DeepL MCP Server

Use the DeepL MCP Server to add translation capabilities to Claude, Cursor, and other AI agents.

This page shows you:

• What the DeepL MCP Server does and when to use it
• How to install and configure it for Claude Code and Claude Desktop
• What tools are available to your AI agent

The DeepL MCP Server is an open-source (MIT license) Model Context Protocol server that gives AI agents access to DeepL’s translation, text improvement, and glossary capabilities. MCP lets AI agents discover and call external tools through a standardized protocol — your agent sends a tool request to the MCP server, which calls the DeepL API and returns the result.

If you want to build a custom MCP server from scratch using the DeepL API, see the MCP Server Cookbook.

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 or later
• A DeepL API key (create a free account)

Quick start

Run the server directly with npx:

npx deepl-mcp-server

Or install it locally:

npm install deepl-mcp-server

Configuration

Claude Code

Add the MCP server to Claude Code with a single command:

claude mcp add deepl -e DEEPL_API_KEY=your-api-key -- npx deepl-mcp-server

Claude Code will now have access to DeepL translation tools in every session.

Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %AppData%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deepl": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["deepl-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DEEPL_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop to activate the server.

Other MCP clients

The DeepL MCP Server works with any MCP-compatible client. Configure it using the npx deepl-mcp-server command and pass your API key via the DEEPL_API_KEY environment variable.

Refer to your client’s documentation for how to add MCP servers.

Available tools

Once configured, your AI agent can use the following tools:

Tool	Description
translate-text	Translate text between languages with automatic source language detection
translate-document	Translate documents (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML, TXT) with format preservation
rephrase-text	Improve and rephrase text with customizable writing style and tone
get-source-languages	List all available source languages
get-target-languages	List all available target languages
get-glossary-info	Retrieve details about a specific glossary
get-glossary-entries	Fetch dictionary entries from a glossary
list-glossaries	List all glossaries in your account

Example usage

Once the MCP server is connected, you can ask your AI agent things like:

• “Translate this email into German with formal tone”
• “Translate my report.pdf into French”
• “Rephrase this paragraph to sound more professional”
• “What languages does DeepL support?”
• “Show me the entries in my marketing glossary”

The agent will automatically use the appropriate DeepL tool to fulfill the request.

Next steps

Now that you know how to use the DeepL MCP Server:

• Explore the source: Review the DeepL MCP Server on GitHub for full documentation and source code
• Build your own: Follow the MCP Server Cookbook to create a custom MCP server from scratch
• Set up authentication: Learn about DeepL API authentication and key management
• Use client libraries: Explore the official SDKs for Python, Node.js, and more