MCP Integration

DevAll includes a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that allows AI assistants like Claude to control your entire development environment through natural language.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol is a standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools and data sources. DevAll’s MCP server exposes tools that let AI assistants:

• Start and stop services
• View service status and logs
• Restart processes
• Modify configuration
• Monitor system resources

Quick Setup

For Claude Desktop

1. Set up the MCP server:

npx devall mcp setup

This will:

• Build the MCP server
• Configure Claude Desktop automatically
• Add DevAll to your Claude Desktop settings

2. Start the DevAll dashboard:

devall

3. Open Claude Desktop and you’re ready! Claude can now control your dev environment.

Manual Setup

If automatic setup doesn’t work, configure Claude Desktop manually:

1. Build the MCP Server

cd mcp
npm install
npm run build

2. Configure Claude Desktop

Edit your Claude Desktop config file:

macOS/Linux:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows:

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the DevAll MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devall": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/devall-core/mcp/bin/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the MCP server.

Using DevAll with AI Assistants

Once configured, you can control DevAll naturally:

Starting Services

“Start the frontend service”

“Launch all autostart services”

“Start the API and database”

Stopping Services

“Stop the backend server”

“Shut down all services”

Viewing Status

“What services are running?”

“Show me the status of all services”

“Is the frontend service up?”

Checking Logs

“Show me the last 50 lines of the API logs”

“What errors are in the backend logs?”

Restarting Services

“Restart the frontend”

“Restart all services”

Configuration

“What services are configured?”

“Add a new service for the authentication server”

Available MCP Tools

DevAll exposes these tools to AI assistants:

list_services

Lists all configured services with their status.

Output:

{
  "services": [
    {
      "name": "Frontend",
      "status": "running",
      "port": 3000,
      "pid": 12345
    }
  ]
}

get_service_status

Gets detailed status for a specific service.

Parameters:

• name (string): Service name

Output:

{
  "name": "Frontend",
  "status": "running",
  "port": 3000,
  "pid": 12345,
  "uptime": "5m 23s"
}

start_service

Starts a service.

Parameters:

• name (string): Service name

stop_service

Stops a running service.

Parameters:

• name (string): Service name

restart_service

Restarts a service (stops then starts).

Parameters:

• name (string): Service name

get_service_logs

Gets recent logs for a service.

Parameters:

• name (string): Service name
• lines (number, optional): Number of lines (default: 100)

Output:

{
  "logs": [
    "Server listening on port 3000",
    "GET / 200 15ms",
    "GET /api/users 200 45ms"
  ]
}

clear_service_logs

Clears logs for a service.

Parameters:

• name (string): Service name

get_config

Gets the current DevAll configuration.

Output:

{
  "dashboard": {
    "port": 7777
  },
  "services": [...]
}

Running MCP Server Standalone

You can run the MCP server independently of Claude Desktop:

STDIO Mode (for Claude Desktop)

npx devall mcp start

SSE Mode (for web clients)

npx devall mcp start --sse --port 3001

Access at: http://localhost:3001/sse

Development & Testing

Test with MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector is a tool for testing MCP servers:

npm run mcp:inspector

This opens a web interface where you can:

• Test all available tools
• View request/response payloads
• Debug MCP server behavior

Start MCP Server in Dev Mode

Watch for changes and auto-reload:

cd mcp
npm run dev

Security Considerations

Authentication

The MCP server currently has no authentication. Ensure:

1. DevAll dashboard is only accessible on localhost
2. MCP server only accepts local connections
3. Don’t expose ports externally

Permissions

The MCP server has full control over configured services. It can:

• Start/stop any process
• View all logs
• Modify configuration

Only use with trusted AI assistants in secure environments.

Troubleshooting

MCP Server Not Showing Up

1. Check Claude Desktop config is correct:

   cat ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Verify the path to index.js is absolute

3. Check MCP server builds successfully:

   cd mcp && npm run build

4. Restart Claude Desktop completely

”DevAll server is not running”

The MCP server requires the DevAll dashboard to be running:

# Terminal 1: Start dashboard
devall

# Terminal 2: Use Claude Desktop
# (MCP tools now work)

Commands Failing

1. Check DevAll dashboard is accessible:

   curl http://localhost:7777/api/health

2. View MCP server logs (if running standalone):

   npx devall mcp start
   # Check stderr output

3. Test with MCP Inspector:

   npm run mcp:inspector

Example Workflows

Starting a Full-Stack App

“I need to work on the frontend. Start the frontend service and the API gateway.”

AI will:

1. Call start_service for “Frontend”
2. Call start_service for “API Gateway”
3. Confirm both are running

Debugging a Service

“The backend is behaving strangely. Show me the last 100 log lines.”

AI will:

1. Call get_service_logs with lines: 100
2. Analyze the logs
3. Suggest fixes based on errors

Restarting After Config Change

“I just updated the environment variables. Restart all services.”

AI will:

1. Call list_services to get all services
2. Call restart_service for each one
3. Verify they’re all running

Checking System Health

“Are all my services running? What’s their status?”

AI will:

1. Call list_services
2. Present a summary of service states
3. Alert you to any stopped/crashed services

Advanced Usage

Custom MCP Tools

You can extend DevAll’s MCP server with custom tools:

1. Edit mcp/src/index.js
2. Add your tool to the tools list
3. Implement the tool handler
4. Rebuild: npm run build

Integration with Other MCP Servers

Claude Desktop can use multiple MCP servers simultaneously. Combine DevAll with:

• File system tools: Read/write code
• Git tools: Commit changes
• Database tools: Query data
• Slack tools: Send notifications

Example config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devall": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/devall/mcp/bin/index.js"]
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem"]
    }
  }
}

Next Steps

• Read the MCP specification
• See example prompts
• Contribute custom tools

Resources

• Model Context Protocol Documentation
• Claude Desktop
• DevAll MCP Source Code
• MCP Inspector