Available Kiteworks MCP Tools
The Kiteworks MCP Server exposes 51 tools to connected AI assistants, grouped into 9 families. This is the complete list. Every tool runs under the signed-in user’s own Kiteworks permissions and is written to the same tamper-evident audit trail, so an agent can never reach data the person driving it could not reach themselves.
Unlimited agent workflows, policy controls, and audit telemetry at no additional cost for the first 6 months. Kiteworks admins can activate it through the admin console.
| I want to… | Tool family |
|---|---|
| Read or write file data | File Operations |
| Browse, create, or reorganize folders | Folder Operations |
| See or change who can access a file or folder | Folder & File Members |
| Find something by name or by file content | Search Operations |
| Read the mailbox, or send secure mail | |
| Build a Kiteworks Form | Forms |
| Look up a user, or check who I am signed in as | User Operations |
| Check risk policy before moving data | Risk Policies |
| Manage users, mailboxes, profiles, or audit logs | Administration |
download_file_to_path and upload_file_from_path — are restricted to Local STDIO mode, because they read and write your local filesystem. Every other tool on this page works in all modes. See Installation & Setup for the differences between modes.delete_file, delete_folder, delete_mailbox, send_email, and every manage_members action require explicit confirmation before they run. delete_mailbox cannot be undone.File Operations
Reading and writing file data. The split that matters here is path-based versus content-based: path-based tools touch your local disk and therefore need Local STDIO mode, while content-based tools move data through the conversation and work everywhere.
Path-Based — STDIO Mode Only
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
download_file_to_path | Download a file from Kiteworks to the local filesystem by file ID. |
upload_file_from_path | Upload a file from the local filesystem to a Kiteworks folder. |
Content-Based — All Modes
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
read_file_contents | Read text file contents into conversation context as UTF-8. Not for local download. |
create_file_from_content | Create a file in Kiteworks from content in conversation context. Not for local upload. |
Metadata — All Modes
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
get_file_metadata | Retrieve file metadata by ID. |
rename_file | Rename a file by ID. |
move_file | Move one or more files to a different folder. |
copy_file | Copy one or more files into a folder, leaving the originals in place. |
delete_file | Delete one or more files. Requires confirmation. |
Folder Operations
Browsing, creating, and reorganizing the folder tree, plus requesting files from people outside it.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
get_top_folders | Fetch top-level folders with optional filtering. |
get_folder_children | Fetch folder contents by parent ID with filtering. |
create_folder | Create a new folder with specified options. |
rename_folder | Rename a folder by ID. |
move_folder | Move a folder to a different parent folder. |
delete_folder | Delete one or more folders and their contents. Requires confirmation. |
request_file_to_folder | Request files from recipients into a Kiteworks folder via an email invitation with an upload link. |
Folder & File Members
Reading and changing who has access to a folder or file, and with what role.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
list_members | List the members of a Kiteworks folder or file, including their role and how access was granted. Set target_type to folder or file. |
manage_members | Add, update, or remove members of a folder or file, chosen by action. Folders take exactly one target ID; add on files supports sharing multiple files with the same members in one call. Every action requires confirmation. Omitting the member on remove (files only) removes every member at once. |
Search Operations
Locating folders and files. Only search_files can match on file content as well as name.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
search | Search folders and/or files by name. |
search_folders | Search folders only by name. |
search_files | Search files only by name or content. |
Reading the mailbox and sending secure Kiteworks messages. Sending is deliberately a two-step flow — compose_email drafts and validates, send_email sends exactly what was validated.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
list_mail | List Kiteworks mail messages with optional filters (bucket, status, read state, sender, shared mailbox) and pagination. |
get_mail | Retrieve a single mail message by ID, including subject, body, status, AV/DLP scan status, recipients, and attachments. |
get_mail_counters | Retrieve mailbox counters — draft, inbox, inbox unread, outgoing and its sub-counts, and trash. |
compose_email | Compose, edit, and check a secure Kiteworks message. Writes it to a server-side draft and validates it against Kiteworks policy and, for acl=otp, whether recipients have a phone number on file. Returns a validationId to reuse on later calls and on send_email. Calling this and stopping is how a message is saved without sending; each call without a validationId leaves another draft behind. |
send_email | Send a message compose_email has already drafted. Takes only that validationId (plus an optional id cross-check) — no message content, so it sends the draft exactly as validated. Requires confirmation. |
Forms
Generating Kiteworks Forms.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
create_form | Generate Kiteworks Forms from templates with preview links. |
get_create_form_schema | Retrieve the JSON schema for form creation. |
User Operations
Identity lookups available to any signed-in user — no administrator role required.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
get_user_info_whoami | Get current Kiteworks user information. |
find_user_by_email | Find a Kiteworks user by their exact email address, returning display name and UUID. |
search_users_ldap | Search the configured LDAP/Active Directory by email or display name. |
Risk Policies
Read-only visibility into the policies that govern data movement. Useful as a pre-flight check before an agent moves anything.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
get_risk_policies | Retrieve all Kiteworks risk policies. Read-only. |
Administration
Administrator-only tools, reached through the Kiteworks admin API. These require an administrative role on the signed-in account — a standard user calling them gets a permission error.
