Cli2mcp MCP Server

Wrap any CLI as a Model Context Protocol server - schema auto-inferred from --help.

Local serverstdioPython

What is the Cli2mcp MCP server?

Connect Cli2mcp to Claude, Cursor or any other MCP client and it stops being a tab you switch to. Wrap any CLI as a Model Context Protocol server - schema auto-inferred from --help. The cli2mcp mcp server is what makes that connection.

What the server does

Expose any command-line binary as a Model Context Protocol tool by parsing its --help output and synthesizing a JSON Schema at startup. One command, no boilerplate.

Available tools

The toolset is worth reading before you wire it up, because it tells you what the integration is really for:

  • GitHub@RonieNeubauer
  • Blogronieneubauer.com
  • macOS — ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows — %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  • Linux — ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Client — Config file
  • Cursor — .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global)
  • Cline — VS Code → Cline → MCP Settings → cline_mcp_settings.json
  • Windsurf — ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
  • Continue — ~/.continue/config.json → experimental.modelContextProtocolServers
  • Zed — ~/.config/zed/settings.json → context_servers
  • Approach — LOC per CLI

Installation

Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at cli2mcp on npm and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.

Where it fits

This sits in the developer tooling group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. Cli2mcp's toolset — GitHub, Blog, macOS and 11 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by RonieNeubauer; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

This entry was verified against Cli2mcp's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.

Worth knowing first

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 14 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Cli2mcp.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
GitHub[@RonieNeubauer](https://github.com/RonieNeubauer)
Blog[ronieneubauer.com](https://ronieneubauer.com)
macOS~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
ClientConfig file
Cursor.cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global)
ClineVS Code → Cline → MCP Settings → cline_mcp_settings.json
Windsurf~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
Continue~/.continue/config.json → experimental.modelContextProtocolServers
Zed~/.config/zed/settings.json → context_servers
ApproachLOC per CLI
CLIStatus
curl✅ fixture

How to install the Cli2mcp MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ripgrep": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "cli2mcp", "rg", "--name", "ripgrep",
               "--description", "Recursively search files with regex"]
    },
    "jq": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "cli2mcp", "jq",
               "--description", "Query and transform JSON via stdin"]
    },
    "pandoc": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "cli2mcp", "pandoc",
               "--description", "Convert documents between markup formats"]
    },
    "sqlite3": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "cli2mcp", "sqlite3",
               "--description", "Run SQL against a SQLite database file",
               "--cwd", "/path/to/safe/dir"]
    },
    "yt-dlp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "cli2mcp", "yt-dlp",
               "--description", "Download media from URLs",
               "--cwd", "/path/to/downloads",
               "--timeout", "300000"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Example prompts to try

  • Use Cli2mcp to GitHub.
  • Use Cli2mcp to Blog.
  • Use Cli2mcp to macOS.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Cli2mcp to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 14 tools (GitHub, Blog, macOS, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Cli2mcp directly.