any-cli

any-cli-mcp-server turns any CLI tool that supports a --help output into an MCP server. It leverages the CLI's built-in help to expose a stable MCP-compatible interface for commands like gh, az, git, or any other tool that prints actionable help text. You can start multiple MCP endpoints (e.g., gh, az, or a cached git workflow) from a single setup. Once running, clients can interact with these MCP endpoints to explore, test, and chain CLI commands in an MCP-friendly manner. The server uses the CLI’s own --help output to drive the available commands and arguments, so you get a familiar experience tailored to the specific tool you expose.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js 18+ installed on your system
• npm or yarn available
• Internet connection to install the MCP server package

Installation steps:

1. Install the MCP server package globally or in your project:
   • npm i -g any-cli-mcp-server
   • or as a devDependency: npm i -D any-cli-mcp-server
2. Verify installation:
   • any-cli-mcp-server --version
3. Run an example with npx (as shown in Quick Start):
   • npx any-cli-mcp-server gh
4. If you plan to host multiple CLIs, configure them in your app’s configuration (see the mcp_config example in README):
   • Use npx with -y to install and run the specific CLI adapter (e.g., gh, az, git) through the MCP server.

Notes:

• The server relies on each target CLI exposing a usable --help output. If a CLI requires additional flags for help, configure those in your startup command accordingly.
• For performance, you can build a cache as demonstrated in the documentation to speed up startup times.

Tips and common issues:

• If a CLI tool frequently updates, consider regenerating any caches or reconfiguring the server to ensure the help output remains accurate.
• Use the provided cache-build and cache usage flow to optimize startup time for frequently used CLIs.
• Ensure your terminal environment supports the CLI's interactive prompts if the underlying tool uses them; MCP is designed to work with non-interactive help-driven usage.
• The configuration can be extended to include more servers by adding additional entries under mcpServers with the same structure.
• If you run into permission or PATH issues, preferring npx with -y helps ensure consistent installation behavior across environments.