instapaper-mcp

MCP server for saving URLs to Instapaper via the Instapaper Simple API.

Tools

Tool	Description
add_to_instapaper	Save a URL to your Instapaper account

Setup

1. Install and build

npm install
npm run build

2. Store credentials in the macOS Keychain

security add-generic-password -s instapaper-mcp -a username -w "your-email@example.com"
security add-generic-password -s instapaper-mcp -a password -w "your-password"

3. Create a wrapper script

Create run.sh in the project root (already gitignored):

#!/bin/sh
export INSTAPAPER_USERNAME=$(security find-generic-password -s instapaper-mcp -a username -w)
export INSTAPAPER_PASSWORD=$(security find-generic-password -s instapaper-mcp -a password -w)
exec node /Users/kenjudy/Projects/instapaper-mcp/dist/index.js

chmod 700 run.sh

4. Configure Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instapaper": {
      "command": "/Users/kenjudy/Projects/instapaper-mcp/run.sh"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving the config.

Development

npm test          # run tests
npm run typecheck # type-check without emitting
npm run build     # compile to dist/

Credentials

The server reads credentials from environment variables at startup:

• INSTAPAPER_USERNAME: your Instapaper account email
• INSTAPAPER_PASSWORD: your Instapaper account password

The server exits immediately with an error if either variable is missing.

Credentials are kept out of config files by reading them from the macOS Keychain in run.sh. The wrapper script is gitignored; never commit credentials to version control.