We’re excited to announce a major update to the Box MCP server community edition that makes content sharing significantly easier. This release introduces comprehensive support for Box shared links, giving you powerful new ways to organize and share content directly through conversational AI.
What’s new
This update adds 16 new tools across two main categories:
- Shared links — Generate and manage secure sharing URLs for files, folders, and web links
- Web links — Create, retrieve, update, and delete web link objects within your Box account
You might wonder why we included web links support alongside shared links. Since shared links can be applied to web link objects in Box, implementing web links was a natural addition.
Understanding shared links in Box
Before we dive into the demos, let’s clarify what shared links are in the Box ecosystem:
Shared links are URLs that are generated for files, folders, and web links stored in Box, which provide direct, read-only access to the resource.
Shared links offer flexible access control. Open access-level links allow anyone with the URL to view the content, while Company or Collaborators access levels restrict access to authenticated Box users. These three levels enable both public sharing and controlled internal collaboration.
For more details, check out Box’s shared links guide, and also consider that many of the shared link options are set in the Admin Console.
See it in action
To demonstrate these new capabilities using Claude desktop with the Box MCP server, Let’s walk through real examples of both web links and shared links workflows.
Our initial starting point is a “Collaboration MCP Test” folder with a file, and our MCP server has no issue finding it and listing its content:
Web link demo
Let’s create a web link pointing to our developer documentation:
In the Box app we have:
Now let’s add a description, by modifying the web link:
And confirm in the Box app:
Finally, we’ll remove the web link:
Shared link demo
Now, let’s ask Claude to share the file with the default permissions:
We can now see the shared icon visible in the Box app:
We can also inspect the shared link:
Now let’s try and update the shared link:
In the Box app, we can see the update in the shared link properties:
But what if you have a shared link URL and need to find out which item it belongs to? We have an MCP tool for that:
You might be thinking, “How do I know if a shared link is a folder, file, or web link?” Well, you don’t. Although this feature is separated for each type in our documentation and tools, any of them will return the item related to the shared link, independent of its type:
Let’s remove the shared link:
And we’re back to our initial state in the Box app:
What about folders and web links?
We’ve got you covered. Folder and web links work exactly the same way from the MCP server perspective.
Why this matters
These new tools represent more than just additional functionality . They demonstrate the transformative potential of MCP (Model Context Protocol) integrations. By exposing Box’s sharing capabilities through conversational AI, we’re fundamentally changing how users interact with their content workflows.
Instead of navigating through multiple UI screens to create a shared link or set up a web link, you can now simply ask. This conversational approach to enterprise content management opens doors for:
- Faster workflows : Complete multi-step processes in seconds through natural language
- Lower barriers to adoption : No need to memorize UI paths or API documentation
- Enhanced accessibility : Users of all technical levels can leverage advanced features
- Integration possibilities: Combine Box operations with other MCP tools for powerful automated workflows
Also, since MCP tools are easy to integrate into other applications and workflows, these new features become immediately available to your other apps that are using the MCP server.
Looking ahead
This update is just the beginning. The Box MCP server community edition continues to grow, and we’re committed to expanding its capabilities based on community feedback. Whether you’re a developer building automation workflows, or a business user looking to streamline content sharing, these tools make Box more accessible than ever.
Get started today
The Box Community MCP server is available now, and if you already have it installed, these tools are ready to use. We encourage you to experiment with these new capabilities and share your use cases with the community.
Have questions or suggestions for future tools? Reach out to us — we’re excited to see what you build!
