mcp -yii2-ai-boost

Yii2 AI Boost is an MCP server that exposes a suite of Yii2-specific tools to AI assistants via JSON-RPC over STDIO. It provides comprehensive insight into your Yii2 application, including database schema, configuration, routes, components, models, migrations, and guidelines. Tools like semantic_search, database_schema, route_inspector, and log_inspector enable the AI to query your app’s context, retrieve structured information, and generate accurate code or recommendations based on real project data. This makes it possible for editors and AI agents to operate with deep, up-to-date understanding of your Yii2 project without exposing raw files directly to prompts.

To start the MCP server within a Yii2 project, install the package, run the installation wizard, and then invoke the MCP server command via your preferred editor integration. The server runs via PHP CLI and listens for JSON-RPC requests on STDIN, responding on STDOUT. You can connect Claude Code or other MCP-enabled editors to the server using the generated .mcp.json configuration and editor-specific integration steps. The toolset includes semantic search over bundled guidelines and the Yii2 definitive guide, as well as a broad range of context anchors to guide the AI’s behavior toward Yii2 best practices.

Prerequisites:

• PHP 7.4+ (or as required by your Yii2 project)
• Composer
• A Yii2 application ready for integration

Step-by-step installation:

1. In your Yii2 project, require the package (development dependency):

composer require codechap/yii2-ai-boost:^1.3 --dev

2. Run the installation wizard to generate MCP configuration and guidelines:

php yii boost/install

The wizard will:

• Detect your Yii2 environment
• Generate .mcp.json for MCP client connections
• Create boost.json with tool configuration
• Copy framework guidelines to .ai/guidelines/ for editor guidance

3. (Optional) Connect Claude Code or your editor/IDE:

• Claude Code will auto-detect the .mcp.json in your project root and connect to the MCP server
• For editor integrations like Zed or Cursor, follow their configuration steps to point to the MCP server (e.g., add yii2-ai-boost server entry with the PHP command and arguments)

4. Start using the MCP server through the provided commands or editor integrations. The server is invoked by the editor when you query for context or run actions that require PHP Yii2 app knowledge.

Tips and considerations:

• The MCP server operates over STDIO using JSON-RPC, so it does not open a network port; interactions are triggered by your editor or terminal integration.
• Ensure the Yii2 application is accessible to the CLI context where the MCP server runs (correct working directory, permissions).
• The semantic_search tool relies on the bundled guidelines and the Yii2 guide; it uses BM25 ranking to surface relevant sections rather than entire files.
• If installation or guideline generation fails, check the project’s issue tracker and ensure PHP, Composer, and Yii2 dependencies are properly installed and compatible with the version of codechap/yii2-ai-boost you’re using.
• Generated files: .mcp.json (MCP client config), boost.json (tool config), and .ai/guidelines/ (editor guidelines). These should be added to version control if appropriate for your team.