Modern CLI MCP Server

Documentation · Tools

MCP server exposing 107 modern CLI tools to AI/LLM agents. Provides structured JSON-RPC access to filesystem, Git forges, containers, Kubernetes, and data transformation tools—all optimized for AI consumption with JSON output.

# Features

• 107 Tools in 15 Groups: Filesystem, search, Git (GitHub/GitLab), containers, Kubernetes, data processing
• AI-Optimized Output: JSON by default for structured parsing
• Access Control: .agentignore files to control which files AI agents can access
• Zero Config: Nix bundles all dependencies—no manual tool installation

# Quick Start

# # Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add to your MCP configuration:

Option 1: Nix (Recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "modern-cli": {
      "command": "nix",
      "args": ["run", "github:NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp", "- -"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "modern-cli": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "- -rm", "-i", "ghcr.io/nacosolutions/modern-cli-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Binary

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "modern-cli": {
      "command": "/path/to/modern-cli-mcp"
    }
  }
}

# Available Tools (70+)

# # Filesystem

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| eza | Modern ls with icons and git integration |
| bat | Cat with syntax highlighting |
| fd | Fast find alternative |
| duf | Disk usage viewer (JSON) |
| dust | Directory size analyzer |
| trash_* | Safe file deletion |

# # Search

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| rg | Ripgrep for fast content search (JSON) |
| fzf_filter | Fuzzy filtering |
| ast_grep | AST-based code search (JSON) |
| web_search | DuckDuckGo web search (JSON) |

# # Git Forges

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| gh_repo | GitHub repository operations (JSON) |
| gh_issue | GitHub issues (JSON) |
| gh_pr | GitHub pull requests (JSON) |
| gh_search | Search repos, issues, PRs, code (JSON) |
| gh_release | GitHub releases (JSON) |
| gh_workflow | GitHub Actions workflows (JSON) |
| gh_run | GitHub Actions runs (JSON) |
| gh_api | Direct GitHub API access (JSON) |
| glab_issue | GitLab issues (JSON) |
| glab_mr | GitLab merge requests (JSON) |
| glab_pipeline | GitLab CI/CD pipelines (JSON) |

# # Containers

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| podman | Container operations (JSON) |
| dive | Image layer analysis |
| skopeo | Registry operations (JSON) |
| crane | Low-level registry tool (JSON) |
| trivy | Security vulnerability scanner (JSON) |

# # Kubernetes

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| kubectl_get | Get resources (JSON) |
| kubectl_describe | Describe resources |
| kubectl_logs | Pod logs |
| kubectl_apply | Apply manifests |
| kubectl_delete | Delete resources |
| kubectl_exec | Execute in pods |
| stern | Multi-pod log aggregation (JSON) |
| helm | Chart management (JSON) |
| kustomize | Manifest building |

# # Data Transformation

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| jq | JSON processor |
| yq | YAML/JSON/XML processor |
| gron | JSON→greppable format |
| htmlq | jq for HTML |
| pup | HTML parser (JSON) |
| miller | Multi-format processor |
| dasel | Universal data selector |

# # Network

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| http | HTTP requests (xh) |
| dns | DNS lookups (doggo) |
| usql | Universal SQL client |

# # System

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| procs | Process viewer (JSON) |
| tokei | Code statistics (JSON) |
| hyperfine | Benchmarking (JSON) |

# # Diff/Git

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| delta | Syntax-highlighted diffs |
| difft | Structural diff |
| git_diff | Git diff with highlighting |

# # Utilities

| Tool | Description |
|- -- -- -|- -- -- -- -- -- --|
| tldr | Command cheatsheets |
| grex | Regex generator |
| ouch_* | Archive handling |
| pueue_* | Task queue |

# Installation

# # Nix with Flakes (Recommended)

Flakes are enabled by default in Determinate Nix. For standard Nix, enable with - -experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' or add to ~/.config/nix/nix.conf:

experimental-features = nix-command flakes

Run directly (no installation):

nix run github:NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp

Install to profile:

nix profile install github:NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp

Add to flake.nix:

{
  inputs.modern-cli-mcp.url = "github:NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp";

  #  Use in outputs
  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, modern-cli-mcp }: {
    #  Add to packages, devShells, etc.
  };
}

# # Nix with FlakeHub

FlakeHub provides versioned flake references with semantic versioning.

Add to flake.nix via CLI:

fh add NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp

Or manually:

{
  inputs.modern-cli-mcp.url = "https://flakehub.com/f/NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp/ *.tar.gz";
}

Run specific version:

nix run "https://flakehub.com/f/NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp/0.2.tar.gz"

# # Nix without Flakes (Classic)

For Nix installations without flakes enabled, the repository includes a default.nix via flake-compat:

Build from tarball:

nix-build https://github.com/NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp/archive/main.tar.gz -A defaultNix.default
./result/bin/modern-cli-mcp

Or clone and build locally:

git clone https://github.com/NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp
cd modern-cli-mcp
nix-build
./result/bin/modern-cli-mcp

Install to profile:

nix-env -if https://github.com/NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp/archive/main.tar.gz -A defaultNix.default

# # Docker

docker pull ghcr.io/nacosolutions/modern-cli-mcp
docker run - -rm -i ghcr.io/nacosolutions/modern-cli-mcp

# # From Source (Cargo)

Requires CLI tools to be installed separately in PATH:

cargo install - -git https://github.com/NacoSolutions/modern-cli-mcp

# Development

# # With Nix (Recommended)

#  Enter dev shell
nix develop

#  Available commands (run 'menu' for full list)
build         #  Build release binary
run           #  Run the server
test          #  Run tests
check         #  Cargo check
clippy        #  Lint with clippy
fmt           #  Format code
flake-check   #  Nix flake checks

# # Without Nix

#  Requires Rust toolchain and CLI tools installed separately
cargo build - -release
cargo run
cargo test

# Architecture

src/
├── main.rs           #  Entry point, MCP server setup
└── tools/
    ├── mod.rs        #  Tool registration and routing
    └── executor.rs   #  Tool execution logic

The server wraps CLI tools with structured JSON input/output. Each tool:

1. Validates parameters via JSON Schema
2. Constructs the appropriate command
3. Executes and captures output
4. Returns structured results

# Configuration

The Nix package bundles all CLI tools. When running via cargo, ensure tools are in PATH.

# # Environment Variables

• RUST_LOG - Logging level (default: info)

# # .agentignore

Control which files AI agents can access using .agentignore files. Uses gitignore syntax but operates independently—tools respect .agentignore only, not .gitignore.

Pattern sources (in order of precedence):

1. ~/.config/agent/ignore - Global patterns for all projects
2. .agentignore - Per-directory patterns (walked up from working directory)

Example .agentignore:

#  Secrets and credentials
*.secret
.env*
secrets/
credentials.json

#  Large generated files
node_modules/
target/
*.min.js

#  Sensitive data
*.pem
*.key

Behavior:

• Blocked paths return an error: Path is blocked by .agentignore: /path/to/file
• Search tools (fd, rg, ast-grep) automatically apply ignore patterns
• Patterns in child directories extend (not replace) parent patterns

# License

MIT