documentation

The Documentation MCP Server provides a unified interface to access and browse documentation from multiple libraries. It aggregates documentation sources, supports searching across libraries, and lets you filter results by library or version. After starting the server, you can interact with both the web UI and the REST API to discover, search, and retrieve documentation data. The API also includes an endpoint for status checks so you can verify the server is running and healthy. Use the web interface for browsable exploration, or programmatic access via the REST API to integrate documentation data into your own tooling.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js v18 or newer
• Git
• Optional: Docker (if you prefer containerized deployment)

Install steps (manual Node.js setup):

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/SubaashNair/documentation-mcp-server.git
cd documentation-mcp-server

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Configure environment variables (see .env.example or as command-line env vars):

PORT=3000
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token
DOCUMENTATION_UPDATE_SCHEDULE="0 0 * * *" 
LIBRARIES=react,vue,angular

4. Start the server

npm start

Docker (optional):

1. Copy the example env and customize

cp .env.example .env

2. Build and run with Docker Compose (if provided in repo)

docker-compose up -d

Notes:

• If the repository uses a different start script, you can run the appropriate command (e.g., npm run start:prod) instead of npm start.
• If you prefer a pure Docker run, you can adapt the Dockerfile/entrypoint to invoke node server.js or the actual entry point of the project.

Environment variables are important for connecting to private documentation sources and scheduling updates. Common issues include port conflicts (PORT already in use), missing LIBRARIES configuration leading to empty data sets, and authentication problems when GitHub API calls hit rate limits. If you run into API rate limits, consider providing a GitHub token via GITHUB_TOKEN. Ensure the update schedule is valid Cron syntax. The API docs are exposed at /api-docs once the server is running. If using Docker, ensure you copy .env into the container and restart after any env changes.