Outline
Team knowledge base and wiki for managing documentation and collaboration
Verdict
Common use cases
- Draft release notes from sprint updates
- Archive outdated onboarding docs in bulk
- Search wiki for policy answers mid-chat
- Grant collection access to new hires
- Summarize recent edits across collections
Integration
- Vendor
- Outline
- Category
- productivity
- Auth
- API_KEY
- Tools
- 50
- Composio slug
outline
Tools
- Activate User
Tool to activate a previously suspended user in Outline. Activating a user allows them to sign in again and will cause billing totals to be re-calculated in the hosted version. Use when you need to restore access for a suspended user.
- Add Document User
Tool to add a user membership to a document. Use when you need to grant a user access to a specific document.
- Add Group to Collection
Tool to add a group to a collection in Outline. Use when you need to grant all members of a group access to a specific collection with read or write permissions.
- Add Group to Document
Tool to give all members in a group access to a document. Use when you need to grant document-level access permissions to an entire group at once, rather than adding individual users one by one.
- Add User to Collection
Tool to add a user to a collection with specified permissions. Use when you need to grant a user access to a specific collection.
- Add User to Group
Tool to add a user to a group. Use when you need to grant a user membership in a specific group.
- Archive Document
Tool to archive a document in Outline. Use when you need to move outdated information out of sight while retaining the ability to search and restore it later.
- Create Attachment
Tool to create an attachment in Outline. This creates a database record and returns the inputs needed to generate a signed URL and upload the file from the client to cloud storage. Use when you need to prepare an attachment for upload to as
- Create Collection
Tool to create a new collection in Outline. Use when you need to organize documents by creating a new collection with a specific name, description, icon, color, and permission settings.
- Create Comment
Tool to create a comment on an Outline document. Use when you need to add a comment or reply to a document. Either text or data field is required for the comment body.
- Create Document
Tool to create a new document in Outline. Use when you need to create a new document with specified title, content, and metadata. Documents can be created as drafts or immediately published to a collection. At least one of collectionId or p
- Create Group
Tool to create a new group in Outline. Use when you need to organize users into logical groups for easier permission management across collections.
- Create OAuth Client
Tool to create a new OAuth client in Outline. Use when you need to create an OAuth client application that can be used to authenticate users and access the API on their behalf.
- Create Share
Tool to create a public share link for an Outline document. Use when you need to generate a shareable URL that allows access without workspace membership. If you request multiple shares for the same document with the same API key, the same
- Create Star
Tool to create a star for a document or collection in Outline. Use when you need to star (favorite) a document or collection so it appears in the user's sidebar. One of either documentId or collectionId must be provided.
- Create Template
Tool to create a new template in Outline. Use when you need to create a reusable template that can be used as a starting point for new documents. Templates can optionally be scoped to a specific collection.
- Create View
Tool to create a view for a document. Use when you need to record that a document has been viewed. Note: It is recommended that views are not created from outside of the Outline UI.
- Delete Attachmentdestructive
Tool to delete an attachment from Outline. Deleting an attachment is permanent. It will not delete references or links to the attachment that may exist in your documents.
- Delete Collectiondestructive
Tool to delete a collection and all of its documents from Outline. Use when you need to permanently remove a collection. This action cannot be undone, so use with caution.
- Delete Commentdestructive
Tool to delete a comment in Outline. Use when you need to remove a comment from a document. If the comment is a top-level comment, all its children will be deleted as well.
- Delete Documentdestructive
Tool to delete a document in Outline. Deleting a document moves it to the trash by default. If not restored within 30 days it is permanently deleted. Use permanent=true to destroy the document immediately with no way to recover.
- Delete File Operationdestructive
Tool to delete a file operation and its associated files from Outline. Use when you need to clean up completed or failed import/export operations.
- Delete Groupdestructive
Tool to delete a group from Outline. Deleting a group will cause all of its members to lose access to any collections the group has previously been added to. This action cannot be undone, so use with caution.
- Delete OAuth Authenticationdestructive
Tool to delete an OAuth authentication in Outline. Use when you need to revoke a third-party application's access to a user's account. This action removes the OAuth authentication connection between Outline and the third-party application.
