The MCP server for Mindmap enables the transformation of Markdown content into interactive, visual mindmaps that can be viewed in your browser. This implementation of the Model Context Protocol allows Claude and other MCP-compatible clients to generate dynamic mindmap visualizations directly from your conversations.

Installation Options

You can install the Mindmap MCP server in several ways:

Using pip

pip install mindmap-mcp-server

Using uvx

uvx mindmap-mcp-server

Using Docker (Recommended)

docker pull ychen94/mindmap-converter-mcp

Docker provides the most consistent installation experience across operating systems.

Prerequisites

When using the Python or uvx installation methods, you'll need Node.js installed on your system for the server to work properly.

Configuration

Setting Up with Claude Desktop

Add the Mindmap MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration file (claude_desktop_config.json):

Using uvx (Recommended)

Return HTML content (viewable in artifacts):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mindmap": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mindmap-mcp-server", "--return-type", "html"]
    }
  }
}

Or return a file path (saves tokens):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mindmap": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mindmap-mcp-server", "--return-type", "filePath"]
    }
  }
}

Using Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mindmap-converter": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "-v", "/path/to/output/folder:/output", "ychen94/mindmap-converter-mcp:latest"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/output/folder with an actual path where you want to save mindmaps (e.g., /Users/username/Downloads on macOS).

Using the Mindmap Tool

After configuration, you can ask Claude to create mindmaps in several ways:

Basic Mindmap Generation

give a mindmap for the following markdown code, using a mindmap tool:

Project Planning

Research

Market Analysis

Competitor Review

Design

Wireframes

Mockups

Development

Frontend

Backend

Testing

Unit Tests

User Testing

Saving and Opening with Terminal

give a mindmap for the following markdown input_code using a mindmap tool,
after that, use iterm to open the generated html file.
input_code:

your markdown content here

Conceptual Mindmaps

Think about the process of putting an elephant into a refrigerator, and provide a mind map. Open it with a terminal.

Docker Tools and Options

The Docker container provides two main tools:

markdown-to-mindmap-content

Returns the complete HTML mindmap content:

Parameters:

markdown (string, required): Markdown content to convert
toolbar (boolean, optional): Whether to show the toolbar (default: true)

Best for: Simple mindmaps viewable via artifacts in your AI client.

markdown-to-mindmap-file

Saves the mindmap to a file and returns the path:

Parameters:

markdown (string, required): Markdown content to convert
filename (string, optional): Custom filename (default: auto-generated)
toolbar (boolean, optional): Whether to show the toolbar (default: true)

Best for: Complex mindmaps or when you want to save tokens.

Troubleshooting

File Not Found

Verify correct volume mounting in Docker
Check path format is correct for your OS
Ensure Docker has permission to access the directory

Docker Command Not Found

Verify Docker is installed and in your PATH
Try using the absolute path to Docker

Server Not Appearing in Claude

Restart Claude Desktop after configuration changes
Check Claude logs for errors
Verify Docker is running

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 "mindmap" '{"command":"uvx","args":["mindmap-mcp-server","--return-type","filePath"]}'

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": {
        "mindmap": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mindmap-mcp-server",
                "--return-type",
                "filePath"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "mindmap": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mindmap-mcp-server",
                "--return-type",
                "filePath"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect

Markdown Mindmap MCP server