DollhouseMCP

DollhouseMCP

Platform Support

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables dynamic AI persona management with an integrated GitHub-powered marketplace. DollhouseMCP allows Claude and other compatible AI assistants to activate different behavioral personas while supporting community sharing and monetization.

🌐 Repository: https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/mcp-server 🏪 Marketplace: https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/personas 📦 NPM Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@mickdarling/dollhousemcp 🌍 Website: https://dollhousemcp.com (planned) 📦 Version: v1.2.1 - Critical Data Protection Release

✨ Key Features

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js: v20.0.0 or higher (LTS recommended)
• npm: v10.0.0 or higher
• git: For cloning the repository
• Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux

Note: DollhouseMCP is developed on Node.js 24 but supports Node.js 20+ for broad compatibility.

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

NPM Installation (NEW! - Recommended)

npm install -g @mickdarling/dollhousemcp

Then add to your Claude Desktop configuration as shown in the Configuration section below.

Automated Setup (Alternative) - Claude Desktop Only

[!WARNING]Claude Desktop Only: The automated setup script is specifically designed for Claude Desktop integration. If you're using Claude Code, other AI platforms (ChatGPT, BoltAI, Gemini, etc.), or custom MCP implementations, please use the Manual Installation process below.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/mcp-server.git
cd mcp-server

# Run automated setup script (Claude Desktop only)
./setup.sh

The setup script will:

• 📦 Install all dependencies
• 🔨 Build the TypeScript code
• 📍 Detect your installation path
• 🔧 Generate the exact Claude Desktop configuration
• 📋 Provide step-by-step setup instructions

Manual Installation

Note: Manual installation works with all MCP-compatible platforms including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT, BoltAI, Gemini, and custom implementations.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/mcp-server.git
cd mcp-server

# Install dependencies and build
npm install
npm run build

# Optional: Set user identity for persona attribution
export DOLLHOUSE_USER="your-username"
export DOLLHOUSE_EMAIL="[email protected]"

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add DollhouseMCP to your Claude Desktop configuration:

Location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS)

For NPM Installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dollhousemcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@mickdarling/dollhousemcp"]
    }
  }
}

For Source Installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dollhousemcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/DollhouseMCP/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

🔄 After configuration:

1. Save the file
2. Restart Claude Desktop completely
3. All 23 DollhouseMCP tools will be available

🛠️ Available Tools (23 Total)

Core Persona Management

• list_personas - Display all local personas with enhanced metadata
• activate_persona - Activate by name, filename, or unique ID
• get_active_persona - Get current persona information
• deactivate_persona - Return to default mode
• get_persona_details - View complete persona details
• reload_personas - Refresh from filesystem

GitHub Marketplace Integration

• browse_marketplace - Browse personas by category
• search_marketplace - Search across all marketplace personas
• get_marketplace_persona - View detailed marketplace persona info
• install_persona - One-click download and installation
• submit_persona - Submit to marketplace via GitHub issue

User Identity Management

• set_user_identity - Set username for persona attribution
• get_user_identity - View current identity status
• clear_user_identity - Return to anonymous mode

Chat-Based Persona Management

• create_persona - Guided persona creation through chat
• edit_persona - Modify existing persona fields
• validate_persona - Comprehensive quality validation

Auto-Update System

• check_for_updates - Check GitHub releases for available DollhouseMCP updates
• update_server - Automated git pull + npm install + build with backup creation
• rollback_update - Restore previous version from automatic backups
• get_server_status - Comprehensive server status with version, git info, and system details

Persona Indicators

• configure_indicator - Configure how persona indicators appear in AI responses
• get_indicator_config - View current indicator configuration settings

📖 Usage Examples

Marketplace Operations

browse_marketplace                          # See all categories
browse_marketplace "creative"               # Browse creative personas
search_marketplace "writing"                # Search for writing personas
install_persona "creative/storyteller.md"  # Install from marketplace

Persona Creation & Management

create_persona "Study Buddy" "A helpful tutor" "educational" "You are a patient tutor..."
edit_persona "Study Buddy" "description" "An encouraging academic mentor"
validate_persona "Study Buddy"             # Check quality and format
submit_persona "Study Buddy"               # Share with community

User Identity

set_user_identity "your-username"          # Set attribution
get_user_identity                          # Check current status
clear_user_identity                        # Return to anonymous

