What does the box mcp server do?

It connects Box to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Box directly.

How do I install the box mcp server?

Register the server in your MCP client's configuration file and restart the client. This page carries ready-made configuration blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor.

What credentials does it need?

It reads `BOX_CLIENT_ID`, `YOUR_CLIENT_ID`, `BOX_CLIENT_SECRET`, `YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET`, `BOX_REDIRECT_URL`, `BOX_MCP_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN`, `YOUR_BOX_MCP_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN` from the environment. Store these in your client's env block or a secrets manager — never commit them to a repository — and grant the narrowest scope that still covers your use case.

Box MCP Server — Setup, Tools and Config Guide

What is the Box MCP server?

Box mcp server lets Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients work with Box directly. For comprehensive authentication configuration options, see the Authentication Guide.

What Box does

For comprehensive authentication configuration options, see the Authentication Guide.

Installing the box mcp server

Setup follows the standard MCP pattern: clone or install the server, then register it in your client's configuration file and restart the client. The configuration snippets on this page cover Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor.

Configuration

Before the server will start you need to supply 7 environment variables: BOX_CLIENT_ID, YOUR_CLIENT_ID, BOX_CLIENT_SECRET, YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET, BOX_REDIRECT_URL, BOX_MCP_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN, YOUR_BOX_MCP_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than committing them.

Where it fits

Developer-tool servers are usually the first ones people connect, because they turn "help me with this code" into an assistant that can actually read the repo and act on it. Box sits in that group. Worth comparing against the other developer tools servers in this directory before you commit to one, since several overlap in scope but differ sharply in setup cost and permissions.

Practical notes

This is a hosted server — you point your client at an endpoint rather than running a local process, so there is nothing to keep updated on your machine.
It will not start until its required credentials are present, so set those before wondering why the tools never appear.
Maintained by box-community, written in Go.
MCP clients ask for confirmation before each tool call by default. Keep that on while you learn what the box mcp server actually does with your data.
Every entry in this directory is reviewed by hand before it goes live, and details are checked against the project's own documentation.

How to install the Box MCP server

Add the configuration:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-server-box": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/path/to/mcp-server-box",
                "run",
                "src/mcp_server_box.py"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

Variable	Description	Required
BOX_CLIENT_ID	Configuration value read at startup.	Optional
YOUR_CLIENT_ID	Configuration value read at startup.	Optional
BOX_CLIENT_SECRET	Credential the server authenticates with.	Yes
YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET	Credential the server authenticates with.	Yes
BOX_REDIRECT_URL	Endpoint or connection string the server talks to.	Yes
BOX_MCP_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN	Credential the server authenticates with.	Yes
YOUR_BOX_MCP_SERVER_AUTH_TOKEN	Credential the server authenticates with.	Yes

Box MCP Server

What is the Box MCP server?

What Box does

Installing the box mcp server

Configuration

Where it fits

Practical notes

How to install the Box MCP server

Configuration

Frequently asked questions

Alternatives to the Box MCP server

Context7

Playwright

GitHub

Linear

Git

Time