User Management
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
search_users | Search Kiteworks users via the admin API with optional filters and pagination. |
get_user_metadata | Retrieve detailed information about a single user by UUID — profile, quota, features, device installs, sessions, and status. |
create_user | Create a new user. email and sendNotification are required; name, profile, verified flag, and admin-set password are optional. |
update_user | Update mutable fields on a user — name, password, suspended, verified, deactivated, and active. |
reset_user_totp | Delete TOTP/authenticator secrets for one or more users, forcing re-enrollment. |
Shared Mailboxes
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
list_mailboxes | List shared mailboxes with optional filters and pagination. |
create_mailbox | Convert an existing user into a shared mailbox and assign initial members. |
delete_mailbox | Permanently delete one or more shared mailboxes. Irreversible. |
update_mailbox_members | Replace the full member list of a shared mailbox. |
Activity Logs
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
get_user_activity | Retrieve user activity log entries with date range, text search, activity type filter, and pagination. |
get_admin_activity | Retrieve admin activity log entries via the admin API, with date range, free-text search, event/object filtering, and pagination. |
User Profiles
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
list_user_profiles | List all user profiles — numeric ID and name. |
get_profile | Retrieve a single user profile by numeric ID. |
get_profile_eligibility | Test profile mapping rules against a username or email and see which rules would match. |
list_profile_users | List users assigned to a specific profile with optional filters and pagination. |
create_user_profile | Create a new user profile. |
assign_user_profile | Assign a single user to a profile — promotion or demotion. |
bulk_assign_profile | Assign one or more users to a profile in bulk, with data-retention controls for demotions. |
Security Tags
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
create_tag | Create a new security tag used as a DLP policy condition. |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tools does the Kiteworks MCP Server expose?
The Kiteworks MCP Server exposes 51 tools across 9 families: file operations, folder operations, folder and file members, search, mail, forms, user operations, risk policies, and administration.
Which Kiteworks MCP tools only work in STDIO mode?
download_file_to_path and upload_file_from_path are the only path-based tools, and they require Local STDIO mode because they read and write the local filesystem. read_file_contents and create_file_from_content do equivalent work through conversation context and are available in every deployment mode.
Which Kiteworks MCP tools require confirmation before they run?
delete_file, delete_folder, delete_mailbox, send_email, and every manage_members action require explicit confirmation before they execute. delete_mailbox is irreversible.
Can I control which tools an AI agent is allowed to call?
Yes. Every tool runs under the signed-in user’s own Kiteworks permissions, so an agent can never exceed what that user can do. In Claude Desktop you can additionally set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval, or Blocked in the connector settings.
Can an agent read PDF or Office files directly?
No. read_file_contents returns UTF-8 text only. PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files must be downloaded with download_file_to_path first and then parsed locally, which means those formats require STDIO mode.
Next Steps
Ready to put these tools to work?
- Installation & Setup → Connect the MCP Server in the deployment mode you need
- Configure Tool Permissions → Set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval, or Blocked in Claude Desktop
- MCP Tool Taxonomy → How these tools map onto data, control, and audit planes for policy decisions
- Agent Marketplace → Ready-to-use governed agents built on these tools