mcp-manager

MCP Manager Skill

Manage MCP servers for openclacky. The user's MCP configuration lives at ~/.clacky/mcp.json (the same format Claude Desktop and Cursor use). You never ask the user to edit it by hand — you do it for them through the local clacky HTTP API.

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Command Parsing

If the intent is unclear, default to add — it's the most common ask.

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Server Coordinates

All API calls go to the local clacky server. The host and port are exposed via environment variables:

HOST="${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"
PORT="${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT:-7070}"
BASE="http://${HOST}:${PORT}"

All write operations require requests to come from 127.0.0.1 or ::1. They will, because we're running locally.

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API Cheat Sheet

Request body for create/update — stdio (local process, default):

{
  "name": "filesystem",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/me/Documents"],
  "env": { "API_KEY": "xxx" },
  "description": "Read/write files in ~/Documents"
}

Request body for create/update — http (remote server, streamable-http):

{
  "name": "linear",
  "type": "http",
  "url":  "https://mcp.linear.app/sse",
  "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer lin_api_xxx" },
  "description": "Linear issues and projects"
}

If type is omitted but url is present, the server treats it as http.

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Known-Good Server Catalog

When the user describes what they want, match it to one of these and propose it. Each entry: package, what it does, required params, recommended description.

1. filesystem — read/write local files

• When: "read my files", "access my desktop", "browse my code"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "<ABSOLUTE_PATH>"]
• Required: absolute directory path (ask user; default to ~/Documents)
• Tools: read_file, write_file, list_directory, search_files, etc.

2. github — GitHub repos, issues, PRs

• When: "access github", "manage my repos", "read my issues"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"]
• Env: { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<TOKEN>" }
• Required: PAT from https://github.com/settings/tokens (recommend repo scope)

3. fetch — fetch HTTP URLs as markdown

• When: "fetch web pages", "read articles by url"
• Command: uvx
• Args: ["mcp-server-fetch"]
• Required: nothing
• Note: needs Python uv installed (brew install uv)

4. memory — persistent knowledge graph

• When: "remember things across sessions", "give clacky long-term memory"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
• Required: nothing

5. postgres — query a Postgres database

• When: "query my database", "connect to postgres"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "<DATABASE_URL>"]
• Required: DATABASE_URL like postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname

6. slack — Slack messages

• When: "read slack", "send slack messages"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-slack"]
• Env: { "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN": "xoxb-...", "SLACK_TEAM_ID": "T..." }
• Required: bot token and team id (Slack admin → app config)

7. brave-search — web search via Brave API

• When: "search the web", "give clacky search"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"]
• Env: { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<KEY>" }
• Required: free API key from https://api.search.brave.com/

8. puppeteer — browser automation

• When: "automate the browser", "scrape with js"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer"]
• Required: nothing (downloads Chromium on first run)

Custom (anything else)

If the user names a package or path you don't recognize, take the spec from them verbatim and pass it through. Always confirm command, args, and env back in plain language before saving.

Remote / HTTP servers (streamable-http)

Some MCP servers are hosted services and don't ship as a CLI — you connect over HTTPS instead. Trigger when the user gives you a URL ending in /mcp, /sse, or hosted on *.mcp.* / mcp.*.app, or says "the server is at https://...".

• Type: http
• Required: url (the streamable-http endpoint)
• Optional: headers — typically { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }

Examples of remote MCP servers in the wild:

• Linear: https://mcp.linear.app/sse (Bearer API key)
• Cloudflare: https://<workers-subdomain>.workers.dev/mcp (Bearer token)
• GitHub Copilot: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ (OAuth, advanced)

When the user pastes a URL, ask:

1. What service is this? (so you can pick a name and description)
2. Does it need an authorization header? If yes, paste the token.

Save with type: "http". The local clacky never spawns a process for these — it just POSTs JSON-RPC over HTTPS.

⚠️ Wrapping a regular CLI tool: if the user gives you a CLI command that is not a stdio MCP server (e.g. mcp-cli, some-api-cli login), do NOT save it as a stdio MCP entry — it won't speak JSON-RPC over stdin. Tell them: "This looks like a regular CLI, not an MCP server. Does the service offer an HTTPS endpoint instead?"

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Subcommand: add — the primary flow

Goal: the user describes what they want, you produce a working MCP entry + confirm it works. Keep questions minimal.

Step 1 — Identify intent

• If the user's first message already names a server (e.g. "add filesystem"), pick that catalog entry directly.
• Otherwise, ask one open question: "What would you like Clacky to be able to do? (e.g. read your files, access GitHub, search the web)"
• Match their answer to the catalog. If multiple match, present 2–3 options with one-line descriptions and let them pick.

Step 2 — Environment preflight

Before asking for parameters, check the runtime is installed:

# For npx-based servers
which npx >/dev/null 2>&1 || echo "MISSING_NPX"

# For uvx-based servers
which uvx >/dev/null 2>&1 || echo "MISSING_UVX"

If missing, tell the user how to install (brew install node for npx, brew install uv for uvx) and stop. Do not proceed.

Step 3 — Collect parameters

Ask only for the business-meaningful params from the catalog entry:

• For filesystem: which directory? Default offer: ~/Documents. Resolve ~ to an absolute path before saving.
• For github/brave-search/slack: tell them where to get the token, then ask them to paste it.
• For postgres: ask for the connection URL.

Never invent values. If you don't have a sensible default, ask.

Step 4 — Confirm

Show the user the spec you're about to save, in plain language:

I'll add a server called filesystem that runs npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/me/Documents. It'll let me read and write files in your Documents folder. OK?

For secrets (tokens, passwords), echo only the last 4 characters: ***...abcd.

Step 5 — Save

For stdio:

curl -s -X POST ${BASE}/api/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
        "name":        "filesystem",
        "command":     "npx",
        "args":        ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/me/Documents"],
        "description": "Read/write files in ~/Documents"
      }'

For http:

curl -s -X POST ${BASE}/api/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
        "name":        "linear",
        "type":        "http",
        "url":         "https://mcp.linear.app/sse",
        "headers":     { "Authorization": "Bearer lin_api_xxx" },
        "description": "Linear issues and projects"
      }'

If the response has "ok": false, show the error and ask the user how to proceed (retry, edit, abort).

Step 6 — Probe

Immediately verify the server starts and exposes tools:

curl -s -X POST ${BASE}/api/mcp/filesystem/probe

• ok: true: extract tools[], summarize for the user. Example:

  Done. filesystem is working — Clacky now has 11 new tools (read_file, write_file, list_directory, ...). Try asking me to list files in your Documents folder.

• ok: false: show the error verbatim and offer common fixes:
  • "command not found" → wrong runtime, suggest re-running with correct one
  • "ENOENT" / "no such file" → bad path, ask for a valid one
  • timeout → package may be downloading on first run; suggest retrying
  • auth-related → token wrong/expired, offer reconfigure

Step 7 — Hint at next steps

End with a one-line nudge: how the user can use the new MCP next. Examples:

• filesystem: "Try: list the files in my Documents folder"
• github: "Try: show me my open PRs"
• fetch: "Try: fetch https://news.ycombinator.com and summarize"

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Subcommand: list

curl -s ${BASE}/api/mcp

Render as a short table. If configured: false, say so and offer to run add.

| Name         | Command | Args summary           | Has env |
|--------------|---------|------------------------|---------|
| filesystem   | npx     | @modelcontextprotocol… | no      |
| github       | npx     | @modelcontextprotocol… | yes     |

Don't show full args if they contain absolute paths — collapse them with ….

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Subcommand: probe <name>

curl -s -X POST ${BASE}/api/mcp/<name>/probe

If ok: true, list every tool with a one-line description. If ok: false, run the same error-fixing flow as in add step 6.

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Subcommand: remove <name>

1. Confirm with the user first: "Remove ? Its tools will no longer be available to Clacky. (Y/n)"
2. On yes:

   curl -s -X DELETE ${BASE}/api/mcp/<name>
   

3. Confirm completion in one line.

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Subcommand: reconfigure <name>

1. Fetch current spec from /api/mcp and show it back.
2. Ask which fields to change (path / token / args).
3. Build the new spec and PUT /api/mcp/<name>.
4. Probe to verify, same as add step 6.

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General Rules

• Never write directly to ~/.clacky/mcp.json. Always go through the API.
• Never echo full secrets. Mask all but last 4 chars of tokens/URLs.
• One question at a time. Don't dump a form on the user.
• Stop on errors. Don't proceed past a failed preflight or probe.
• Quote real error messages. Don't paraphrase API errors — users may need to google them.
• Stay in scope. If the user wants to write/edit a non-MCP file or do unrelated work, hand back to the main agent.