Auto-Update Operations

The auto-update system provides enterprise-grade update management with safety features:

check_for_updates                          # Check for new DollhouseMCP versions
get_server_status                          # View current version and system info
update_server true                         # Perform automated update with backup
rollback_update true                       # Revert to previous version if needed

How Auto-Update Works:

1. Version Check: Queries GitHub releases API for latest version
2. Backup Creation: Automatically backs up current installation (including user personas)
3. Update Process:
   • Performs git pull to fetch latest code
   • Runs npm install for dependency updates
   • Rebuilds TypeScript with npm run build
4. Verification: Validates the update succeeded
5. Rollback Option: Keep last 5 backups for easy recovery

Safety Features:

• Rate limiting prevents API abuse
• GPG signature verification (when available)
• Dependency version validation
• Automatic backup retention (5 most recent)
• User personas preserved during updates

Persona Indicators

DollhouseMCP adds visual indicators to AI responses when a persona is active:

[🎭 Creative Writer v2.1 by @mickdarling] Your creative response here...

Configure indicators:

get_indicator_config                       # View current settings
configure_indicator enabled:false          # Disable indicators
configure_indicator style:"minimal"        # Use minimal format: 🎭 Creative Writer
configure_indicator style:"compact"        # Use compact: [Creative Writer v2.1]
configure_indicator style:"full"           # Full format (default)
configure_indicator emoji:"🤖"             # Change emoji
configure_indicator showAuthor:false       # Hide author attribution
configure_indicator bracketStyle:"round"   # Use (parentheses) instead of [brackets]

Environment variables for persistent configuration:

export DOLLHOUSE_INDICATOR_ENABLED=true
export DOLLHOUSE_INDICATOR_STYLE=minimal
export DOLLHOUSE_INDICATOR_EMOJI=🎨

🖥️ Cross-Platform Installation

🐧 Linux Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v20.0.0 or higher
• npm: v10.0.0 or higher
• git: For version control

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm git
# Verify Node.js version
node --version  # Should be v20.0.0 or higher

# CentOS/RHEL/Fedora  
sudo dnf install -y nodejs npm git
# Verify Node.js version
node --version  # Should be v20.0.0 or higher

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S nodejs npm git
# Verify Node.js version
node --version  # Should be v20.0.0 or higher

Note: If your system's Node.js is older than v20, install from NodeSource or use nvm.

Installation Steps

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/mcp-server.git
cd mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

# Optional: Set user identity
export DOLLHOUSE_USER="your-username"
export DOLLHOUSE_EMAIL="[email protected]"

Claude Desktop Configuration (Linux)

# Configuration location
~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

# Or use XDG_CONFIG_HOME if set
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dollhousemcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/DollhouseMCP/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

🪟 Windows Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v20.0.0 or higher
• npm: v10.0.0 or higher (included with Node.js)
• git: For version control

# Install Node.js from https://nodejs.org/ (download LTS version)
# Or using Chocolatey
choco install nodejs --version=20.18.0
choco install git

# Or using winget
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS Git.Git

# Verify Node.js version
node --version  # Should be v20.0.0 or higher

Installation Steps (PowerShell)

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/mcp-server.git
cd mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

# Optional: Set user identity
$env:DOLLHOUSE_USER = "your-username"
$env:DOLLHOUSE_EMAIL = "[email protected]"

Claude Desktop Configuration (Windows)

# Configuration location
$env:APPDATA\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration content (use forward slashes or double backslashes):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dollhousemcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:/path/to/DollhouseMCP/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

🍎 macOS Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v20.0.0 or higher
• npm: v10.0.0 or higher (included with Node.js)
• git: For version control

# Using Homebrew (recommended)
brew install node git

# Or download from https://nodejs.org/ (LTS version)

# Verify Node.js version
node --version  # Should be v20.0.0 or higher

Installation Steps

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/mcp-server.git
cd mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

# Optional: Set user identity
export DOLLHOUSE_USER="your-username"
export DOLLHOUSE_EMAIL="[email protected]"

Claude Desktop Configuration (macOS)

# Configuration location
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dollhousemcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/DollhouseMCP/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

🐳 Docker Installation

Quick Start with Docker

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/DollhouseMCP/mcp-server.git
cd mcp-server

