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Local Installation & Development Setup

This guide is for developers who want to contribute to this server, run it directly from a cloned repository, or use npm link for local testing.

For general users, the recommended methods (global NPM install or npx) are covered in the main README.md.

Option 1: Running Directly from a Cloned Repository (using start.sh)

This method is suitable if you prefer not to install the server globally or want to manage it directly within a specific path for development or testing.

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/steipete/claude-code-mcp.git # Or your fork/actual repo URL
cd claude-code-mcp

  2. Install dependencies: This will also install tsx for direct TypeScript execution via start.sh.

    npm install

  3. Make the start script executable:

    chmod +x start.sh

  4. Configure MCP Client for start.sh: Update your mcp.json file (e.g., ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json) to point to the start.sh script:

    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude_code": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": ["/absolute/path/to/claude-mcp-server/start.sh"],
      "args": []
    }
    // ... other MCP server configurations
  }
}

    Important: Replace /absolute/path/to/claude-mcp-server with the actual absolute path to where you cloned the server.

  5. First-Time Claude CLI Permissions: As mentioned in the main README, ensure you've run the Claude CLI once with --dangerously-skip-permissions to accept terms:

    claude -p "hello" --dangerously-skip-permissions
# Or ~/.claude/local/claude -p "hello" --dangerously-skip-permissions

  6. Environment Variables for start.sh (Optional): You can customize the server behavior by setting environment variables before running start.sh or by editing the start.sh script itself:

    • CLAUDE_CLI_PATH: Set a custom absolute path to the Claude CLI executable.
    • MCP_CLAUDE_DEBUG: Set to true to enable verbose debug logging from the MCP server.
    • CLAUDE_CLI_TOOLS_DEFAULT: Comma-separated list of default tools.
    • CLAUDE_CLI_TOOLS_DANGEROUS: Comma-separated list of tools to always enable. Refer to start.sh and the main README's "Configuration via Environment Variables" section for more details.

Option 2: Local Development with npm link

This method allows you to install the package globally but have it point to your local cloned repository. This is useful for testing the global command (claude-code-mcp) with your local changes.

  1. Clone the repository (if not already done):

    git clone https://github.com/steipete/claude-code-mcp.git # Or your fork/actual repo URL
cd claude-code-mcp

  2. Install dependencies and build:

    npm install       # Install dependencies
npm run build     # Compile TypeScript to the dist/ directory

  3. Link the package: This makes claude-code-mcp (as defined in package.json's bin field) available globally, pointing to your local dist/server.js.

    npm link

    After linking, running claude-code-mcp in your terminal will execute your local build.

  4. Configure MCP Client for Linked Command: Update your mcp.json file to use the claude-code-mcp command (which now points to your local linked version):

    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude_code": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": ["claude-code-mcp"],
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "MCP_CLAUDE_DEBUG": "false" // Or "true" for debugging
        // You can set other ENV VARS here too if needed for the linked command
      }
    }
  }
}

  5. Rebuilding after changes: If you make changes to the TypeScript source (src/), you'll need to rebuild for npm link to reflect them:

    npm run build

    There's no need to run npm link again unless package.json (especially the bin field) changes.

General Development Notes

  • TypeScript: The server is written in TypeScript. Code is in the src/ directory and compiled to dist/.
  • Prerequisites: Ensure Node.js v20+ and a working Claude CLI are installed.
  • Contributing: Submit issues and pull requests to the main GitHub repository.