Electronic Documents (eDocs)

The DocBits API exposes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server with tools for inspecting and customizing electronic document (eDoc) processing. Any MCP-compatible client — Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or custom integrations — can connect and use these tools.

What Can You Do?

With the eDocs MCP tools you can:

• Inspect how any electronic document type is classified and what extraction rules apply

• Test documents through the full processing pipeline without saving to the database

• Create custom rules for your organization — XSLT previews, extraction paths, transformations

• Update a custom rule with a new version (with or without immediately activating it)

• Delete a custom rule to revert back to the built-in default

• Verify that all supported eDoc fixtures are processed correctly

Permission Model

DocBits ships with a library of built-in default rules shared across all customers. These defaults use the reserved org ID 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000.

The default rules are immutable via MCP. Every write tool checks your organization ID before making any request. If it resolves to the default org, the operation is immediately rejected — no API call is ever made.

Customers can only create, change, or delete rules within their own organization. When a custom rule exists for your org, it takes precedence over the default. Deleting a custom rule restores the default behavior automatically.

Your org rule  ──► used if present
      │
      ▼ (if absent)
Default rule   ──► built-in, immutable via MCP

Tools Overview

Inspection (read-only)

Tool	Description
test_electronic_document	Dry-run the full eDoc pipeline — classification, extraction, preview — without saving
list_electronic_document_types	List all supported eDoc types with configuration status
get_extraction_rules	Show the XPath rules used to extract fields for a given document type
get_extracted_fields	Get header fields extracted from a processed document
get_extracted_tables	Get line items extracted from a processed document
get_preview_pdf	Retrieve the XSLT-rendered preview PDF for a document
get_preview_image	Retrieve a rendered page image for a processed document

Customization (org-scoped, default org blocked)

Tool	Description
list_edoc_custom_attributes	List your org's custom overrides vs. built-in defaults for a document type
create_edoc_custom_attribute	Create a new custom rule (EXTRACTION_PATHS, TRANSFORMATION, or PREVIEW)
update_edoc_custom_attribute	Add a new version of a custom rule, optionally activating it immediately
delete_edoc_custom_attribute	Delete a custom rule — the system falls back to the default automatically
preview_edoc_custom_xslt	Dry-run a XSLT transformation against an XML document before activating

Verification

Tool	Description
verify_electronic_documents	Upload fixtures and verify classification, extraction, and preview end-to-end
validate_all_edocs	Run all eDoc fixtures through a dry-run pipeline and report issues

Attribute Types

Each customizable rule has a specific type and format:

Attribute Name	Format	Purpose
EXTRACTION_PATHS	JSON	XPath expressions that map XML nodes to DocBits fields
TRANSFORMATION	XSLT	Stylesheet applied to the XML before extraction
PREVIEW	XSLT	Stylesheet that renders the human-readable PDF preview
STRUCTURE_DESCRIPTOR	JSON	Structure map for EDI documents only

The create_edoc_custom_attribute tool infers the correct format from the attribute name automatically.

Quick Start

List what your org has customized

list_edoc_custom_attributes
  electronic_document_type: "XRECHNUNG 2.1 CII"

Returns two lists: custom (your org's overrides) and default (shared rules you inherit).

Create a custom preview for XRechnung

create_edoc_custom_attribute
  electronic_document_type: "XRECHNUNG 2.1 CII"
  attribute_name: "PREVIEW"
  attribute_value: "<xsl:stylesheet ...>...</xsl:stylesheet>"

Returns the new attribute_id — save it for updates and deletion.

Update an existing custom rule

update_edoc_custom_attribute
  attribute_id: "069cd17c-673c-7c94-8000-b512417eefe3"
  new_value: "<xsl:stylesheet ...>...</xsl:stylesheet>"
  activate: true

Creates a new version and activates it. The previous version is kept in history.

Revert to the default

delete_edoc_custom_attribute
  attribute_id: "069cd17c-673c-7c94-8000-b512417eefe3"

Removes the custom override. The system falls back to the built-in default rule immediately.

Safety Rules

Action	Allowed
Read default rules	✅ Yes
Create custom rule for your org	✅ Yes
Update custom rule for your org	✅ Yes
Delete custom rule for your org	✅ Yes
Modify or delete default rules	❌ Never — blocked at MCP layer

Attempting to write to 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 returns:

{
  "error": true,
  "blocked": true,
  "detail": "Writing to the default org is forbidden via MCP. Default rules are immutable and shared across all customers."
}