Homebox MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects to your Homebox home inventory system, allowing AI assistants to query and explore your home inventory data in real-time.

What is This?

This MCP server acts as a bridge between AI assistants (like Claude) and your Homebox home inventory database. It allows your AI assistant to:

• Search for items in your inventory
• Get detailed information about specific items
• List all locations where you store things
• List all labels/categories you use
• Find all items in a specific location
• Find all items with a specific label

Deployment Options

Choose the integration method that works best for your use case:

For Open WebUI + Ollama Users

• Open WebUI Functions - Native integration for Open WebUI with function-calling models (recommended for Ollama)
• Cocktail Examples - Specific examples for home bar/cocktail use cases

For Claude Desktop Users (MCP Protocol)

• Docker / QNAP Container Station - Run MCP server in a container
• Native QNAP Installation - Run MCP server directly on QNAP (recommended for Claude Desktop)
• Local Installation - Run MCP server on your computer (see below)

Which should I choose?

• Using Ollama with Open WebUI? → Use Open WebUI Functions
• Using Claude Desktop? → Use Native QNAP Installation or Docker
• Running locally on Windows/Mac/Linux? → Follow Local Installation below

Prerequisites (Local Installation)

Note: If you're using Docker/QNAP, see DOCKER.md instead.

Before you begin, you'll need:

1. Node.js - Version 18 or higher (Download here)
2. A running Homebox instance - You should have Homebox already installed and accessible
3. Homebox login credentials - Your email and password for Homebox

Step-by-Step Setup Instructions (Local Installation)

Step 1: Install Node.js

1. Go to nodejs.org
2. Download the LTS (Long Term Support) version
3. Run the installer and follow the prompts
4. Open a terminal/command prompt and verify installation:

   node --version
   npm --version
   

   Both commands should show version numbers.

Step 2: Download This MCP Server

If you haven't already:

git clone <your-repository-url>
cd Homebox-mcp

Step 3: Install Dependencies

In the Homebox-mcp folder, run:

npm install

This will download all the required libraries.

Step 4: Configure Your Homebox Connection

1. Copy the example configuration file:

   cp config.json.example config.json
   

2. Open config.json in a text editor and fill in your details:

   {
     "homeboxUrl": "http://localhost:7745",
     "email": "your-email@example.com",
     "password": "your-password"
   }
   

   Replace:

   • homeboxUrl: The URL where your Homebox is running (default is http://localhost:7745)
   • email: Your Homebox login email
   • password: Your Homebox login password

3. Save the file

Step 5: Build the Server

Compile the TypeScript code:

npm run build

Step 6: Test the Connection

Before running the full server, test that it can connect to Homebox:

npm test

This will verify your configuration and show you if everything is working. If successful, you'll see green checkmarks and a summary of your inventory.

Alternatively, you can test the full server:

npm start

If successful, you should see:

Starting Homebox MCP Server...
Successfully authenticated with Homebox
Homebox MCP Server running on stdio

Press Ctrl+C to stop the server. You're ready to configure your AI assistant!

Configuring with Claude Desktop

To use this MCP server with Claude Desktop:

1. Open 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

2. Add the Homebox MCP server to the configuration:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "homebox": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": ["/absolute/path/to/Homebox-mcp/dist/index.js"]
       }
     }
   }
   

   Replace /absolute/path/to/Homebox-mcp with the actual full path to your Homebox-mcp folder.

   Example for macOS/Linux:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "homebox": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": ["/home/username/Homebox-mcp/dist/index.js"]
       }
     }
   }
   

   Example for Windows:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "homebox": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": ["C:\\Users\\YourName\\Homebox-mcp\\dist\\index.js"]
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop

Using the MCP Server

Once configured, you can ask Claude to interact with your Homebox inventory. Here are some example queries:

Search for Items

"Can you search my Homebox inventory for 'screwdriver'?"

List All Locations

"Show me all the locations in my Homebox inventory"

Find Items in a Location

"What items do I have in the garage?" (first get the location ID using list_locations, then use get_items_by_location)

List All Labels

"What labels/categories do I use in Homebox?"

Get Item Details

"Can you get the full details for item ID 123?"

Find Items by Label

"Show me all items labeled as 'Electronics'"

For more detailed examples and use cases, see EXAMPLES.md.

Available Tools

The MCP server provides these tools:

1. search_items - Search for items by name or description
2. get_item - Get complete details about a specific item
3. list_locations - List all storage locations
4. get_location - Get details about a specific location
5. list_labels - List all labels/categories
6. get_label - Get details about a specific label
7. get_items_by_location - Get all items in a location
8. get_items_by_label - Get all items with a label

Troubleshooting

"Authentication failed"

• Check that your config.json has the correct email and password
• Verify that your Homebox instance is running
• Make sure the homeboxUrl is correct

"Cannot find module"

• Run npm install again
• Make sure you ran npm run build

"ECONNREFUSED" or "Network Error"

• Check that Homebox is running
• Verify the URL in config.json is correct
• If using Docker, make sure the Homebox container is running

Claude Desktop doesn't show the tools

• Check that the path in claude_desktop_config.json is absolute (full path)
• Restart Claude Desktop after changing the configuration
• Check Claude Desktop logs for errors

Security Notes

• Your config.json file contains your Homebox password - keep it secure
• The .gitignore file is configured to prevent config.json from being committed to git
• Never share your config.json file publicly

How It Works

MCP Server Approach (Claude Desktop)

This MCP server:

1. Connects to your Homebox instance via its REST API
2. Authenticates using your credentials
3. Provides tools that Claude can use to query your inventory
4. Returns data in a format that Claude can understand and present to you

The server doesn't directly access the SQLite database. Instead, it uses Homebox's official API, which is safer and more reliable for real-time access.

Open WebUI Functions Approach (Ollama)

The Open WebUI integration:

1. Installs as a native function in Open WebUI
2. Calls Homebox REST API directly from within Open WebUI
3. Works with any function-calling capable Ollama model (Llama 3.1, Mistral, Qwen, etc.)
4. No separate server process needed
5. Perfect for Docker deployments on QNAP

See OPEN-WEBUI.md for complete setup instructions.

Development

If you want to modify the server:

1. Edit files in the src/ directory
2. Rebuild with npm run build
3. Restart the server

License

MIT

Support

If you encounter issues:

1. Check the Troubleshooting section above
2. Verify your Homebox instance is working properly
3. Check the Homebox documentation at homebox.software