mcp-devtools: Instructions file for GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot Instructions for MCP DevTools

Project Overview

MCP DevTools is a single, high-performance MCP (Model Context Protocol) server written in Go that replaces many Node.js and Python-based MCP servers with one efficient binary. It provides access to essential developer tools through a unified, modular interface that can be easily extended with new tools.

Key Features:

• Single binary solution replacing multiple resource-heavy servers
• 16+ essential developer tools in one package
• Built in Go for speed, efficiency, and minimal memory footprint
• Fast startup and response times
• Modular tool registry architecture allowing easy addition of new tools
• Supports multiple transports: stdio (default) and streamable HTTP

Development Setup

Building the Project

# Build the server
make build

# The binary will be created at: bin/mcp-devtools

Running the Server

# Run with stdio transport (default)
make run

# Run with HTTP transport
make run-http

Testing

# Run all tests (includes external API integration tests, ~10s)
make test

# Run fast tests (skips external dependencies, ~7s)
make test-fast

# Run tests with detailed timing
make test-verbose

Linting and Code Quality

# Format code
make fmt

# Run linters and modernisation checks
make lint
# This runs: gofmt, golangci-lint, and gopls modernize

Dependencies

# Install Go dependencies
make deps

# Install all dependencies (Go + Python for document processing)
make install-all

Project Structure

mcp-devtools/
├── internal/
│   ├── tools/           # All tool implementations
│   ├── registry/        # Tool registration system
│   ├── security/        # Security framework for file/network operations
│   ├── handlers/        # MCP protocol handlers
│   ├── config/          # Configuration management
│   ├── oauth/           # OAuth functionality
│   ├── cache/           # Caching utilities
│   ├── utils/           # Utility functions
│   └── imports/         # Import management
├── tests/
│   ├── tools/           # Unit tests for tools (REQUIRED for all tools)
│   ├── benchmarks/      # Performance and token cost tests
│   ├── oauth/           # OAuth tests
│   └── unit/            # Unit tests for internal packages
├── docs/
│   └── tools/           # Tool documentation (REQUIRED when adding tools)
├── main.go              # Entry point - import new tools here
├── Makefile             # Build, test, and development commands
└── mcp.json             # MCP server configuration