# Build and run with Docker Compose
docker-compose up -d

# Or build manually
docker build -t dollhousemcp .
docker run -d --name dollhousemcp dollhousemcp

Docker Compose (Recommended)

Production deployment:

docker-compose up -d

Development with hot reload:

docker-compose --profile dev up dollhousemcp-dev

Custom Personas with Docker

# Mount your custom personas directory
docker run -d \
  --name dollhousemcp \
  -v /path/to/your/personas:/app/personas \
  -e DOLLHOUSE_USER="your-username" \
  dollhousemcp

Docker Environment Variables

# Set user identity
DOLLHOUSE_USER=your-username
[email protected]

# Custom personas directory (inside container)
PERSONAS_DIR=/app/personas

# Node.js environment
NODE_ENV=production

🧪 Testing

Running Tests

The project includes comprehensive tests for cross-platform compatibility:

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Run tests in watch mode (for development)
npm run test:watch

# Run specific test suites
npm run test:auto-update
npm run test:personas
npm run test:marketplace

Test Coverage

Current test coverage includes:

• ✅ 102 comprehensive tests covering all functionality
• ✅ Auto-update system - GitHub API, backup/rollback, dependency validation
• ✅ Security testing - Command injection prevention, input validation
• ✅ Cross-platform compatibility - Windows, macOS, Linux path handling
• ✅ Version validation - Parsing tests for git/npm output formats
• ✅ Edge case coverage - Network failures, missing dependencies, malformed input

Manual Verification

Verify your setup works correctly:

# Build the project
npm run build

# Test the server (should output server info)
node dist/index.js --help 2>/dev/null || echo "Server compiled successfully"

# Verify personas directory
ls -la personas/

# Test auto-update system
check_for_updates    # Use in Claude Desktop
get_server_status    # Check current system status

☁️ Cloud Deployment

Container Registries

The project supports deployment to:

• GitHub Container Registry (ghcr.io)
• Docker Hub
• AWS ECR
• Google Container Registry

Example Cloud Deployments

AWS ECS

{
  "family": "dollhousemcp",
  "containerDefinitions": [{
    "name": "dollhousemcp",
    "image": "ghcr.io/mickdarling/dollhousemcp:latest",
    "memory": 512,
    "cpu": 256,
    "environment": [
      {"name": "NODE_ENV", "value": "production"},
      {"name": "PERSONAS_DIR", "value": "/app/personas"},
      {"name": "DOLLHOUSE_USER", "value": "production"}
    ]
  }]
}

Google Cloud Run

gcloud run deploy dollhousemcp \
  --image ghcr.io/mickdarling/dollhousemcp:latest \
  --platform managed \
  --region us-central1 \
  --set-env-vars NODE_ENV=production,DOLLHOUSE_USER=production

Azure Container Instances

az container create \
  --name dollhousemcp \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --image ghcr.io/mickdarling/dollhousemcp:latest \
  --environment-variables NODE_ENV=production DOLLHOUSE_USER=production

🏗️ Project Structure

DollhouseMCP/
├── .github/
│   ├── actions/
│   │   └── validate-yaml/         # Reusable YAML validation action
│   ├── workflows/                 # CI/CD workflows
│   └── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/           # Issue templates for bug/feature/task
├── __tests__/
│   ├── unit/                     # Unit tests for components
│   ├── integration/              # Integration tests
│   └── *.test.ts                 # Test files (372 tests total)
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts                  # Main MCP server (DollhouseMCPServer)
│   ├── cache/                    # API caching layer
│   ├── config/                   # Configuration management
│   ├── marketplace/              # GitHub marketplace integration
│   ├── persona/                  # Persona management core
│   ├── security/                 # Input validation and security
│   ├── server/                   # MCP server setup and tools
│   ├── types/                    # TypeScript type definitions
│   ├── update/                   # Auto-update system components
│   └── utils/                    # Utility functions
├── dist/                         # Compiled JavaScript (auto-generated)
├── personas/                     # Default persona collection
│   ├── creative-writer.md
│   ├── technical-analyst.md
│   ├── eli5-explainer.md
│   ├── business-consultant.md
│   └── debug-detective.md
├── custom-personas/              # User-created personas (git-ignored)
├── docs/                         # Documentation
│   ├── auto-update/             # Auto-update system docs
│   └── development/             # Development notes and guides
├── scripts/                      # Management and utility scripts
├── Dockerfile                    # Multi-stage Docker build
├── docker-compose.yml           # Production and development configs
├── package.json                 # Project config (dollhousemcp v1.2.1)
├── tsconfig.json                # TypeScript configuration
├── jest.config.cjs              # Jest test configuration
├── setup.sh                     # Automated installation script
├── LICENSE                      # AGPL-3.0 with platform stability
├── CHANGELOG.md                 # Version history
├── claude.md                    # Project context for Claude
└── README.md                    # This file

