Coding Tools MCP is a model-neutral coding-agent runtime MCP server. It exposes local coding primitives to any MCP client:
inspect repo -> search/read files -> apply structured patches -> run tests/commands
-> interact with stdin sessions -> inspect git status/diff
It is not a prompt wrapper. It does not expose external agent accounts, memory, cloud tasks, web search, image generation, model routing, plugin marketplace, or subagent orchestration as MCP tools.
QuickstartMCP client configurationRemote MCPTools and schemasPermission modesExec command recipesDocker sandboxSecurity policySecurity boundaryCI and test commandsDogfoodSWE-bench evaluationKnown limitationsTroubleshootingExec troubleshootingCompetitive analysis- Normative MCP runtime profile: docs/profile-v0.1.md
Install the published command from PyPI:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xyTom/coding-tools-mcp/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
Install and start local Streamable HTTP against a workspace:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xyTom/coding-tools-mcp/main/scripts/install.sh \
| bash -s -- --start --workspace /path/to/repo
Install and expose a read-only bearer-token tunnel:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xyTom/coding-tools-mcp/main/scripts/install.sh \
| bash -s -- --tunnel cloudflared --auto-install-tunnel --workspace /path/to/repo
Or, from this checkout:
scripts/install.sh
Run the published package without a persistent install:
uvx coding-tools-mcp --workspace .
Use stdio for MCP clients:
uvx coding-tools-mcp --stdio --workspace /path/to/repo
If you are working from this checkout instead of a published package:
make start
Pass a different workspace, host, port, or extra server flags with Make variables:
make start MCP_WORKSPACE=/path/to/repo MCP_PORT=8000 MCP_ARGS="--permission-mode trusted"
If dependencies are missing, install the runtime in editable mode:
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
HTTP endpoint:
http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp
Install the optional image extra when you want view_image
auto-resize support:
python -m pip install -e ".[image]"
Stdio:
coding-tools-mcp --stdio --workspace /path/to/repo
Set CODING_TOOLS_MCP_TRACE=1
to emit redacted JSON tool-call trace events to stderr for local debugging. Logs stay off stdout so stdio JSON-RPC remains clean.
By default, exec_command
passes a core shell environment only. For local toolchains that depend on inherited environment variables, such as MSVC developer prompts, start with:
CODING_TOOLS_MCP_SHELL_ENV_INHERIT=all coding-tools-mcp --workspace /path/to/repo
inherit=all
still filters secret-looking and /startup variables unless dangerous mode is also enabled. For local development with dependency downloads, shell expansion, and inline interpreter snippets, use:
coding-tools-mcp --permission-mode trusted --workspace /path/to/repo
--allow-network
remains available as a compatibility flag when you only want to open network-looking commands. If your MCP client does not support permission elicitation and you explicitly want to disable exec_command
permission gates inside an isolated container or VM, start with:
coding-tools-mcp --permission-mode dangerous --workspace /path/to/repo
This disables exec_command
permission gates such as network-looking commands, destructive command checks, shell expansion, inline scripts, and sensitive env checks. Workspace path boundaries for direct file tools still apply. --dangerously-skip-all-permissions
remains as a compatibility alias.
Generic stdio client:
[mcp_servers.coding_tools]
command = "uvx"
args = ["coding-tools-mcp", "--stdio", "--workspace", "/path/to/repo"]
Claude Code:
{
"mcpServers": {
"coding-tools": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["coding-tools-mcp", "--stdio", "--workspace", "/path/to/repo"]
}
}
}
Cursor:
{
"mcpServers": {
"coding-tools": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["coding-tools-mcp", "--stdio", "--workspace", "/path/to/repo"]
}
}
}
Generic Streamable HTTP clients should use MCP protocol version 2025-06-18
and point at http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp
.
