outline

name outline description Conventions and efficient workflows for Outline knowledge bases via mcp-outline tools. Use when creating, editing, restructuring, or diagramming Outline documents — covers Outline markdown quirks (mermaidjs code fences), document and collection structure, string-match editing, staged rewrites, batch operations, and search status filters. Working with Outline Markdown Mermaid diagrams need ```mermaidjs fences, NOT ```mermaid — the wrong fence silently renders as a plain code block. Otherwise standard markdown. Use ATX headings ( # – ###### ); they power the TOC and section tools. Structure Collections contain documents; documents nest via parent_document_id . Browse: list_collections , get_collection_structure . Lifecycle: draft → published → archived → trash (30-day recovery via restore_document ; delete_document(permanent=True) is unrecoverable). create_document(template=True) / update_document(template=True) adds to the "New from template" picker. Titles are not unique; resolve to IDs with get_document_id_from_title or search_documents . Check get_document_backlinks before restructuring or deleting. Search defaults to published only Drafts and archived docs are invisible to search_documents and list_recently_updated_documents unless widened: status_filter=["draft", "published", "archived"] . Reading large documents get_document_toc — headings with 0-based line numbers. read_document_section(heading=...) — case-insensitive substring; accepts headings as the TOC prints them (e.g. "## Background" ). search_document_content(query=...) — grep within the document: matching lines with line numbers and context. Use it to locate text for edit_document old_strings or read_document offsets. read_document(offset=N, limit=M) — TOC/grep line numbers are valid offsets. Full read_document only for small documents. Editing Default to edit_document : each old_string must match exactly once (add surrounding context to disambiguate); edits apply sequentially, all-or-nothing. Batch all edits for one document into a single call. update_document only for full replacement, title changes, or append=True (sends just the chunk). Staged rewrites edit_document(id, edits=[...], save=False) # stage, repeat as needed edit_document(id, edits=[...], save=True) # final batch + push all edit_document(id, edits=[], save=True) # or: flush only One API write total. Staged changes are server-memory only — flush before ending; a restart discards them. Read tools show staged text with an "unsaved changes" notice; export_document bypasses staging and returns the last saved content. Many documents Use batch_create_documents , batch_update_documents , batch_move_documents , batch_archive_documents , batch_delete_documents (10–50 per call; per-document results) instead of loops. Missing tools Deployments may be read-only, delete-disabled, or scope-filtered. Use what's listed; if an editing tool is absent, say so. Exploration For broad search-and-summarize, delegate to the outline-explorer agent (bundled with this plugin).