MCP Server Management

June 21, 2025 · View on GitHub

This document explains how to add and manage MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers in the Docker Claude setup.

Quick Start

To add a new MCP server:

  1. Edit mcp-servers.txt
  2. Add your MCP server installation command
  3. Rebuild the Docker image

File Structure

  • mcp-servers.txt - List of MCP server installation commands
  • install-mcp-servers.sh - Script that processes and installs MCP servers
  • .env - Environment variables (for MCP servers that need API keys)

Adding MCP Servers

Simple MCP Servers (No Environment Variables)

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always use -s user flag to make MCPs available across all projects!

Add a line like this to mcp-servers.txt:

claude mcp add -s user <name> -- <command> <args>

Example:

claude mcp add -s user filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem

Without -s user: MCP will only be available in the Docker build directory (/app) With -s user: MCP will be available in any project directory (/workspace, etc.)

MCP Servers with Environment Variables

For servers that need API keys or configuration:

claude mcp add-json <name> -s user '{"command":"...","args":[...],"env":{"KEY":"${ENV_VAR}"}}'

Example:

claude mcp add-json github -s user '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],"env":{"GITHUB_TOKEN":"${GITHUB_TOKEN}"}}'

Environment Variables

  1. Add required variables to .env:
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_token_here
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key_here

  1. Reference them in mcp-servers.txt using ${VAR_NAME} syntax

  2. The install script will:

    • Skip servers with missing required env vars
    • Log which variables are missing
    • Continue installing other servers

Currently Installed MCP Servers

  • Serena - Powerful coding agent toolkit with project indexing and symbol manipulation
  • Context7 - Pulls up-to-date, version-specific documentation and code examples straight from the source into your prompt
  • Twilio - SMS messaging for task completion notifications (requires TWILIO_* env vars)
# Filesystem access
claude mcp add -s user filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem

# GitHub integration
claude mcp add-json github -s user '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],"env":{"GITHUB_TOKEN":"${GITHUB_TOKEN}"}}'

# Browser automation
claude mcp add -s user browser -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-browser

# Memory/knowledge base
claude mcp add -s user memory -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

# PostgreSQL database
claude mcp add-json postgres -s user '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],"env":{"POSTGRES_URL":"${DATABASE_URL}"}}'

Troubleshooting

MCP Server Not Installing

  • Check if required environment variables are set in .env
  • Run docker-compose build --no-cache to rebuild with latest changes
  • Check Docker build logs for error messages

Finding MCP Server Commands

Most MCP servers provide installation instructions on their GitHub pages. Look for:

  • claude mcp add commands
  • npx commands that can be wrapped in claude mcp add
  • JSON configurations for servers with environment variables

Debugging

The install script logs:

  • Which servers are being installed
  • Missing environment variables
  • Success/failure for each installation
  • Continues even if one server fails