MCP server for design system documentation
MCP server for design system documentation. That is what the design system server mcp server brings to an AI assistant: the same capability, reachable through the Model Context Protocol rather than a separate app or dashboard.
This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to Appian's design system documentation through GitHub repositories. It supports both public and internal documentation sources, allowing LLMs like Claude to query and explore design system components, layouts, and patterns with appropriate access controls.
The server publishes 2 tools. What each one is for:
Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this serverTroubleshooting — The Troubleshooting tool exposed by this serverSetup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client. The configuration blocks on this page cover the common clients.
Configuration is passed through the environment: GITHUB_TOKEN, INTERNAL_DOCS_TOKEN. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.
Among the knowledge and memory options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Design System Server's toolset — Prerequisites, Troubleshooting — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by pglevy; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.
This entry was verified against Design System Server's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites | The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server. |
| Troubleshooting | The Troubleshooting tool exposed by this server. |
{
"mcpServers": {
"design-system": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/aurora-mcp/build/index.js"
]
}
}
}Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.
| Variable | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| GITHUB_TOKEN | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
| INTERNAL_DOCS_TOKEN | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
A knowledge graph your assistant keeps between sessions — entities, relations and observations that persist.
Kill hallucinated APIs — version-accurate, up-to-date library documentation injected straight into context.
Your workspace, on speaking terms with AI — search, read and write Notion pages and databases.
A structured scratchpad for hard problems — stepwise reasoning with revisions, branches and visible logic.
Symbol-level code navigation, refactoring and memory for coding agents — the IDE brain your assistant has been missing.
Chat with your second brain — search, read and write vault notes through the Local REST API.