js in the checkout.