mcs CLAUDE.md

A set of instructions for working on mcs, a Swift command-line tool that manages Claude Code configuration packs. These packs can provide MCP servers, plugins, skills, hooks, and settings.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when building or testing mcs, previewing configuration changes, syncing selected or all packs, or applying locked versions.
Why use it?
It gives contributors the project context, build and test commands, and the available sync options in one place. That reduces guesswork when developing or using the CLI.

Instructions file

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add instructions/mcs-cli/mcs/claude-md
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mcs-cli/mcs
Per session 4,415 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 4,415 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan B 1 finding. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.04415 $0.04415
Opus 5 $0.02207 $0.02207
Sonnet 5 $0.00883 $0.00883
Haiku 4.5 $0.00441 $0.00441

Measured 2d ago against content hash 2cdeeae3754d, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade B, and why

mcs CLAUDE.md scanned grade B with 1 finding against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 2d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Reads agent configuration directoriesmediumAgent snooping

.claude/, .codex/, .gemini/ hold keys, settings and other credentials a mod has no legitimate need for.

- `ConfigCommand.swift` — `mcs config list/get/set` for managing user preferences; `set` immediately syncs the SessionStart hook in `~/.claude/settings.json`
CLAUDE.md · 210 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 210 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

Swift CLI tool (mcs) that configures Claude Code with MCP servers, plugins, skills, hooks, and settings. Pure pack management engine with zero bundled content — all features come from external tech packs. Distributed via Homebrew.

Commands

# Development
swift build                      # Build the CLI
swift test                       # Run tests
swift build -c release --arch arm64 --arch x86_64  # Universal binary

# CLI usage (after install)
mcs sync [path]                  # Sync project: multi-select packs, compose artifacts (default command)
mcs sync --pack ios              # Non-interactive: apply specific packs (repeatable)
mcs sync --all                   # Apply all registered packs without prompts
mcs sync --dry-run               # Preview what would change
mcs sync --customize             # Per-pack component selection
mcs sync --global                # Sync global scope (MCP servers, brew, plugins to ~/.claude/)
mcs sync --lock                  # Checkout locked versions from mcs.lock.yaml
mcs update                       # Fetch latest pack versions and re-apply across every configured scope
mcs update --global              # Refresh only the global scope
mcs update --project             # Refresh only the current project's scope
mcs update --all-projects        # Refresh global + every project tracked in ~/.mcs/projects.yaml (asks confirmation)
mcs update --dry-run             # Preview what would change
mcs doctor                       # Diagnose installation health
mcs doctor --fix                 # Diagnose and auto-fix issues
mcs doctor --pack ios            # Only check a specific pack
mcs doctor --global              # Check globally-configured packs only
mcs pack add <source>            # Add a tech pack (git URL, GitHub shorthand, or local path)
mcs pack add user/repo           # GitHub shorthand → https://github.com/user/repo.git
mcs pack add /path/to/pack       # Add a local pack (read in-place, no clone)
mcs pack add <url> --ref <tag>   # Add at a specific tag, branch, or commit (git only)
mcs pack add <url> --preview     # Preview pack contents without installing
mcs pack remove <name>           # Remove an external tech pack
mcs pack remove <name> --force   # Remove without confirmation
mcs pack list                    # List registered external packs
mcs pack update [name]           # Refresh pack registry only (low-level fetch; use 'mcs update' for fetch + apply)
mcs pack validate [source]       # Validate a tech pack (path, identifier, or current directory)
mcs cleanup                      # Find and delete backup files
mcs cleanup --force              # Delete backups without confirmation
mcs export <dir>                 # Export current config as a tech pack
mcs export <dir> --global        # Export global scope (~/.claude/)
mcs export <dir> --identifier id # Set pack identifier (prompted if omitted)
mcs export <dir> --non-interactive  # Include everything without prompts
mcs export <dir> --dry-run       # Preview what would be exported
mcs check-updates                # Check for pack and CLI updates
mcs check-updates --hook         # Run as SessionStart hook (24-hour cooldown, respects config)
mcs check-updates --json         # Machine-readable JSON output
mcs config list                  # Show all settings with current values
mcs config get <key>             # Get a specific setting value
mcs config set <key> <value>     # Set a configuration value (true/false)

Read the full file on GitHub · 210 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 2d ago First seen · 210 lines · 4,415 tokens per session scan B 2cdeeae3754d

Subscribe to this mod's changes

mcs CLAUDE.md is an instructions file published in the GitHub repository mcs-cli/mcs (93 stars, last pushed 1mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 4,415 tokens to every session, about $0.0221 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it B with 1 finding (reads agent configuration directories). No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.

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