Needle

Needle MCP Server

Needle enables fast, AI-powered information discovery across all your data sources. Moreover, its RAG API helps developers build agentic AI applications. The Needle MCP (Model Context Protocol) server brings this powerful semantic search platform directly into your ChatGPT and Claude workflows, creating a seamless bridge between your AI assistants and your organization's knowledge base.

Key Capabilities & Value Proposition

Enterprise-Grade Semantic Search

Get instant answers from all your connected data sources with semantic understanding powered by our RAG pipeline. Ask questions naturally and get referenced results based on context and meaning. The Needle MCP server provides 8 specialized tools that enable:

• Collection Management: Create, organize, and manage document collections with enterprise-level access controls

• Intelligent File Operations: Add files from various sources (URLs, uploads, direct integration) with automatic content extraction

• Semantic Search: The easiest way to enable semantic search across your data is to use Needle. We implement and maintain fully-managed state-of-the-art RAG pipelines, so you can focus on shipping AI agents and applications fast.

• Real-time Statistics: Monitor collection performance and usage metrics

• Contextual Discovery: Combine your internal knowledge with real-time web information. Get comprehensive answers that include both your company data and external sources.

Advanced AI Agent Integration

Use Needle with MCP to build powerful AI agents that can interact with 40+ tools and data sources including GitHub, Kubernetes, Docker, and more. The server enables ChatGPT and Claude to:

• Dynamically search through document collections using natural language
• Add and manage files across different data sources
• Provide contextually-aware responses with proper citations
• Maintain persistent knowledge across conversations

Primary Use Cases & Target Audience

For Developers & Technical Teams

• AI Application Development: Needle handles the heavy lifting of storing and indexing your documents. Its built-in chunking, embedding, and semantic search features make it easy to build RAG applications without managing complex infrastructure.

• Custom Agent Creation: Build sophisticated RAG agents with state management and multi-step workflows

• API Integration: Seamlessly integrate with existing development tools and CI/CD pipelines

For Enterprise Organizations

• Knowledge Management: From Slack to Google Drive, from Notion to Jira - your entire workspace becomes searchable instantly.

• Internal Support Automation: Automate employee requests and relieve HR/IT/support teams. e.g.: automate vacation requests, process IT tickets instantly, live access to core systems for phone service.

• Research & Analysis: Needl.ai is that one of a kind tool that allows me to sync all my relevant data sources into Feeds which 'feed' me the bite sized data points I want to cover. It's fast, it's accurate & it also surprises sometimes by pulling relevant stuff out a pile of my own data which I otherwise wouldn't have remembered on my own.

For Business Intelligence & Analytics

• Market Research: Centralize and search through vast amounts of research documents, reports, and market data

• Compliance & Legal: It combines smart search features with secure data localization that follows all regulatory rules. Whether we're studying market trends or looking into specific companies, the platform helps us find the right information quickly while keeping sensitive data safe.

• Document Management: Handle large-scale document processing with automatic indexing and categorization

Technical Architecture & Integration

MCP Server Capabilities

The Needle MCP server exposes 8 core tools:

1. needle_list_collections - Discover available document collections
2. needle_get_collection - Retrieve detailed collection metadata
3. needle_get_collection_stats - Access usage and performance metrics
4. needle_list_collection_files - Browse collection contents (up to 100 results)
5. needle_add_file_to_collection - Upload and index new documents
6. needle_delete_file_from_collection - Remove outdated content
7. needle_search_collection - Perform semantic searches (up to 10 results)
8. needle_create_collection - Establish new knowledge repositories

ChatGPT Custom Connector Benefits

• Streamlined Setup: To install Needle MCP for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery: npx -y @smithery/cli install needle-mcp --client claude

• Enterprise Security: Enterprise-grade security with granular permission controls for your team.

• Scalable Architecture: Handle petabyte-scale data with low total cost of ownership

Claude Integration Advantages

Search & Retrieval: Claude-based natural language search for quick answers. Easy Integration: Works with Claude Desktop and Needle collections. Users can leverage natural language commands to interact with their knowledge base without switching applications.

Remote MCP Server Access

Server URL: https://mcp.needle-ai.com/mcp

The Needle MCP server is available as a remote service, meaning Unlike the local MCP servers you may have previously used, remote MCP servers are accessible on the Internet. People simply sign in and grant permissions to MCP clients using familiar authorization flows.

Quick Integration Steps

1. Configure your ChatGPT or Claude client with the Needle MCP server endpoint
2. Authenticate using your Needle API credentials
3. Create your first collection using needle_create_collection
4. Add documents via needle_add_file_to_collection
5. Start searching with needle_search_collection

Why Choose Needle MCP Server?

Proven Enterprise Solution

Needle has become an essential part of our AI stack - ease of use, robustness, and fast data retrieval were the key factors that made us choose their solution. We're happy with the results and have been recommending it to everyone who asks!

Advanced RAG Capabilities

Needle, you all make creating and using a RAG so easy! I've integrated it into my workflows with Make. The platform abstracts complex vector database management while providing enterprise-grade performance and security.

Comprehensive Ecosystem

Use Needle's retriever in your LangChain applications for powerful RAG capabilities and semantic search. Integrate Needle with Haystack to build production-ready RAG pipelines and question-answering systems.