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MCP CLI Catalog Server

An MCP server that publishes CLI tools on your machine for discoverability by LLMs

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abcpro1-mcp-cli-catalog": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-cli-catalog"
      ]
    }
  }
}

You publish your CLI tools as MCP tools so an MCP client can discover and instruct you to run them via the shell. This catalog server makes your local CLI commands visible to the MCP workflow, enabling efficient tool usage without executing commands directly from the LLM.

How to use

Use the MCP client to query the catalog and discover which CLI tools are available. The catalog exposes your CLI tools as MCP tool definitions, and the LLM will instruct the shell when to run them. To utilize a tool, reference its name in your MCP workflow and, if provided, its usage hint will appear in responses.

How to install

Prerequisites: ensure Node.js and npm are installed on your machine. You will run a small server that exposes your CLI tools via MCP.

2 ways to add the catalog to your MCP config. Pick the approach you prefer and follow the corresponding commands.

Configuration and usage details

There are two standard MCP server entries you can add to your MCP configuration to point at your local CLI catalog. The server runs via npx and does not execute tools by itself; it merely describes them to the MCP system.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cli_catalog": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-cli-catalog"]
    }
  }
}
```

Or with a custom catalog path:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cli_catalog": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-cli-catalog", "--config", "./tools.json"]
    }
  }
}

Additional notes

If you want to test the server, you can inspect its behavior using the MCP Inspector against the catalog name you configured. The inspector confirms that the server is reachable and that the catalog exposes the defined tools.

Tools exposed by the catalog

The catalog makes the following CLI tools discoverable to the MCP client.

Available tools

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