For remote MCP clients and local development over an HTTPS tunnel, keep the server bound to loopback and expose the tunnel URL with the safest profile your client can use. Anonymous tunnel testing should use read-only
mode:
CODING_TOOLS_MCP_AUTH_MODE=noauth \
CODING_TOOLS_MCP_TOOL_PROFILE=read-only \
./scripts/tunnel.sh cloudflared /path/to/repo
Configure the remote MCP client with the HTTPS tunnel URL:
URL: https://<tunnel-host>/mcp
The tunnel scripts support cloudflared
, ngrok
, and Microsoft Dev Tunnel. If the selected tunnel CLI is missing, the script asks before installing it:
scripts/tunnel.sh cloudflared /path/to/repo
scripts/tunnel.sh ngrok /path/to/repo
scripts/tunnel.sh devtunnel /path/to/repo
For clients that support custom headers, use bearer-token auth with Authorization: Bearer <token>
. For MCP clients that speak OAuth 2.1 Authorization Code + PKCE, use CODING_TOOLS_MCP_AUTH_MODE=oauth
with scripts/tunnel.sh
(or scripts/install.sh --auth-mode oauth
). The server can infer its OAuth issuer from the tunnel request URL, so one-shot tunnels like cloudflared work without setting CODING_TOOLS_MCP_SERVER_URL
before startup; set it only when you want to pin a stable issuer. The script prints a generated OAuth password, accepts any non-empty client_id by default, and lets you opt into CODING_TOOLS_MCP_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID
/CODING_TOOLS_MCP_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET
only when you need to lock down a confidential client. Clients that cannot send custom bearer headers and do not speak OAuth should use anonymous read-only
mode only for local/testing tunnels, or be placed behind an external auth proxy for production use.
See docs/remote-mcp.md for the exact modes and security notes.
full
: exposes all tools with truthful annotations. This is the default for backward compatibility.read-only
: recommended for remote or safe-mode clients; exposes only inspection tools, git read tools, image viewing, and default-cwd helpers.compat-readonly-all
: exposes all tools but advertises every tool as read-only for clients that gate availability onreadOnlyHint
. This is not a safety mode; mutation-capable tools such asapply_patch
,exec_command
,write_stdin
, andkill_session
can still mutate local state.
P0 tools exposed by default:
server_info
get_default_cwd
set_default_cwd
read_file
list_dir
list_files
search_text
apply_patch
exec_command
write_stdin
kill_session
git_status
git_diff
git_log
git_show
git_blame
request_permissions
Additional image tool exposed by default:
view_image
For input/output schemas and result envelopes, see docs/tools-and-schemas.md and docs/profile-v0.1.md.
The runtime binds one workspace root per server process. Paths are workspace-relative by default. Absolute paths, ..
traversal, and symlink escapes are rejected. Recursive listing/search excludes .git
, .reference
, node_modules
, target
, dist
, build outputs, virtualenvs, and common caches by default.
exec_command
runs under policy controls with workspace-bound cwd, configurable shell environment inheritance, timeout, output caps, sensitive-value and /startup environment rejection, destructive command checks, network-looking command checks, shell-expansion permission gates, indirect absolute-path checks, cancellation/kill cleanup, session deadline watchdogs, and bounded session buffers. On Linux hosts with Landlock support it also applies filesystem confinement; on Windows, macOS, or Linux hosts without Landlock, command results include a warning and external sandboxing is required before running untrusted commands. This is still not a complete OS/container sandbox; see SECURITY.md.
--permission-mode safe
is the default. --permission-mode trusted
opens local-development gates while keeping secret filtering and destructive-command checks. --permission-mode dangerous
disables exec_command
permission gates for operators who accept that risk inside an isolated runner. Do not use dangerous mode for untrusted workspaces or untrusted MCP clients.
make compliance
Compliance and CI commands are documented in docs/ci-and-tests.md. The checked-in report files are generated artifacts; inspect their suite
field before treating them as full compliance evidence.
Dogfood and SWE-bench notes live in docs/dogfood.md, docs/swe-bench.md, and BENCHMARK.md. This repository does not claim a model-generated SWE-bench leaderboard result.
make lint
make typecheck
make test
make compliance
make ci
See docs/ci-and-tests.md for the full test matrix.
This project is source-available, not open source. See LICENSE. Internal evaluation, development, testing, and security review are permitted; redistribution, hosted third-party service use, and production commercial use require prior written permission.