How to Use Claude with Notion MCP Integration

Notion is a powerful workspace for managing everything from documents to tasks and project details. But what if you could increase its capabilities by connecting it with an AI assistant like Claude?

This is where Model Context Protocol (MCP) comes in. MCP is an open standard that allows AI tools like Claude to interact with external platforms like Notion, making it easier to automate tasks and retrieve or manipulate data using simple natural language. 

By integrating Claude with Notion MCP, you can enhance your workflow with powerful AI-driven automation, task management, and data retrieval.

This blog will walk you through the steps to set up and use the Claude Notion MCP Integration, covering everything from setup to key features, benefits, and troubleshooting. With this integration, you'll be able to automate tasks, streamline workflows, and manage your Notion workspace more efficiently.

Key Takeaways

• Connecting Claude to Notion via MCP allows you to automate tasks and manage data within your Notion workspace using natural language prompts.
• By utilizing AI tools like Claude, you can automate repetitive tasks, retrieve data quickly, and manage projects more efficiently within Notion.
• The Claude Notion MCP integration supports advanced features like semantic search, creating and updating pages, managing databases, and collaborating through comments.

What is Notion MCP and How Does It Work?

Notion MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a powerful integration that allows AI clients like Claude to seamlessly access and interact with your Notion workspace. By using MCP, AI clients like Claude can execute tasks, read and update Notion pages, manage databases, and even leave comments, just like a human user would. The integration is designed to improve workflows, automate tasks, and create a more intuitive way to interact with your data in Notion.

What is MCP?

MCP is an open standard that allows AI assistants to communicate with different tools and data sources, such as Notion. Instead of relying on traditional API calls, which can often be rigid and hard to customize, MCP enables a more flexible and context-aware interaction between AI and external platforms like Notion. 

MCP makes it possible for Claude to understand the context of your workspace and perform actions based on that context using simple, natural language commands.

How Does Notion MCP Work?

At a high level, Notion MCP consists of two major components:

1. MCP Server: Notion hosts the MCP server, which acts as the intermediary between Notion’s data and the AI client (Claude). The server securely handles data requests and ensures that AI tools can safely and efficiently access the necessary information in your Notion workspace.
   
2. MCP Clients: Tools like Claude act as MCP clients, connecting to the MCP server to interact with your Notion data. Once connected, Claude can access your Notion pages, databases, and comments to perform various actions based on the prompts you give it.

Data Flow: When you issue a command, the MCP client (Claude) sends a request to the MCP server. The server then processes the request, queries the necessary data from Notion, and sends it back to Claude for further processing or display. This allows for rich, contextual interactions with your Notion data in a way that feels natural and efficient.

Now, let’s walk through how to set up Claude with your Notion workspace using MCP.

Setting Up Claude with Notion MCP

Integrating Claude with Notion MCP has become much simpler, thanks to Notion's in-app directory of supported AI tools. With this process, you can connect Claude to your Notion workspace without the need for complex technical configurations. Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Install Claude Desktop

The first step is to install Claude Desktop, which is necessary for the integration to work. Notion MCP currently supports only the desktop version of Claude, not the web version.

• Download and Install Claude Desktop: Visit Anthropic’s official website to download the Claude Desktop app for your operating system (Windows or Mac). Follow the installation instructions to get Claude up and running.

Step 2: Create a Notion Integration

Once Claude Desktop is installed, the next step is to create an integration in Notion to allow Claude to access your workspace.

• Go to Notion’s Integration Page:  Open Notion and go to the Integration page: https://www.notion.so/profile/integrations.
• Create a New Internal Integration: Click on Create New Integration and give it a unique name (avoid using "Notion" in the name).
• Choose Permissions: Select the appropriate permissions for the integration. For better security, you may start with read-only access, but you can opt for write access if needed.
• Copy the Integration Token: After creating the integration, copy the API token provided by Notion. This token will be used for authentication between Claude and Notion.

Step 3: Connect Claude to Notion via the In-App Directory

Now that you have created the Notion integration, the easiest way to connect Claude to your Notion workspace is through Notion’s in-app directory.

• Open Claude Desktop: Launch Claude Desktop on your computer.
• Navigate to Settings: Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of Claude Desktop and go to Settings.
• Select “Notion MCP”: In the Connections section, select Notion MCP from the list of available integrations. You should see Claude listed as a compatible tool in Notion’s integration directory.
• Complete the OAuth Flow: Claude will prompt you to complete the OAuth authentication process. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to grant Claude access to your Notion workspace using the API token you copied earlier.

Once completed, Claude will be securely connected to your Notion workspace.

Step 4: Grant Specific Page Access

After setting up the integration, you can control which specific Notion pages Claude can access:

1. In Notion, open the page you want to connect.
2. Click on the three dots (...) in the top-right corner.
3. Select "Add Connections" and choose Claude from the list.
4. Repeat this process for any other pages or databases you want to be accessible via Claude.

Step 5: Start Using the Integration

Once connected, you can start interacting with your Notion data using Claude through simple natural language commands. Some tasks Claude can perform include:

• Searching your Notion workspace
• Creating and updating pages
• Managing databases
• Adding and retrieving comments

Claude’s now connected, here’s what you can do next.

What Can You Do with Claude and Notion MCP?

Once you’ve successfully set up Claude with Notion MCP, you can use tools that allow you to manage, search, and create content in your Notion workspace using natural language. Here’s a breakdown of what you can do:

1. Use Notion MCP Tools for Easy Integration

Claude with Notion MCP has the ability to combine several MCP tools through simple prompts. These tools work together to perform a variety of tasks, enabling you to create, search, and manage your workspace efficiently. 

For example, with a single prompt, you can search your Notion workspace, create new pages, and update multiple properties across several pages.

Here are the core MCP tools you can use with Claude:

• search: Search across your Notion workspace and connected tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Jira.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • Check Slack for how we have solved this bug in the past."
  • "Find all project pages that mention 'ready for dev.'"
  • "Search for documents mentioning 'budget approval process.'"

• fetch: Retrieve content from a specific Notion page or database using its URL.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "What are the product requirements still needed to be implemented from this ticket [Notion page URL]?"
• create-pages: Create one or more Notion pages with specific content and properties.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Create a project kickoff page under our Projects folder with an agenda and team info."
  • "Make a new employee onboarding checklist in our HR database."

• update-page: Update the properties or content of an existing Notion page.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Change the status of this task from 'In Progress' to 'Complete.'"
  • "Update the due date for this project to next Friday."

• move-pages: Move one or more Notion pages or databases to a new parent.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Move my weekly meeting notes page to the 'Team Meetings' section."
    

• duplicate-page: Duplicate a Notion page within your workspace.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Duplicate my project template page for the new Q3 initiative."
    

• create-database: Create a new database in Notion with the specified properties.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Create a new database to track customer feedback with fields for customer name, feedback type, and priority."
  • "Set up a content calendar database with columns for publish date and approval status."

• ‍create-comment: Add a comment to a page in Notion.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Add a feedback comment to this design proposal."
  • "Comment on the meeting notes to clarify action item deadlines."

• ‍get-comments: List all comments on a specific page, including threaded discussions.
  ‍
  • "List all comments on the product requirements section."
  • "Retrieve all feedback comments from last week's review."

• ‍get-users: List all users in the workspace with their details.
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Get contact details for the user who created this page."
  • "Look up the profile of the person assigned to this task."

• ‍get-self: Retrieve information about your own bot user and the Notion workspace you're connected to. 
  ‍Sample Prompts
  • "Which Notion workspace am I currently connected to?"
  • "What's my file size upload limit for the current workspace?"

Pairing Claude + Notion MCP for workspace intelligence with Clockwise for calendar intelligence gives you an AI-powered workflow that manages your information and your time, no manual juggling required.

