WebDAV MCP Server

Expose a Nextcloud/WebDAV repository to Model Context Protocol (MCP) clients (Claude Desktop, IDE plug-ins, etc.) so agents can browse folders, filter directories, and stream files directly into their workflows.

Highlights

• Lists directories/files from any Nextcloud-compatible WebDAV endpoint (personal accounts or public share links).
• Publishes MCP resources so agents can click through folders and fetch files without hand‑crafting URLs.
• Ships three MCP tools (list_webdav_directory, list_webdav_directories_only, read_webdav_file) plus matching resource templates.
• Supports credentialed access, public shares, file-size limits, and configurable directory depth.
• Runnable with Docker or plain Node.js (TypeScript project compiled to build/index.js).

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (for local runs; the compiled server relies on the built-in fetch implementation).
• npm (ships with Node) for building TypeScript.
• Docker 24+ (optional) if you prefer containerized deployment.
• Claude Desktop 0.5+ or another MCP-compatible host.

Run with Docker

1. Build the image

   docker build -t webdav-mcp-server:latest .

2. Wire it into Claude Desktop

   macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "webdav": {
         "command": "docker",
         "args": [
           "run", "-i", "--rm",
           "-e", "NEXTCLOUD_BASE_URL=https://nextcloud.example.com",
           "-e", "NEXTCLOUD_USERNAME=files-user",
           "-e", "WEBDAV_USERNAME=files-login",
           "-e", "WEBDAV_PASSWORD=files-password",
           "webdav-mcp-server:latest"
         ]
       }
     }
   }

3. Restart Claude Desktop so the server is loaded. You should see WebDAV MCP Server running on stdio in the Claude logs or container output.

Run locally (no Docker)

npm install        # install dependencies
npm run build      # compile TypeScript → build/index.js
npm start          # equivalent to node build/index.js

Point Claude Desktop at the compiled entry point:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "webdav": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/webdav-mcp-server/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NEXTCLOUD_BASE_URL": "https://nextcloud.example.com",
        "NEXTCLOUD_USERNAME": "files-user",
        "WEBDAV_USERNAME": "files-login",
        "WEBDAV_PASSWORD": "files-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration reference

Variable	Purpose	Default
NEXTCLOUD_BASE_URL	Base URL (https://nextcloud.example.com).	https://glacier.nurral.com (placeholder)
NEXTCLOUD_USERNAME	User whose files are exposed.	your-username
WEBDAV_URL	Override the full DAV endpoint. Also accepts public share links (https://…/s/<token>).	${NEXTCLOUD_BASE_URL}/remote.php/dav/files/${NEXTCLOUD_USERNAME}
WEBDAV_USERNAME	Login/username or share token sent via HTTP Basic auth.	Auto-detected from WEBDAV_URL share tokens, otherwise required.
WEBDAV_PASSWORD	Password for private accounts or password-protected shares.	Empty string
WEBDAV_MAX_FILE_BYTES	Max bytes returned from resources/read / read_webdav_file.	10_485_760 (10 MB)
MAX_DIRECTORY_RESOURCES	How many entries resources/list exposes from the root directory.	25

Public share links

When you pass a share URL such as https://nextcloud.example.com/s/abc123, the server rewrites it to https://nextcloud.example.com/public.php/webdav and infers abc123 as the username. Provide the share password via WEBDAV_PASSWORD if required, otherwise leave it blank:

{
  "command": "docker",
  "args": [
    "run", "-i", "--rm",
    "-e", "WEBDAV_URL=https://nextcloud.example.com/s/abc123",
    "-e", "WEBDAV_PASSWORD=",
    "webdav-mcp-server:latest"
  ]
}

MCP interface

Tools

Tool	Description	Key params
list_webdav_directory	Returns every child entry (files + directories) for the requested path.	path (default /)
list_webdav_directories_only	Same as above but filters to folders. Useful for drilling down quickly.	path
read_webdav_file	Streams a file via text or base64 blob depending on MIME type.	path or resourceUri

Each tool response includes path + resourceUri fields so you can pivot into resources/read.

Resources & templates

• resources/list always exposes the root directory plus up to MAX_DIRECTORY_RESOURCES top-level children, each represented as webdav-directory://… or webdav-file://….
• resources/read accepts those URIs (or even a raw https:// WebDAV URL) and enforces the WEBDAV_MAX_FILE_BYTES limit.
• resources/templates/list publishes:
  • webdav-file – supply /Documents/report.md etc.
  • webdav-directory – supply /Projects, / etc.

The templates emit ready-to-read URIs so you never need to manually encode DAV paths.

File transfer limits

Downloads larger than WEBDAV_MAX_FILE_BYTES are rejected before they reach the MCP client. Adjust the env var when you trust the source and understand the cost of transferring bigger blobs.

Testing & verification

• Manual smoke test inside Docker:

  docker run -i --rm webdav-mcp-server:latest

  Expect WebDAV MCP Server running on stdio.
• Outside Docker, run npm start and connect via Claude’s “Test Connection” button or watch stdio logs.
• Sanity-check connectivity with curl if necessary:

  curl -u "$WEBDAV_USERNAME:$WEBDAV_PASSWORD" -X PROPFIND "$WEBDAV_URL" -H "Depth: 1"

Troubleshooting

• Server missing from Claude: Confirm the config file path, rebuild the Docker image, and fully restart Claude Desktop. Inspect ~/Library/Logs/Claude (macOS) for MCP loading errors.
• 401 / authentication failures: Ensure you supplied WEBDAV_USERNAME/WEBDAV_PASSWORD. Public shares still require HTTP Basic with the token as the username—even if the password is blank.
• Endpoint unreachable: Try curl -X PROPFIND against the DAV URL to confirm reachability and TLS trust. Set NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0 temporarily if you must accept a self-signed cert (only for debugging).
• Large downloads truncated: Increase WEBDAV_MAX_FILE_BYTES or fetch files piecemeal.

License

MIT