setup-mcp

/setup-mcp

Configures .mcp.json with MCP servers for external services.

Mode Detection

Read .claude/starter-context.json if it exists
  → Exists: use field mcp_selected — skip asking, go straight to lookup + write
  → Does not exist (standalone): ask "Which external services does your project use?"

Argument Handling

If a service name is passed directly (e.g. /setup-mcp github): skip the service selection prompt and go straight to lookup for that service.

Service Lookup

Load mcp-registry.json and show the available services:

GitHub       → code search, PR management, issues
Linear       → issue tracking, sprint planning
Slack        → search messages, read channels
Sentry       → error tracking, performance data
PostgreSQL   → direct DB queries, schema inspection
Google Drive → search and read documents
Notion       → read and search pages and databases
Jira         → issue tracking, sprint management

For each selected service:

1. Look up config in the registry.
2. If authRequired is true: show auth requirement before writing:

   "This server requires [authNote]. Do you have credentials ready?" If no: offer to skip and add later.

3. If service type is stdio: ask for required runtime values (e.g. connection string) before writing — never write placeholder values literally.
4. Show config preview (see Output Format below).
5. Attempt test connection after writing (see Verification below).
6. Confirm before writing.

If the requested service is not in the registry: do not fabricate a config. Ask the user to paste an MCP URL if they have one, or skip for now.

Output Format

If .mcp.json does not exist: create it with { "mcpServers": {} }.

HTTP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "type": "http",
      "description": "Search code, manage PRs and issues"
    }
  }
}

stdio server (e.g. PostgreSQL — ask user for connection string first):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://user:pass@host/db"],
      "description": "Direct database queries and schema inspection"
    }
  }
}