MCP Source

The MCP (Model Context Protocol) source enables CTX to connect to MCP servers and retrieve content for documentation generation. This integration allows you to leverage the power of compatible servers to extend CTX's capabilities.

Configuration

Basic Usage

documents:
  - description: "MCP Source Example"
    outputPath: "docs/mcp-example.md"
    sources:
      - type: mcp
        description: "GitHub Issue"
        server: github
        operation:
          type: tool.call
          name: get_issue
          arguments:
            owner: context-hub
            repo: generator
            issue_number: 158

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
type	string	required	Must be "mcp"
description	string	""	Human-readable description of the source
server	string|object	required	Server configuration or reference to pre-defined server
operation	object	required	Operation to execute on the server
modifiers	array	[]	Content modifiers to apply
tags	array	[]	List of tags for this source

Server Configuration

MCP sources require a server configuration, which can be specified in two ways:

1. Reference a Pre-Defined Server

Define servers in the global settings section, then reference them by name:

# Define server configurations in settings
settings:
  mcp:
    servers:
      github:
        command: docker
        args:
          - run
          - "-i"
          - "--rm"
          - "-e"
          - "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN"
          - "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
        env:
          GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: '{{GITHUB_PAT}}'

# Reference the server by name in sources
documents:
  - description: "GitHub Integration"
    outputPath: "docs/github-content.md"
    sources:
      - type: mcp
        server: github
        operation:
        # Operation details here

2. Define Server Inline

Specify the server configuration directly in the source:

documents:
  - description: "Custom MCP Server"
    outputPath: "docs/custom-mcp.md"
    sources:
      - type: mcp
        description: "Custom MCP Tool Results"
        server:
          command: "custom-mcp-server"
          args: [ "--port", "8080" ]
        operation:
        # Operation details here

Server Configuration Options

Command-Based Server

server:
  command: "docker"  # Command to execute
  args: # Command arguments
    - "run"
    - "-i"
    - "--rm"
  env: # Environment variables
    API_TOKEN: "{{API_TOKEN}}"

URL-Based Server

server:
  url: "https://mcp-server.example.com/mcp"  # Server URL
  headers: # HTTP headers
    Authorization: "Bearer {{API_TOKEN}}"

Operations

MCP sources support two main operation types:

1. Read Resource Operation

Reads one or more resources from an MCP server:

operation:
  type: resource.read
  resources:
    - "repo://context-hub/generator/contents"
    - "file://path/to/resource.md"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
type	string	required	Must be "resource.read"
resources	array	required	List of resource URIs to read

2. Call Tool Operation

Calls a tool on an MCP server with optional arguments:

operation:
  type: tool.call
  name: get_issue
  arguments:
    owner: context-hub
    repo: generator
    issue_number: 158

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
type	string	required	Must be "tool.call"
name	string	required	Name of the tool to call
arguments	object	{}	Arguments to pass to the tool

Advanced Configuration

Using Variables in Server Configurations

You can use environment variables throughout server configurations:

settings:
  mcp:
    servers:
      github:
        command: docker
        args:
          - run
          - "-i"
          - "--rm"
          - "-e"
          - "GITHUB_TOKEN"
          - "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:${VERSION}"
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: '{{GITHUB_TOKEN}}'

Multiple Resource Reads

Read multiple resources in a single operation:

documents:
  - description: "Repository Resources"
    outputPath: "docs/repo-resources.md"
    sources:
      - type: mcp
        server: github
        operation:
          type: resource.read
          resources:
            - "repo://owner/repo/readme.md"
            - "repo://owner/repo/docs/architecture.md"
            - "repo://owner/repo/src/main.php"

Complete Example

This example shows how to configure multiple MCP sources with different operations:

settings:
  mcp:
    servers:
      github:
        command: docker
        args:
          - run
          - "-i"
          - "--rm"
          - "-e"
          - "GITHUB_TOKEN"
          - "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: '{{GITHUB_TOKEN}}'

      local-mcp:
        url: "http://localhost:8080/mcp"
        headers:
          Authorization: "Bearer {{LOCAL_TOKEN}}"

documents:
  - description: "Project Documentation"
    outputPath: "docs/project.md"
    sources:
      # Fetch issue information
      - type: mcp
        description: "GitHub Issue"
        server: github
        operation:
          type: tool.call
          name: get_issue
          arguments:
            owner: context-hub
            repo: generator
            issue_number: 158

      # Read repository contents
      - type: mcp
        description: "Repository Contents"
        server: github
        operation:
          type: resource.read
          resources:
            - "repo://context-hub/generator/README.md"
            - "repo://context-hub/generator/docs/architecture.md"

      # Use a local MCP server
      - type: mcp
        description: "Code Analysis"
        server: local-mcp
        operation:
          type: tool.call
          name: analyze_code
          arguments:
            path: "./src"
            language: "php"

Output Formatting

The MCP source automatically formats output based on the operation type and response content:

• For tool.call operations:

  • JSON responses are pretty-printed in a JSON code block
  • Text responses are displayed as plain text

• For resource.read operations:

  • Content is displayed in a code block with appropriate language detection

Integration with Other Sources

MCP sources can be combined with other source types to create comprehensive documentation:

documents:
  - description: "Full Project Documentation"
    outputPath: "docs/project.md"
    sources:
      # Standard file source
      - type: file
        sourcePaths: src
        filePattern: "*.php"

      # MCP source for GitHub content
      - type: mcp
        server: github
        operation:
          type: resource.read
          resources:
            - "repo://context-hub/generator/README.md"

      # Text source for additional context
      - type: text
        content: |
          # Implementation Notes

          The following sections contain implementation details gathered from various sources.