Overleaf Web MCP server

Overleaf Web MCP

Let Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client read, edit, compile, and review your Overleaf projects, signed in as you.

Overleaf Web MCP is an unofficial Model Context Protocol server. It signs in to Overleaf once through a browser window you control, then lets an AI assistant work on your projects the way you would in the web editor: browse files, make revision-checked edits, optionally as tracked changes, compile, and handle review comments. It uses the same browser-facing endpoints the Overleaf editor uses, so no Git integration or premium plan is needed for the core workflow.

What you can say

Once connected, talk to your assistant in plain language. It picks the tools.

• "Create a new project called Grant renewal from the folder I zipped, and make proposal.tex the root."
• "List my Overleaf projects and open the one called Thesis."
• "Rewrite the introduction of main.tex for a general audience, as a tracked change."
• "Compile the paper and tell me whether it built."
• "Which figures in ./figures differ from what's in the project? Upload only those."
• "Make the project match ~/papers/thesis, and show me what would be deleted first."
• "Summarize the open review comments and reply to the one about Table 2."

[!CAUTION]

This client uses Overleaf's private, browser-facing APIs, which Overleaf may change without notice. Automating www.overleaf.com may carry Terms-of-Service and account risk. Start with a disposable project and keep request volume low.

Get started

You need Node.js 20 or newer, a Chrome-family browser (Chrome, Chromium, Brave, or Edge), and an Overleaf account.

1. Sign in once. A dedicated browser window opens. Complete the normal Overleaf login, including SSO or two-factor. Only cookies for the Overleaf origin are saved, to a file only your user can read. The session lasts five days from its last use, so sign in again after five idle days, or schedule npx overleaf-web-mcp keepalive daily to keep it alive (see configuration).

npx overleaf-web-mcp login

2. Connect your MCP client. For Claude Code:

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

For Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, and other clients, add this to their MCP configuration:

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

3. Restart the client and ask it to check your Overleaf connection.

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.