Maven Tools MCP server for AI agents

The Maven Tools MCP Server is a powerful solution that connects AI assistants to Maven Central repository information, providing instant and accurate dependency intelligence for JVM build tools like Maven, Gradle, SBT, and Mill.

Installation

Setup for Claude Desktop

Step 1: Locate your Claude Desktop configuration file

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

Step 2: Add this configuration (using pre-built Docker image):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Prerequisites: Docker installed and running

If you're on a corporate network with SSL inspection, you might need to build a custom image with your corporate certificates.

Setup for VS Code with GitHub Copilot

Option 1: Workspace Configuration - Create .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: User Settings - Add to your VS Code settings:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "maven-tools": {
        "type": "stdio", 
        "command": "docker",
        "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage: Open Chat view (Ctrl+Alt+I), select Agent mode, then use the Tools button to enable Maven tools.

Using the Server

Core Maven Intelligence Tools

The server provides 8 primary tools for dependency analysis:

get_latest_version - Get newest version with stability preferences
check_version_exists - Verify if specific version exists with type info
check_multiple_dependencies - Check multiple dependencies with filtering
compare_dependency_versions - Compare current vs latest with upgrade recommendations
analyze_dependency_age - Classify dependencies as fresh/current/aging/stale
analyze_release_patterns - Analyze maintenance activity and predict releases
get_version_timeline - Enhanced version timeline with temporal analysis
analyze_project_health - Comprehensive health analysis for multiple dependencies

Examples

Getting Latest Version

{
  "dependency": "org.springframework:spring-core",
  "preferStable": true
}

Checking Multiple Dependencies

{
  "dependencies": "org.springframework:spring-boot,com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core",
  "stableOnly": true
}

Comparing Versions

{
  "currentDependencies": "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib:1.8.0,com.squareup.retrofit2:retrofit:2.9.0",
  "onlyStableTargets": false
}

Context7 Documentation Tools

The server also provides access to Context7 documentation tools:

resolve-library-id - Search for library documentation
get-library-docs - Get library documentation by ID

Advanced Features

Dependency Age Analysis

{
  "dependency": "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter",
  "age_classification": "current",
  "days_since_release": 45,
  "recommendation": "Actively maintained - consider updating if needed"
}

Project Health Check

{
  "overall_health": "good",
  "average_health_score": 78,
  "age_distribution": {"fresh": 2, "current": 8, "aging": 3, "stale": 1}
}

Alternative Setup Methods

Using Docker Compose

Download docker-compose.yml and configure:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "compose", "-f", "/absolute/path/to/docker-compose.yml", 
        "run", "--rm", "maven-tools-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Build from Source

Prerequisites:

Java 24
Maven 3.9+

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/arvindand/maven-tools-mcp.git
cd maven-tools-mcp

# Quick build
./mvnw clean package -Pci

# Run the JAR
java -jar target/maven-tools-mcp-1.5.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

Image Variants

Image Tag	Contents	When to Use
`arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest`	Native image with Context7 tools enabled	Default experience
`arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest-noc7`	Native image without Context7	Environments without access to `mcp.context7.com`
`arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:<version>`	Version-specific image	Pin to an exact release

The server supports all JVM build tools (Maven, Gradle, SBT, Mill) using standard Maven coordinates in the format groupId:artifactId.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "maven-tools" '{"command":"docker","args":["run","-i","--rm","-e","SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=docker","arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "maven-tools": {
            "command": "docker",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "-i",
                "--rm",
                "-e",
                "SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=docker",
                "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your 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 this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "maven-tools": {
            "command": "docker",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "-i",
                "--rm",
                "-e",
                "SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=docker",
                "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect