A Strapi MCP server provides a standardized interface for AI assistants to interact with your Strapi CMS, supporting content types and REST API operations. This server bridges AI capabilities with your content management system through the Model Context Protocol.
You can use this server directly with npx in your Claude Desktop configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"strapi": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@bschauer/[email protected]"]
}
}
}
Create a configuration file at ~/.mcp/strapi-mcp-server.config.json:
{
"myserver": {
"api_url": "http://localhost:1337",
"api_key": "your-jwt-token-from-strapi-admin",
"version": "5.*" // Optional: Specify Strapi version (e.g., "5.*", "4.1.5", "v4")
}
}
You can configure multiple Strapi instances by adding them to this file.
The server supports various version formats:
This helps the server provide version-specific guidance and handle API differences appropriately.
strapi_list_servers();
// Now includes version information and differences between v4 and v5
// Get all content types from a specific server
strapi_get_content_types({
server: "myserver",
});
// Get components with pagination
strapi_get_components({
server: "myserver",
page: 1,
pageSize: 25,
});
The REST API provides comprehensive CRUD operations with built-in validation:
// Query content with filters
strapi_rest({
server: "myserver",
endpoint: "api/articles",
method: "GET",
params: {
filters: {
title: {
$contains: "search term",
},
},
},
});
// Create new content
strapi_rest({
server: "myserver",
endpoint: "api/articles",
method: "POST",
body: {
data: {
title: "New Article",
content: "Article content",
category: "news",
},
},
});
// Update content
strapi_rest({
server: "myserver",
endpoint: "api/articles/123",
method: "PUT",
body: {
data: {
title: "Updated Title",
content: "Updated content",
},
},
});
// Delete content
strapi_rest({
server: "myserver",
endpoint: "api/articles/123",
method: "DELETE",
});
// Upload image with automatic optimization
strapi_upload_media({
server: "myserver",
url: "https://example.com/image.jpg",
format: "webp",
quality: 80,
metadata: {
name: "My Image",
caption: "Image Caption",
alternativeText: "Alt Text",
},
});
Key differences between Strapi versions that the server handles automatically:
// Filter by field value
params: {
filters: {
title: "Exact Match";
}
}
// Contains filter
params: {
filters: {
title: {
$contains: "partial";
}
}
}
// Multiple conditions
params: {
filters: {
$and: [{ category: "news" }, { published: true }];
}
}
params: {
sort: ["createdAt:desc"];
}
params: {
pagination: {
page: 1,
pageSize: 25
}
}
// Basic request without population
params: {
}
// Selective population when needed
params: {
populate: ["category"];
}
// Detailed population with field selection
params: {
populate: {
category: {
fields: ["name", "slug"];
}
}
}
Common issues and solutions:
404 Errors
Authentication Issues
Version-Related Issues
Write Protection Errors
To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:
claude mcp add-json "strapi" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@bschauer/[email protected]"]}'See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.
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.
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": {
"strapi": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@bschauer/[email protected]"
]
}
}
}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.
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.
To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:
1. Find your configuration file:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json2. Add this to your configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"strapi": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@bschauer/[email protected]"
]
}
}
}3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect