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MCP Servers

Generated projects include pre-configured Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for enhanced AI capabilities.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol allows AI assistants like Claude to interact with external tools and services. Think of it as giving Claude superpowers.

Available Servers

context7

Documentation lookup and library reference

> Use context7 to find the FastAPI documentation for middleware
  • Searches official documentation
  • Returns relevant code examples
  • Understands library versions

SearXNG

Privacy-respecting web search

> Search for Python async best practices 2024
  • No tracking
  • Multiple search engines
  • Returns structured results

Crawl4AI

Web content extraction

> Fetch and summarize https://example.com/article
  • Converts pages to markdown
  • Extracts structured data
  • Handles JavaScript-rendered content

Memgraph

Graph database operations

> Query the knowledge graph for related concepts
  • Cypher query language
  • Real-time graph operations
  • Built-in algorithms

Playwright

Browser automation

> Take a screenshot of the homepage
  • Headless browser control
  • Form filling and clicking
  • Screenshot capture

Architecture

graph LR
    Claude[Claude AI] --> MCP[MCP Protocol]
    MCP --> Context7
    MCP --> SearXNG
    MCP --> Crawl4AI
    MCP --> Memgraph
    MCP --> Playwright

Configuration

MCP servers are configured in .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context7": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@context7/mcp-server"]
    },
    "searxng": {
      "url": "http://searxng:8080"
    }
  }
}

Using in Dev Container

MCP servers run automatically in the Dev Container via compose-mcp.yml:

services:
  searxng:
    image: searxng/searxng:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

  memgraph:
    image: memgraph/memgraph-platform
    ports:
      - "7687:7687"

Without Dev Container

To use MCP servers locally, you'll need to start them manually:

# Start SearXNG
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 searxng/searxng

# Start Memgraph
docker run -d -p 7687:7687 memgraph/memgraph-platform

Example Usage

Research a Topic

Claude, use SearXNG to find recent articles about Python type hints,
then use Crawl4AI to summarize the top 3 results.

Look Up Documentation

Use context7 to find how FastAPI handles request validation,
then show me an example.

Automate a Browser Task

Use Playwright to:
1. Navigate to my app at localhost:8000
2. Create a new entity via the form
3. Take a screenshot of the result

Adding New MCP Servers

  1. Add to .mcp.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "my-mcp-server",
      "args": ["--port", "9000"]
    }
  }
}
  1. If containerized, add to compose-mcp.yml:
services:
  my-server:
    image: my-mcp-server:latest
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"

Troubleshooting

Server Not Responding

# Check if container is running
docker ps | grep searxng

# Check logs
docker logs searxng

Claude Can't Connect

Ensure you're in the Dev Container where networking is configured.

Permission Denied

Some servers need write access. Check volume mounts in compose files.

Next Steps