/install-mcp

A template Claude Code slash command that intelligently routes MCP server installations across multiple MetaMCP instances based on a tiered preference system.

What This Does

When you tell Claude "I want to install this MCP," this slash command instructs it to:

1. Evaluate whether the MCP needs local desktop resources (filesystem, hardware, local binaries)
2. Prefer remote deployment to a networked MetaMCP instance (always-on, shared across machines)
3. Fall back to local only when the MCP genuinely can't work over the network
4. Route to the correct namespace (personal vs. work) based on the MCP's purpose or your instruction

The Setup This Models

This template assumes a two-instance MetaMCP architecture:

graph TB
    Desktop["🖥️ Desktop Client<br/>(Claude Code / AI Tool)"]

    subgraph local["Localhost — MetaMCP Instance 1"]
        direction TB
        LP["personal-desktop<br/>namespace"]
        LW["work-desktop<br/>namespace"]
    end

    subgraph remote["LAN Server — MetaMCP Instance 2"]
        direction TB
        RP["personal-remote<br/>namespace"]
        RW["work-remote<br/>namespace"]
    end

    Desktop -- "SSE (fallback — local<br/>resources needed)" --> local
    Desktop -- "SSE (preferred —<br/>always-on)" --> remote

    subgraph local_mcps["Local MCP Servers"]
        LM1["Audio Transcription<br/>(local file input)"]
        LM2["Screenshot Capture<br/>(display access)"]
        LM3["Filesystem MCP<br/>(local paths)"]
    end

    subgraph remote_mcps["Remote MCP Servers"]
        RM1["Gmail / Calendar<br/>(cloud API)"]
        RM2["GitHub / Slack<br/>(cloud API)"]
        RM3["Image Gen / AI<br/>(returns URLs)"]
    end

    local --> local_mcps
    remote --> remote_mcps

    style local fill:#fff3cd,stroke:#ffc107
    style remote fill:#d1ecf1,stroke:#17a2b8
    style local_mcps fill:#f8d7da,stroke:#dc3545
    style remote_mcps fill:#d4edda,stroke:#28a745

Key principle: The remote server is always preferred. The local instance is only used when an MCP genuinely needs access to the desktop's filesystem, hardware, or local binaries.

How to Use This Template

1. Fork or copy this repo

2. Edit install-mcp.md

Replace the placeholder values with your actual setup:

Placeholder	Replace With
mcp.example.com	Your remote MetaMCP host
10.0.0.4	Your remote server's LAN IP
desktop-mcp.example.com	Your local MetaMCP tunnel domain
localhost:12008	Your local MetaMCP port
personal-remote / work-remote	Your remote namespace names
personal-desktop / work-desktop	Your local namespace names

3. Install the slash command

Copy install-mcp.md to your Claude Code commands directory:

# User-level (available in all projects)
cp install-mcp.md ~/.claude/commands/install-mcp.md

# Or project-level
cp install-mcp.md .claude/commands/install-mcp.md

4. Use it

In Claude Code, type:

/install-mcp

Then tell Claude which MCP you want to install. It will handle the rest.

Adapting to Your Setup

Single MetaMCP instance? Remove the remote/local decision tree and just keep the personal/work namespace routing.

More than two namespaces? Add additional namespaces to the flowchart (e.g., dev, staging, shared-team).

No personal/work split? Simplify to just the location decision (remote vs. local).

Different fallback criteria? Edit the "Deploy here ONLY when" section in install-mcp.md to match your constraints.

Why MetaMCP?

MetaMCP aggregates multiple MCP servers behind a single SSE endpoint, with namespace-based routing. This means your AI tools connect to one URL per namespace rather than managing dozens of individual MCP connections. It's transport-agnostic — stdio MCPs get wrapped behind SSE automatically.

License

MIT