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Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server

Empower your AI assistants to interact directly with your CLI using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This integration allows tools like Cursor, Claude Desktop, and VS Code (via Copilot) to understand and execute your CLI commands, enabling powerful workflows where your AI partner can perform actions, retrieve information, and automate tasks on your behalf.

The mcp command transforms your CLI into an MCP server, automatically exposing your commands as callable tools for the LLM.

Usage

To explore the available MCP commands:

my-tool mcp --help

Inspecting Available Tools

To see exactly what tools are exposed to the LLM, you can export the tool definitions:

my-tool mcp tools

This generates an mcp-tools.json file in your current directory, showing the JSON Schema for each command. This is useful for:

  • Debugging: Verify which commands are exposed and their expected parameters
  • Documentation: Understand the input/output format for each tool
  • Validation: Check tool definitions before deploying integrations

Example output structure: 

{
  "tools": [
    {
      "name": "my-tool_version",
      "description": "Print version of this program",
      "inputSchema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {}
      }
    }
  ]
}

IDE Integration

Integrating your CLI with your favorite AI-powered editor is straightforward.

Cursor

Cursor has native support for MCP. Add your CLI as a server in ~/.cursor/mcp.json or via Cursor Settings > Features > MCP.

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-tool": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/my-tool",
      "args": ["mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

Note: Be sure to use the absolute path to your tool's binary.

Claude Desktop

To use your CLI with the Claude Desktop app, edit your configuration file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add your CLI under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-tool": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/my-tool",
      "args": ["mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

If you are using GitHub Copilot in VS Code with the "Agent Mode" (check for availability), you can configure MCP servers in your workspace settings .vscode/settings.json or user settings.

{
  "github.copilot.mcpServers": {
    "my-tool": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/my-tool",
      "args": ["mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

Debugging

If the integration isn't working as expected, you can enable debug logging to inspect the communication between the IDE and the MCP server.

Add the --debug flag to your configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-tool": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/my-tool",
      "args": ["mcp", "start", "--debug"]
    }
  }
}

The debug logs will be output to stderr and should be visible in your IDE's MCP server logs panel.