📝 Creating Custom Personas

Enhanced Persona Format

Create .md files in the personas/ directory with this structure:

---
name: "Your Persona Name"
description: "Brief description of what this persona does"
unique_id: "auto-generated-if-missing"
author: "your-username"
triggers: ["keyword1", "keyword2"]
version: "1.0"
category: "creative"
age_rating: "all"
ai_generated: false
generation_method: "human"
price: "free"
license: "CC-BY-SA-4.0"
---

# Your Persona Name

Your persona instructions go here. This content defines how the AI should behave when this persona is activated.

## Response Style
- Communication guidelines
- Tone and approach
- Specific behaviors

## Key Techniques
- Problem-solving methods
- Interaction patterns

Metadata Fields

Required Fields

Optional Fields

📚 Built-in Personas

🏪 Marketplace Integration (Beta)

🧪 Beta Feature: The GitHub-powered marketplace is currently in beta. Features may change based on community feedback.

DollhouseMCP includes an experimental GitHub-powered marketplace:

• Browse by Category: creative, professional, educational, gaming, personal
• Search Content: Find personas by keywords and descriptions
• One-Click Install: Download and integrate marketplace personas
• Community Submissions: Submit your personas via submit_persona tool
• Version Control: Full Git history for all marketplace content

Note: Marketplace features require internet connection and GitHub API access. Rate limits may apply.

💼 Business Model & Legal

Licensing

• Core Server: AGPL-3.0 (prevents proprietary competing platforms)
• Persona Content: CC-BY-SA-4.0 for free personas, custom licenses for premium
• Platform Terms: Creator-friendly 80/20 revenue split (applies only to paid personas when monetization is implemented)

Platform Stability Commitments

• 90-day advance notice for monetization changes
• 12-month revenue sharing locks for existing paid personas
• Transparent governance for platform policy updates
• Full data portability rights
• Community advisory input on policy changes

🛠️ Development

Available Scripts

Environment Variables

Customize server behavior with these environment variables:

# User Attribution
export DOLLHOUSE_USER="your-username"          # User attribution for persona creation
export DOLLHOUSE_EMAIL="your-email"            # Contact email (optional)

# Directory Configuration
export PERSONAS_DIR="/custom/path/to/personas"  # Custom personas directory

# Auto-Update Configuration
export GITHUB_TOKEN="your-token"               # For private repository access (optional)

# Development Configuration
export NODE_ENV="development"                  # Development mode
export DEBUG="dollhousemcp:*"                  # Debug logging (optional)

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Steps

1. Check build status:

   npm run build
   

2. Verify persona files:

   ls -la personas/*.md
   

3. Test server startup:

   node dist/index.js
   

4. Validate configuration:

   # Check Claude Desktop config
   cat ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   
   # Verify Node.js version (requires 20+)
   node --version
   
   # Check npm version
   npm --version
   

5. Test auto-update system:

   # Use within Claude Desktop
   check_for_updates    # Check for available updates
   get_server_status    # View system information
   

6. Validate personas:Use the reload_personas tool to check for loading errors

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! DollhouseMCP includes integrated tools for submitting personas directly from Claude.

Integrated Contribution Process (Recommended)

1. Create or modify a persona using the chat-based tools:

   create_persona "My Awesome Persona" "A helpful assistant for..." "professional"
   

2. Validate your persona to ensure quality:

   validate_persona "My Awesome Persona"
   

3. Submit to the marketplace directly from Claude:

   submit_persona "My Awesome Persona"
   

   This automatically creates a GitHub issue for community review.

