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Docs MCP Server

The AppJars Docs MCP Server gives AI coding assistants direct access to this documentation through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). With the server installed, an assistant such as Claude Code, Cursor or GitHub Copilot searches the AppJars documentation and reads its pages while it works, instead of relying on what it learned during training. Its answers about integrating, configuring and customising an AppJar are then based on the current documentation.

Installation instructions for every supported client are published at mcp.appjars.com.

The server runs locally on the developer's machine and reads the public documentation site at https://docs.appjars.com. It requires no account, no API key and no license, and no hosted service is involved. It is built on the open source @serverless-dna/mkdocs-mcp package, which indexes the documentation site.

Requirements

  • Node.js 18 or later, with npx available on the PATH. The client starts the server with npx, which downloads the package on first use.
  • An MCP client that can start a local server over the stdio transport. Most AI coding assistants support it, including Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Cline, Roo Code, Continue, Zed, JetBrains AI Assistant, Junie, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, OpenCode and LM Studio.

Installation

Every client uses a variation of the same server entry, named appjars-docs:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "appjars-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@serverless-dna/mkdocs-mcp",
        "https://docs.appjars.com/",
        "Official AppJars documentation. Use this to search for guides, references, and integration steps for the AppJars suite of full-stack functional modules for Java enterprise applications built on Spring Boot and Vaadin, including User Manager, AI Support, Activity Log, Configuration Manager, Dynamic Menu, Email Manager, I18N Manager, Issue Tracker, Process Manager, and User Profile."
      ]
    }
  }
}

The arguments are:

  • -y: lets npx install the package without asking for confirmation.
  • @serverless-dna/mkdocs-mcp: the package that implements the server.
  • https://docs.appjars.com/: the documentation site that the server indexes.
  • Description: the text the assistant reads to decide when to use the server. Keep it descriptive.

The location of the configuration file and its exact format depend on the client. For example, VS Code uses a servers key instead of mcpServers, and Codex CLI uses TOML. mcp.appjars.com provides a ready-to-copy configuration and the file location for each supported client.

Claude Code

In Claude Code, add the server with a single command:

claude mcp add appjars-docs -- npx -y @serverless-dna/mkdocs-mcp https://docs.appjars.com/ "Official AppJars documentation. Use this to search for guides, references, and integration steps for the AppJars suite of full-stack functional modules for Java enterprise applications built on Spring Boot and Vaadin, including User Manager, AI Support, Activity Log, Configuration Manager, Dynamic Menu, Email Manager, I18N Manager, Issue Tracker, Process Manager, and User Profile."

Alternatively, add the server entry above to the .mcp.json file of the project, or to ~/.claude.json to make it available in every project. Restart any running Claude Code session and run /mcp to confirm that the server is connected.

Available Tools

The server exposes two tools to the assistant:

  • searchMkDoc: searches the documentation and returns the matching pages and sections.
  • fetchMkDoc: retrieves the content of a documentation page.

The assistant chooses when to call them. A prompt can also name the server explicitly to make sure the documentation is consulted.

Verifying the Installation

Ask the assistant a question that only the AppJars documentation answers, for example:

Using the appjars-docs MCP, how do I assign a router layout to the User Manager views?

The assistant should call the search tool and base its answer on pages of docs.appjars.com. If it does not, check that the client lists the appjars-docs server as connected and that npx is available on the PATH used by the client. Some clients, such as JetBrains IDEs, do not inherit the shell PATH; in that case, set command to the absolute path of npx.

Note

The server reads the published documentation at https://docs.appjars.com, so its answers always reflect the current documentation without updating the client configuration.

Using It with Craft

Projects generated with Craft include an AGENTS.md file that describes the project layout for AI coding assistants. Together with the Docs MCP Server, an assistant knows both the structure of the generated project and how each integrated AppJar is configured and customised.