- Delete OAuth Clientdestructive
Tool to delete an OAuth client from Outline. Permanently delete an OAuth client and revoke all associated access tokens. This action cannot be undone, so use with caution.
- Delete Stardestructive
Tool to delete a star from a document in Outline. Use when you need to remove a star from a user's starred documents list.
- Delete Templatedestructive
Tool to delete a template in Outline. This will soft-delete the template, it can be restored later. Use when you need to remove a template from the workspace.
- Delete Userdestructive
Tool to delete a user in Outline. Deleting a user removes the object entirely. In almost every circumstance it is preferable to suspend a user, as a deleted user can be recreated by signing in with SSO again. Use when you need to permanentl
- Duplicate Document
Tool to duplicate an Outline document. Use when you need to create a copy of an existing document, optionally including all child documents in the hierarchy.
- Duplicate Template
Tool to duplicate an Outline template. Use when you need to create a copy of an existing template, optionally with a new title or in a different collection.
- Empty Documents Trash
Tool to permanently delete all documents in the trash. Use when you need to empty the trash and remove all trashed documents permanently. WARNING: This action is irreversible and only available to admin users.
- Export All Collections
Tool to export all collections and their documents in bulk. Use when you need to create a backup or export of all workspace collections. Returns a FileOperation object for tracking export progress.
- Export Collection
Tool to export a collection in markdown, JSON, or HTML format. Triggers a bulk export that includes all documents and attachments. If documents are nested, they will be organized in folders within the zip file. Returns a fileOperation objec
- Export Document
Tool to export a document from Outline in Markdown, HTML, or PDF format. The response format is determined by the Accept header (text/markdown, text/html, or application/pdf). Use when you need to download or extract document content for ex
- Get Attachment Redirect URL
Tool to retrieve an attachment redirect URL from Outline. Loads an attachment from where it is stored based on the id. If the attachment is private, a temporary signed URL with embedded credentials is generated on demand. Use when you need
- Get authentication config
Tool to retrieve authentication configuration options for an Outline workspace. Use when you need to discover the workspace name, hostname, or available SSO/OAuth authentication services before user login.
- Get Collection Documents
Tool to retrieve a collection's document structure as a tree of navigation nodes. Use when you need to explore the document hierarchy within a collection.
- Get Collection Info
Tool to retrieve a collection by its unique identifier. Use when you need to fetch detailed information about a specific collection including its name, description, settings, and permissions.
- Get Comment
Tool to retrieve a comment by its ID from Outline. Use when you need to fetch detailed information about a specific comment including its content, author, timestamps, and resolution status.
- Get Document Children Structure
Tool to retrieve a document's child structure. Returns the nested document tree (hierarchy) for the children of the specified document. Use when you need to explore document organization or navigate the document hierarchy.
- Get Document Info
Tool to retrieve a document from Outline by its UUID, urlId, or shareId. Returns complete document information including title, content, metadata, timestamps, and access policies. Use when you need to fetch document details or content.
- Get File Operation Info
Tool to retrieve the details and current status of a file operation by its unique identifier. Use when you need to check the progress of import or export operations.
- Get Group Info
Tool to retrieve a group by its unique identifier. Returns group details including name and member count. Use when you need to fetch information about a specific group.
- Get OAuth Client Info
Tool to retrieve an OAuth client from Outline by its id or clientId. Returns complete OAuth client configuration including name, scopes, and redirect URIs. Use when you need to fetch OAuth client details.
- Get Revision Info
Tool to retrieve a revision by its ID from Outline. A revision is a snapshot of a document at a specific point in time. Use when you need to fetch historical document content or view editing history.
- Get Share Info
Tool to retrieve a share object by its unique identifier or by the associated document ID. Returns complete share information including URL, visibility settings, access permissions, and view statistics. Use when you need to fetch details ab
- Get Template Info
Tool to retrieve a template by its unique identifier. Use when you need to fetch detailed information about a specific template including its title, content, and metadata.
- Get User Info
Tool to retrieve a user by their unique identifier. Returns user details including name, email, avatar, role, and status. Use when you need to fetch information about a specific user.
- Invite Users
Tool to invite users to the Outline workspace. Use when you need to send email invitations to one or more users to join the workspace.
- List Archived Documents
List all archived documents in the Outline workspace. Returns paginated archived documents that the current user has access to, with metadata and authorization policies. Use limit and offset for pagination through large result sets.
Setup
Setup guide
- 11. In Switchy, open your workspace settings and navigate to the MCP Integrations page. 2. Click 'Add Integration' and select Outline from the list. 3. In a separate tab, log into your Outline workspace as an admin and go to Settings > API. 4. Click 'Create API Key', give it a descriptive name like 'Switchy Integration', and copy the key. 5. Paste the API key into Switchy's connection form and click 'Connect'. 6. Switchy will verify the key and list the collections it can access. 7. Open any Space, type '@Outline' in the chat, and ask it to list your recent documents — if you see results, the connection works. 8. To invoke a tool, @mention Outline and describe what you want in plain language; the AI will map your request to the appropriate tool.
What teammates see: by default, memories from Outline are scoped to the Space (PROJECT visibility) - you can mark any memory PRIVATE or share it ORG-wide.
Works well with
Top models
Compatibility data appears once enough Spaces have used this MCP together with a given model.
How Switchy teams use it
Starter prompts
Search Wiki for Context
@Outline search our wiki for 'API rate limits' and summarize the key points from the top three results.Open in a Space →
Draft New Document
@Outline create a new document in the Engineering collection titled 'Database Migration Runbook' with a checklist for backing up, running migrations, and verifying schema changes.Open in a Space →
Archive Stale Content
@Outline find all documents in the Product collection that haven't been edited in six months and archive them.Open in a Space →
Grant Collection Access
@Outline add the 'Support Team' group to the Customer Success collection with read-only access.Open in a Space →
Summarize Recent Edits
@Outline show me all documents edited in the last week across the Marketing and Sales collections, with a one-sentence summary of each.Open in a Space →
Example outputs
Illustrative - representative of the model's voice and quality, not literal recordings.
@Outline search our knowledge base for all documents about 'API authentication' and summarize the key points
Found 4 documents matching 'API authentication' in your Outline workspace: 1. **Developer Onboarding Guide** (Engineering collection) — covers OAuth flows and token rotation 2. **Security Best Practices** (Security collection) — discusses API key storage and environment variables 3. **Third-Party Integration Setup** (Product collection) — walks through webhook authentication 4. **Incident Response Playbook** (Operations collection) — includes steps for revoking compromised keys Key themes: all docs emphasize never committing credentials to version control, rotating keys quarterly, and using scoped tokens where possible. The Engineering guide is most technical; the Security doc is policy-focused.
This example shows Outline's search capability paired with AI synthesis. The MCP can retrieve document metadata and content; the AI layers on summarization. Requires read access to the collections where these documents live. Search quality depends on how your team titles and tags documents in Outline.
@Outline create a new document titled 'Q1 Product Roadmap Review' in the Product collection and add Sarah and Marcus as editors
Created document **Q1 Product Roadmap Review** in the Product collection. - Document ID: `doc_8k3mP9x` - URL: `https://your-team.getoutline.com/doc/q1-product-roadmap-review-8k3mP9x` - Added Sarah Chen (sarah@company.com) with edit permissions - Added Marcus Lee (marcus@company.com) with edit permissions The document is now live and both users can begin editing. You'll need to populate content separately — this action creates the shell and sets permissions.
Demonstrates Outline's document creation and permission-granting tools in a single workflow. The MCP handles the write operation and user lookups by email. You must have write access to the target collection. This doesn't draft content — it sets up the document structure so your team can collaborate.
@Outline add the Engineering group to the 'Internal Tools' collection with read-only access, then list all groups that can now access it
Added the **Engineering** group to the **Internal Tools** collection with read permissions. Groups with access to 'Internal Tools': - **Engineering** (read-only, 23 members) — just added - **Leadership** (read & edit, 8 members) - **Operations** (read & edit, 12 members) All 23 Engineering team members can now view documents in this collection but cannot edit or create new ones. If you need to grant write access later, you'll need to update the group's permission level.
Shows Outline's group-based access control, useful for managing permissions at scale rather than user-by-user. Requires admin rights to modify collection memberships. The MCP can add groups and query existing permissions, making it easy to audit who has access. Be cautious with write permissions — they cascade to all group members immediately.
Use-case deep-dives
When Outline beats a shared Drive for contractor knowledge
A 6-person agency brings on 2-3 contractors per quarter for 8-week sprints. Each contractor needs instant access to project specs, brand guidelines, and API docs—but not the client strategy deck or financial runbooks. Outline wins here because the group-to-collection permission model lets you pre-build a 'Contractor' group, then add new hires in one API call instead of sharing 12 folders individually. The archive tool keeps old project docs searchable without cluttering active collections. If your contractor churn is under 5 people per month and you're already paying for Outline, this is the right call. Above that threshold, the per-seat cost starts to hurt and you're better off with a read-only Notion database or a static site generator.
Why Outline's search works for tier-1 support at 10-person scale
A SaaS company runs a 4-person support team fielding 200 tickets a week. Half the questions repeat: billing edge cases, integration setup steps, feature deprecation timelines. The team maintains 80 articles in Outline, organized by product area. During a live chat, an agent searches 'Stripe webhook retry', pulls the doc, and pastes the answer in 15 seconds. Outline's API key auth means the MCP can run in Switchy without OAuth friction, and the document user tools let you surface who last updated each article when accuracy matters. This setup breaks down if your knowledge base exceeds 500 articles—search gets slow and you need Algolia or a dedicated help desk tool. For small teams with under 100 active docs, Outline keeps answers fast and editing lightweight.
When Outline's document permissions beat a project tracker for retros
A 5-person product team runs biweekly retros and logs action items in a shared Outline collection. Each retro gets its own document; the facilitator uses the add-user-to-document tool to tag owners directly on their action items. Two weeks later, the team reviews the doc in standup—completed items get archived, open ones roll into a new retro doc. This works because retros are narrative, not task-shaped: you want context and discussion inline, not a Kanban board. Outline's 50-tool API gives you fine-grained control over who sees which retro (useful when discussing personnel or vendor issues). If your team runs more than one retro per week or needs due dates and notifications, switch to Linear or Asana. For low-frequency retrospectives with 3-8 participants, Outline keeps the process simple and the permissions explicit.
Frequently asked
What does the Outline MCP let me do in Switchy?
The Outline MCP gives your AI agents full control over your Outline wiki — creating and archiving documents, managing user and group permissions at the document or collection level, activating or suspending users, and handling file attachments. It's designed for teams that want AI to automate knowledge-base maintenance, not just read docs.
Do I need admin access to connect Outline to Switchy?
Yes. The Outline MCP uses an API key, which you generate from your Outline workspace settings. Only workspace admins can create API keys. Once connected, the MCP inherits admin-level permissions — it can add users to groups, change collection access, and activate or suspend accounts. Don't share the connection with team members who shouldn't have that level of control.
Can the Outline MCP edit existing documents or only create new ones?
The MCP can create and archive documents, but it doesn't expose a direct "edit document body" tool in the current integration. To update content, you'd typically archive the old version and create a new document, or use Outline's API directly outside Switchy. The focus here is permission management and document lifecycle, not real-time collaborative editing.
Why use the Outline MCP instead of just logging into Outline?
Use the MCP when you want AI to handle repetitive admin tasks — onboarding a batch of users to the right collections, archiving stale docs based on rules, or granting group access without clicking through menus. If you're just writing or reading a single doc, open Outline. If you're automating 20 permission changes across 10 collections, use Switchy.
Who on my team should connect the Outline MCP?
Whoever owns your Outline workspace and is comfortable giving AI admin-level access. This person should understand that any agent using the connection can suspend users, change permissions, and archive documents. If your team has a dedicated knowledge manager or IT admin, they're the right fit. Don't connect it from a junior account.