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Instapaper API and MCP server

Instapaper's API covers bookmarks, folders, tags and highlights, but it takes a token and code you write and host. Sign in to Instapaper once in your own Cloud Browser, and your AI agent does the work there for you. The same tools work over MCP for agents and as a REST API for scripts.

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Not affiliated with Instapaper.

Instapaper has no API for this. So we run one for you.

Instapaper's own API, a GitHub MCP server and Cotlet compared
What you need Instapaper's APIGitHub MCP serverCotlet
Use without an API key or code No Partly Yes, 12 tools
Acts as you, signed in 24/7 No No Yes, Cloud Browser
Fixed for you when Instapaper changes N/A No Yes, tested every 6h
Runs with your laptop off N/A No Yes, hosted

Checked Oct 17, 2026. Sources: Instapaper blog: Instapaper API v2 (29 Sep 2026) · Instapaper API v2 OpenAPI spec · Instapaper API v2 TypeScript SDK (official) · Instapaper Premium: free and Premium features

Your own Cloud Browser, on 24/7. Sign in once. We keep it connected.

  1. 01Sign in to Instapaper in your own Cloud Browser

  2. 02Connect it for your agents

  3. 03Cotlet keeps it signed in and working

How do I connect Instapaper to Claude, ChatGPT or my code?

AI agents connect over MCP, scripts call the REST API. Both reach the same 12 tools with one API key.

For AI agents: MCP

Add Cotlet to your agent once. Instapaper and every other app you connect show up as its tools.

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • OpenClaw
  • Hermes
  • GrokBot
  • Cursor
  • n8n
  • Any MCP client
  1. 1

    Add Cotlet to your agent

    Claude Code
    claude mcp add --transport http cotlet \
  https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY"
    Cursor
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "cotlet": {
      "url": "https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${COTLET_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}
    Codex
    # ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.cotlet]
url = "https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1"
bearer_token_env_var = "COTLET_API_KEY"

    Paste the snippet for your client. The same server and key serve every app you connect, so you do this once.

For scripts: REST API

Every tool is an endpoint under /api/v1/instapaper with its own method and path, such as POST /api/v1/instapaper/bookmark/save, with the same API key. Our open-source repo has ready scripts to start from.

REST API docs

What can the Instapaper API and MCP server do?

12 tools on your own Instapaper account. Agents call them as operations of the MCP tools instapaper_read and instapaper_write; scripts call each one at its own REST endpoint, with the same inputs and answers.

API reference
Instapaper tools in Cotlet's MCP server and REST API
Tool What it does Access
list_bookmarks Articles in one list: Home, Archive, Liked, a folder or a tag, with reading progress. read
get_article_text The cleaned text of one saved article, with title, author and word count. read
list_folders Your folders with their IDs, in the order you set. read
list_tags Your tags with their IDs and how many articles carry each. read
list_highlights The highlighted passages of one article. read
save_bookmark Save a web page to your reading list, optionally into a folder, with tags. write
move_bookmark Move an article to the Archive, back to Home, or into a folder. write
set_liked Add an article to your Liked list, or remove it. write
tag_bookmark Add tags to an article by name, or remove them by ID. write
create_folder Create a new folder in your account. write
create_highlight Highlight a passage of text in a saved article. write
delete_bookmark Delete a saved article permanently. writeasks first

Scroll the table for all 12 tools.

Ask in plain words. Your agent does the rest.

All Instapaper use cases

Is it safe to connect Instapaper?

You sign in yourself in your own Cloud Browser, we never save your password, and anything that reaches your readers waits for your OK. The browser profile is encrypted in the EU. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+.

Security overview

How much do the Instapaper API and MCP server cost?

One price for both: a tool call costs the same over MCP or REST. Free 7-day trial with 2,000 credits, no card needed. Then one-time credit packs, no subscription, valid 12 months. Most calls use 25 credits, and your Cloud Browser uses 50 credits a day while Instapaper is enabled for agents, so 20 calls a day come to 550 credits.

See full pricing
Cotlet credit packs: price, credits and calls at 25 credits each
Credits Price, one time Calls at 25 credits Per 1,000 credits
5,000 $29 200 $5.80
15,000 $79 600 $5.27
32,000 $149 1,280 $4.66
60,000 $249 2,400 $4.15

Only successful calls use credits; failed calls and timeouts cost nothing. At a balance of 0 calls pause, never a surprise charge. Authenticate with the Authorization: Bearer header.

Questions

Does Instapaper have an API?

Instapaper has a full REST API, API v2, and no official MCP server (checked 17 Oct 2026). Instapaper launched API v2 on 29 Sep 2026 with OAuth 2, personal access tokens, an OpenAPI spec and Python and TypeScript SDKs. It covers bookmarks, folders, tags and highlights, and free accounts can use it. Instapaper's docs list no MCP server, so the hosted, maintained MCP is the part Cotlet adds.

How do I get access?

Sign up free, open Instapaper under Integrations in the console and press Request access. Your free trial starts with your account, no card needed.

Is the MCP server different from the API?

No, only the way in. Cotlet builds each integration as a REST API and puts an MCP server on top, so both have the same 12 tools, the same inputs and answers, one API key and one price. AI agents such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor use MCP; scripts, cron jobs and HTTP steps in n8n, Make or Zapier use the REST API.

What is the Cloud Browser?

Your own Chrome that Cotlet runs for you in the EU, around the clock. You open it from the console, sign in to Instapaper yourself and press Enable for agents. Your agent's calls go through it, from its IP with its cookies, so Instapaper sees the browser you signed in with. Password saving is off and the profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM.

Can my agent act without asking me?

Not on anything that reaches other people: delete_bookmark wait for your OK by default. You can switch that off per tool for scheduled runs.

Does Instapaper Premium change what the tools can do?

A little. Free accounts can create 5 highlights a month and have no full-text search across saved articles. Folders, tags, archiving and the official API are free (Instapaper Premium page, checked 17 Oct 2026). create_highlight stops at the monthly cap on a free account.

Can the agent read articles that are behind a paywall?

Only what Instapaper saved. get_article_text returns a paywalled flag when the page looked paywalled, and the text may then be a preview (Instapaper API v2 spec).

Should I use a Instapaper MCP server from GitHub instead?

Pick one if you want the code on your own computer and do not mind the upkeep: you install it, sign it in and fix it when Instapaper changes. Pick Cotlet if you want it hosted and kept working for you.

Can I use it in n8n, Make or Zapier?

Yes. Add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 in n8n's MCP Client node, or call the REST endpoints from an HTTP step in Make or Zapier.

Who runs Cotlet?

Cotlet is run by Take Group, a Polish software company working since 2019. Take Group runs about 3,200 websites on its own systems and has its own DevOps team for infrastructure security. We built and used integrations like this inside the company for years before opening them as Cotlet.

Is Cotlet affiliated with Instapaper?

No. Cotlet is independent and not affiliated with Instapaper.

Give your agent access to Instapaper.

Free 7-day trial with 2,000 credits, no card needed.

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