How to Set Up the Notion MCP Server (2026)

Updated July 6, 2026• Web MCP Guide

The Notion MCP server lets Claude, Cursor, and other AI clients read your workspace pages, search databases, and create or update content — all without leaving your editor. If your team's knowledge lives in Notion, this integration brings it into your AI workflow directly.

Prerequisites

• A Notion account (free or paid — API access is available on all plans)
• Node.js 18+ installed on your machine
• An MCP-compatible client: Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code with MCP extension

Step 1 — Create a Notion Integration

Open notion.so/my-integrations in your browser and click “New integration.” Give it a name (e.g. “Claude MCP”), associate it with your workspace, and set the capabilities:

• Read content — required for Claude to read pages and databases
• Insert content — required to create new pages or database entries
• Update content — required to edit existing pages or properties

Save the integration. Notion generates an Internal Integration Token — copy it, you'll use it in the next step. Keep it out of version control.

Step 2 — Share Pages With Your Integration

Notion's API is permission-explicit — your integration cannot see any page by default. For each database or page the MCP server should access:

1. Open the page in Notion
2. Click the three-dot (…) menu in the top right
3. Select Connections → Add connections
4. Search for and select your integration

Child pages under a shared parent inherit access. Share your main project databases and top-level pages — the integration will be able to traverse the hierarchy below them.

Step 3 — Install the Notion MCP Server

Install the official Notion MCP server package:

npx @notionhq/notion-mcp-server

Or install globally: npm install -g @notionhq/notion-mcp-server. The package name may vary if you prefer a community alternative — check the MCP registry for current options.

Step 4 — Configure Your MCP Client

Add the server to your client's config file. Replace ntn_YOUR_KEY_HERE with your actual integration token.

Claude Desktop

Config file: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notion": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_API_KEY": "ntn_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor IDE

Config file: ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notion": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@notionhq/notion-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NOTION_API_KEY": "ntn_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Add to your VS Code MCP settings (exact path depends on extension). The structure is the same as above — command, args, env.

Restart your MCP client after saving the config. The Notion server should appear in your available tools list.

Step 5 — Verify the Connection

Open a conversation in Claude Desktop (or start a Cursor chat) and try a search:

"Search my Notion workspace for [a topic you know exists]"

If Claude can read and summarize results, the connection is working. If it returns nothing, check that the pages are shared with your integration (Step 2) and that the API key matches the integration token you copied.

What You Can Do With the Notion MCP Server

• Search your workspace and retrieve page content by keyword or topic
• Read database entries — meeting notes, project docs, CRM records, etc.
• Create new pages or database entries from a prompt
• Update existing page content or properties
• Build prompts that incorporate your Notion knowledge base as context
• Generate summaries, analyses, or follow-up tasks from Notion project docs

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions