Box MCP Server

Official Box hosted MCP server for file and folder operations, search, collaboration, Box AI Q&A and extraction, Hubs, and Doc Gen.

Collaboration by Box OAuth2 active

Connect (Remote Server) Docs

Overview

The Box MCP server is an officially hosted remote Model Context Protocol endpoint that lets AI agents securely access and act on Box content. It is served at https://mcp.box.com as an OAuth 2.0 protected resource, so users authorize access through their MCP client and the server handles all interactions with Box on the server side. There is no self-hosted package to install for the standard integration. Box previously maintained a community Python server (box-community/mcp-server-box), which has been discontinued in favor of this hosted endpoint.

The server exposes a broad set of tools across user info, file and folder operations, search, collaboration, Box AI (Q&A and metadata extraction), Box Hubs, and Box Doc Gen. Capabilities include reading and uploading files, creating folders, running keyword and SQL-like metadata searches, asking AI questions against single files, multiple files, or entire Hubs, extracting structured or freeform metadata, managing comments and collaborations, and generating documents from templates.

Setup is configured in the Box Admin Console (or Developer Console) by enabling the Box MCP Server integration, granting the Content Actions scope, and issuing OAuth client credentials. The endpoint supports any MCP client that can connect to a remote OAuth-protected MCP URL, including Anthropic Messages API, Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI AgentKit / Codex, Microsoft Foundry, Copilot Studio, Mistral Le Chat, LangSmith Agent Builder, and Groq Responses API.

Tools

Tool	Description
`who_am_i`	Returns detailed information about the currently authenticated Box user.
`get_file_content`	Returns the content of a file stored in Box.
`get_file_details`	Retrieves file metadata, permissions, and version information.
`update_file_properties`	Modifies file attributes such as name, description, tags, and collections.
`upload_file`	Uploads a new file to Box storage.
`upload_file_version`	Uploads a new version of an existing file.
`create_folder`	Creates a new folder in Box.
`get_folder_details`	Retrieves folder metadata, permissions, and settings.
`list_folder_content_by_folder_id`	Lists files, folders, and web links in a folder (paginated).
`update_folder_properties`	Modifies folder name, description, tags, or collections.
`search_files_keyword`	Searches files by keyword with metadata and extension filters.
`search_files_metadata`	Runs SQL-like metadata queries against files.
`search_folders_by_name`	Locates folders using name-based keyword matching.
`ai_qa_single_file`	Answers questions about a single file using Box AI.
`ai_qa_multi_file`	Answers questions across multiple files using Box AI.
`ai_qa_hub`	Answers questions about Hub content with citations.
`ai_extract_freeform`	Extracts metadata from files using a natural language prompt.
`ai_extract_structured`	Extracts structured key-value data from custom fields.
`ai_extract_structured_from_fields`	Extracts structured metadata using explicit field definitions.
`ai_extract_structured_from_fields_enhanced`	Enhanced agent-based structured extraction from fields.
`ai_extract_structured_from_metadata_template`	Extracts data using an existing Box metadata template.
`ai_extract_structured_from_metadata_template_enhanced`	Enhanced extraction using a metadata template.
`create_file_comment`	Adds a comment to a file.
`list_file_comments`	Lists all comments on a file.
`list_item_collaborations`	Lists all collaborations on a file or folder.
`list_tasks`	Lists tasks associated with a file, including status, message, and due dates.
`list_hubs`	Shows Hubs accessible to the authenticated user.
`get_hub_details`	Retrieves Hub information.
`get_hub_items`	Gets files and folders associated with a Hub.
`create_hub`	Creates a new Hub.
`copy_hub`	Creates a copy of an existing Box Hub with its structure and settings.
`update_hub`	Updates Hub title and description.
`add_items_to_hub`	Adds files, folders, or links to a Hub.
`list_docgen_templates`	Lists available Box Doc Gen templates.
`get_docgen_template_by_id`	Retrieves details for a Doc Gen template.
`create_docgen_template`	Designates a file as a Doc Gen template.
`create_docgen_batch`	Generates documents from a template with custom data.

Setup Guide

Prerequisites

A Box account with Admin Console access (or Developer Console access) to create OAuth credentials
The Box MCP Server integration enabled in your Box enterprise
An MCP client that supports remote OAuth-protected MCP servers (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot Studio, etc.)

1. Enable the Box MCP Server integration

In the Box Admin Console:

Go to Integrations, search for Box MCP server
Click Configure, then + Add Integration Credentials
Enable the Content Actions scope
Provide your MCP client's redirect URI
Copy the generated Client ID and Client Secret

The MCP endpoint is:

https://mcp.box.com

The integration name to reference is box-remote-mcp.

2. Connect from your MCP client

The server is fully hosted by Box. There is no package to install.

Claude Desktop / Cursor (via mcp-remote bridge):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "box": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.box.com"]
    }
  }
}

On first run, mcp-remote opens a browser window for OAuth authorization against Box.

Anthropic Messages API (direct remote MCP):

response = await client.beta.messages.create(
    model="claude-3-opus-20240229",
    max_tokens=4096,
    messages=conversation_history,
    mcp_servers=[
        {
            "type": "url",
            "url": "https://mcp.box.com",
            "name": "box-remote-mcp",
            "authorization_token": BEARER_TOKEN,
        }
    ],
    betas=["mcp-client-2025-04-04"],
)

OAuth discovery endpoints

Resource metadata: https://mcp.box.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource
Authorization server: https://api.box.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server

See the official remote Box MCP server guide for client-specific setup (Claude, Copilot Studio, Mistral Le Chat, OpenAI AgentKit, and others).

Use Cases

Ask Box AI questions across a single file, multiple files, or an entire Hub and get cited answers without downloading content locally.
Extract structured metadata from contracts, invoices, or forms using freeform prompts or existing Box metadata templates.
Search files and folders by keyword or SQL-like metadata queries, then summarize or compare results in an agent workflow.
Generate documents at scale by feeding row data into Box Doc Gen templates (proposals, NDAs, statements).
Automate collaboration tasks: list collaborations, list and create file comments, and inspect tasks tied to a file.

Example Prompts

"Using Box, find all contracts in the Legal folder signed in 2026 and extract counterparty, effective date, and renewal terms."
"Ask Box AI to summarize the differences between the latest two versions of the Q2 board deck."
"Search Box for any file containing 'MSA' in the Sales hub and answer: which ones expire in the next 90 days?"
"Upload this rendered report to the Reports folder in Box and add a comment tagging the finance team."
"Run a Doc Gen batch using the NDA template for every vendor in this CSV and save the outputs to the Vendor Onboarding folder."

Pros

Officially hosted and maintained by Box, no self-hosting or key management required.
Broad tool coverage spanning content operations, search, collaboration, Box AI, Hubs, and Doc Gen.
OAuth 2.0 with admin-controlled scopes keeps enterprise content governance intact.
Works with any MCP client that supports remote OAuth-protected servers, including Claude, Cursor, Copilot Studio, and OpenAI AgentKit.

Limitations

Requires a Box enterprise plan and Admin Console access to enable the integration and issue OAuth credentials.
Some AI extraction tools (the _enhanced variants) depend on premium Box AI features that may not be available on all plans.
As a remote-only server, you cannot run it offline or customize the toolset; you are limited to the tools Box exposes.

Alternatives

Google Drive MCP server for Drive-based document workflows.
Microsoft 365 / SharePoint MCP connectors for Microsoft-hosted enterprise content.
box-community/mcp-server-box (discontinued self-hosted Python server) for historical reference only.