mcp-cli

# MCP-CLI

Access MCP servers through the command line. MCP enables interaction with external systems like GitHub, filesystems, databases, and APIs.

## Prerequisites

Install mcp-cli:

```bash
bun install -g https://github.com/philschmid/mcp-cli
```

## Configuration

Create `mcp_servers.json` in current directory or `~/.config/mcp/`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "."]
    },
    "deepwiki": {
      "url": "https://mcp.deepwiki.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

- **stdio servers**: Use `command` + `args`
- **HTTP servers**: Use `url`

## Commands

| Command | Output |
|---------|--------|
| `mcp-cli` | List all servers and tool names |
| `mcp-cli <server>` | Show tools with parameters |
| `mcp-cli <server>/<tool>` | Get tool JSON schema |
| `mcp-cli <server>/<tool> '<json>'` | Call tool with arguments |
| `mcp-cli grep "<glob>"` | Search tools by name |

**Add `-d` to include descriptions** (e.g., `mcp-cli filesystem -d`)

## Workflow

1. **Discover**: `mcp-cli` - see available servers and tools
2. **Explore**: `mcp-cli <server>` - see tools with parameters
3. **Inspect**: `mcp-cli <server>/<tool>` - get full JSON input schema
4. **Execute**: `mcp-cli <server>/<tool> '<json>'` - run with arguments

## Examples

```bash
# List all servers and tool names
mcp-cli

# See all tools with parameters
mcp-cli filesystem

# With descriptions (more verbose)
mcp-cli filesystem -d

# Get JSON schema for specific tool
mcp-cli filesystem/read_file

# Call the tool
mcp-cli filesystem/read_file '{"path": "./README.md"}'

# Search for tools
mcp-cli grep "*file*"

# JSON output for parsing
mcp-cli filesystem/read_file '{"path": "./README.md"}' --json

# Complex JSON with quotes (use heredoc or stdin)
mcp-cli server/tool <<EOF
{"content": "Text with 'quotes' inside"}
EOF

# Or pipe from a file/command
cat args.json | mcp-cli server/tool

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