2. Advanced Search and Insights

Use Claude to search through your entire Notion workspace. With semantic search, Claude can not only find exact matches but also interpret your natural language queries and surface relevant results across multiple pages, databases, and projects.

3. Work with Notion Databases

One of the biggest advantages of Claude with Notion MCP is the ability to query data from Notion databases in natural language. Instead of manually sorting through large amounts of data, you can simply ask Claude to retrieve specific information, such as “Show me all tasks with a due date of this week” or “List all high-priority features.”

4. Semantic Search Across Multiple Tools

With Notion MCP, Claude can go beyond just searching within Notion. It can connect to and search through data in third-party tools integrated with your Notion workspace, such as Google Drive, Slack, or Jira. For instance, you can ask Claude to “Find documents in Google Drive related to project X,” and it will pull the relevant results.

5. Enhanced Collaboration

Claude can help improve team collaboration by drafting updates, summarizing discussions, or even adding comments to Notion pages directly. This makes it easier for teams to stay aligned and keep documents up to date without manual intervention.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While Claude and Notion MCP integration is generally straightforward, there may be occasional issues that need to be addressed. Below are some common troubleshooting tips to help you resolve any issues you may encounter during setup or usage:

1. Check MCP Client Support

Ensure that your AI tool supports MCP clients. Not all AI tools have this capability built in, so it's important to verify that the tool you're using can connect to MCP servers.

2. Verify Remote Server Support

Some AI tools might have MCP clients but don’t support remote connections. In such cases, you may still be able to connect to Notion MCP using the open-source MCP server.

3. Ensure Correct Permissions

Make sure your Notion integration has the correct permissions. For example, if Claude needs to create or update pages, ensure it has write access. If you're using read-only access, this will restrict modifications.

4. Reauthorize the Integration

Sometimes, simply restarting Claude and reauthorizing the integration via OAuth can resolve connection issues.

5. Request MCP Support

If your AI tool doesn’t support MCP at all, reach out to the tool’s developers to request MCP server connection support. This will help expand the ecosystem of MCP-compatible tools.

6. Connectivity with Third-Party Tools

If you're using external tools like Google Drive, Slack, or Jira alongside Notion, and Claude is not pulling data from them, make sure that your Notion workspace is properly connected to the third-party tools. For example, ensure Notion’s API has the correct permissions to access data from external services.

If all else fails, remember that most issues boil down to a small misstep in setup. A quick review of your configuration, or a fresh start, can often get things flowing again.

Wrapping Up

Claude and Notion MCP work best when they’re not just connected, but woven into your daily rhythm. Together, they can cut down on the clicks, tabs, and mental clutter that slow work down. The setup is simple, and once it’s running, you can move from searching and updating to planning and collaborating without breaking stride. If you haven’t paired them yet, it’s worth giving it a try, one smooth connection, and your workspace starts feeling a lot lighter.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Can I use Claude with other tools besides Notion?

Yes, Claude can be used with any tool that supports the MCP protocol. As MCP is a universal standard, you can use it to integrate Claude with other tools like Slack, Google Drive, Figma, Jira, and more.

Q. How secure is the connection between Claude and Notion?

The connection between Claude and Notion is secured using OAuth. When you connect Claude to your Notion workspace, you are asked to authorize the integration, which grants it access only to the data you specify. No sensitive data is shared without your consent, and the system adheres to industry-standard security protocols.

Q. Can I customize the functionality of Claude and Notion MCP?

Yes! You can customize the prompts and workflows to suit your needs. For example, you can create specific templates for project management, generate reports, or automate data entry into your Notion databases. 

Q. Will there be more features in the future for Claude and Notion MCP?

Absolutely! Notion is continuously improving its MCP tools, and Claude will benefit from these updates. Expect more powerful tools for task automation, data management, and third-party integrations. As AI-first workflows evolve, both the Claude and Notion MCP ecosystems will grow, providing even more functionality and customization.