DevDocs MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the extensive DevDocs.io API documentation library. Access 600+ documentation sets including Python, JavaScript, React, Django, PostgreSQL, and many more directly through Claude Desktop or any MCP-compatible client.

Features

• List Documentation Sets: Browse all 600+ available documentation libraries
• Search Within Docs: Search for specific topics within a documentation set
• Global Search: Search across multiple documentation sets simultaneously
• Fetch Content: Retrieve full HTML documentation content
• Browse Index: View complete table of contents for any documentation
• Smart Caching: Automatic caching for improved performance
• Type Safety: Built with TypeScript for reliability

Available Documentation

DevDocs.io aggregates documentation from numerous sources including:

• Languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Rust, Go, C++, Ruby, PHP, Java, Kotlin, Swift, and 30+ more
• Frameworks: React, Vue, Angular, Django, Flask, Laravel, Rails, Express, Next.js, and many more
• Libraries: NumPy, pandas, PyTorch, TensorFlow, D3.js, Lodash, jQuery
• Tools: Docker, Kubernetes, Git, webpack, npm, CMake
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Redis, MongoDB
• Web APIs: DOM, HTML, CSS, HTTP, Web APIs from MDN

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher
• npm or yarn

Setup

1. Clone or download this repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd apidocs

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the project:

npm run build

Configure Claude Desktop

Add this server to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devdocs": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/apidocs/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/apidocs with the actual path to your installation.

Tools

The server provides five powerful tools:

1. list_docs

List all available documentation sets with optional filtering.

Parameters:

• filter (optional): String to filter documentation by name

Example:

{
  "filter": "python"
}

Returns: Array of documentation metadata including name, slug, version, links, and size.

2. search_doc

Search within a specific documentation set.

Parameters:

• doc_slug (required): Documentation slug (e.g., "javascript", "python~3.12", "react")
• query (required): Search query string

Example:

{
  "doc_slug": "javascript",
  "query": "array map"
}

Returns: Array of matching entries with name, path, type, and full URL (limited to 20 results).

3. search_all_docs

Search across multiple documentation sets simultaneously.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search query string
• doc_slugs (optional): Array of specific documentation slugs to search

Example:

{
  "query": "authentication",
  "doc_slugs": ["django~5.1", "flask~3.1", "express"]
}

Returns: Combined search results from multiple docs (limited to 50 results).

4. get_doc_content

Fetch the full HTML content for a specific documentation entry.

Parameters:

• doc_slug (required): Documentation slug
• path (required): Entry path (from search results)

Example:

{
  "doc_slug": "javascript",
  "path": "global_objects/array/map"
}

Returns: Full HTML content of the documentation entry.

5. get_doc_index

Get the complete index/table of contents for a documentation set.

Parameters:

• doc_slug (required): Documentation slug

Example:

{
  "doc_slug": "react"
}

Returns: Complete index with entry names, paths, and types (first 100 entries shown).

Usage Examples

Finding Python Documentation

1. List Python docs:

   • Tool: list_docs
   • Filter: "python"

2. Search for "list comprehension":

   • Tool: search_doc
   • doc_slug: "python~3.12"
   • query: "list comprehension"

3. Get the content:

   • Tool: get_doc_content
   • doc_slug: "python~3.12"
   • path: (from search results)

Cross-Framework Search

Search for "routing" across web frameworks:

• Tool: search_all_docs
• query: "routing"
• doc_slugs: ["express", "django~5.1", "flask~3.1", "rails~7.2"]

Development

Watch Mode

For development with auto-rebuild:

npm run watch

Project Structure

apidocs/
├── src/
│   └── index.ts         # Main MCP server implementation
├── build/               # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── package.json         # Dependencies and scripts
├── tsconfig.json        # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md           # This file

How It Works

1. Data Source: Fetches data from DevDocs.io public endpoints
2. Caching: Implements 1-hour cache to reduce API calls and improve performance
3. Index Format: DevDocs uses compact arrays [name, path, type] for efficient storage
4. Content Delivery: HTML partials are served for each documentation entry

API Endpoints Used

• https://devdocs.io/docs.json - List of all documentation sets
• https://documents.devdocs.io/{slug}/index.json - Index for specific documentation
• https://documents.devdocs.io/{slug}/{path}.html - Content for specific entry

Troubleshooting

Server Not Showing Up in Claude Desktop

1. Verify the path in claude_desktop_config.json is absolute
2. Ensure you ran npm run build
3. Restart Claude Desktop completely
4. Check Claude Desktop logs for errors

Search Returns No Results

• Verify the doc_slug is correct using list_docs
• Check that the documentation includes the term you're searching for
• Try a broader search query

Performance Issues

• The server caches all requests for 1 hour
• First requests may be slower as data is fetched
• Subsequent requests will be much faster

Credits and Attribution

This MCP server was built by analyzing and integrating with the DevDocs.io platform. Special thanks to:

Core Infrastructure

• DevDocs.io - The amazing documentation aggregation platform that makes this possible
• freeCodeCamp - Maintainers of the DevDocs open-source project
• Model Context Protocol SDK - Framework for building MCP servers

Documentation and Research

• documents.devdocs.io - API endpoint for accessing documentation content
• SitePoint - Analysis and overview of DevDocs architecture
• GitHub Docs - API documentation and best practices

Technology Stack

• TypeScript - Type-safe development
• Node.js - Runtime environment
• node-fetch - HTTP client library

All documentation content is copyright of their respective owners and provided through DevDocs.io's public API.

For detailed attribution, see CREDITS.md.

License

MIT - See LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Resources

• DevDocs.io - Main documentation site
• DevDocs GitHub - Source code
• MCP Documentation - Learn about MCP
• Claude Desktop - Download Claude Desktop