Manual Contribution Process

1. Fork the repository
2. Create persona files in personas/ or custom-personas/
3. Follow the metadata format and naming conventions
4. Test thoroughly with validate_persona tool
5. Submit a pull request with clear description

Reporting Issues

Please include:

• Node.js version (node --version)
• Operating system and version
• Complete error messages
• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Relevant persona files (if applicable)
• Claude Desktop configuration (without sensitive paths)

Development Guidelines

1. Follow TypeScript best practices
2. Maintain existing code style and patterns
3. Add comprehensive error handling
4. Update documentation for new features
5. Test thoroughly across platforms before submitting PRs
6. Include tests for new functionality
7. Follow semantic versioning for releases

Development Workflow

# Fork and clone
git clone https://github.com/your-username/DollhouseMCP.git
cd mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

# Make changes and test
npm run build
npm test

# Commit and push
git commit -m "feat: your feature description"
git push origin feature/your-feature-name

# Submit pull request

📄 API Reference

MCP Tool Specifications

Each tool follows the MCP specification:

interface DollhouseTool {
  name: string;
  description: string;
  inputSchema: {
    type: "object";
    properties: Record<string, any>;
    required?: string[];
  };
}

Tool Categories

Core Persona Management

// list_personas - No parameters
// activate_persona - { persona: string }
// get_active_persona - No parameters  
// deactivate_persona - No parameters
// get_persona_details - { persona: string }
// reload_personas - No parameters

Marketplace Integration

// browse_marketplace - { category?: string }
// search_marketplace - { query: string }
// get_marketplace_persona - { path: string }
// install_persona - { path: string }
// submit_persona - { persona: string }

User Identity Management

// set_user_identity - { username: string }
// get_user_identity - No parameters
// clear_user_identity - No parameters

Chat-Based Management

// create_persona - { name: string, description: string, category?: string, instructions: string }
// edit_persona - { persona: string, field: string, value: string }
// validate_persona - { persona: string }

Auto-Update System

// check_for_updates - No parameters
// update_server - { confirm: boolean }
// rollback_update - { confirm: boolean }
// get_server_status - No parameters

Error Handling

The server provides detailed error messages for:

• Invalid persona identifiers - Clear suggestions for valid names
• File system issues - Permission and path resolution errors
• Malformed persona files - YAML parsing and validation errors
• Network errors - GitHub API and marketplace connectivity issues
• Runtime errors - Server startup and operation failures

Response Formats

All responses follow consistent patterns:

• Success responses: Include requested data and operation status
• Error responses: Include error type, message, and suggested resolution
• Progress indicators: Step-by-step feedback for long operations
• Validation results: Detailed reports with recommendations

📄 License

This project is licensed under the AGPL-3.0 License with Platform Stability Commitments - see the LICENSE file for details.

Platform Stability Guarantees:

• 90-day advance notice for policy changes
• 12-month revenue sharing locks
• Full data portability rights
• Community advisory input

🏷️ Version History

v1.2.1 - January 8, 2025 (Current)

• ✅ Critical bug fixes for data protection:
  • Copy-on-write for default personas (Issue #145)
  • User personas included in backups (Issue #144)
• ✅ Node.js 20+ requirement for npm publishing compatibility
• ✅ 372 comprehensive tests covering all functionality
• ✅ Enhanced security with all vulnerabilities resolved
• ✅ Improved documentation with clear prerequisites

v1.2.0 - January 7, 2025

• ✅ Rate limiting implementation to prevent API abuse
• ✅ GPG signature verification for release authenticity
• ✅ GitHub Advanced Security integration
• ✅ 309 tests with improved CI environment coverage
• ✅ Package optimization at 279.3 kB

v1.1.0 - July 4, 2025

• ✅ Platform-specific badges for Windows, macOS, Linux visibility
• ✅ GitHub Project management with issue templates and milestones
• ✅ ARM64 Docker fix switching from Alpine to Debian base images
• ✅ 100% workflow reliability (except Docker ARM64)
• ✅ First GitHub release with CHANGELOG.md
• ✅ 21 total MCP tools at time of release

Phase 2B+ - July 3, 2025

• ✅ Enterprise-grade auto-update system with 4 new MCP tools
• ✅ 50 comprehensive tests covering all functionality
• ✅ Security hardening - eliminated all command injection vulnerabilities
• ✅ Cross-platform support - Windows, macOS, Linux with CI/CD testing
• ✅ Docker containerization with production and development configurations
• ✅ 21 total MCP tools with backup/rollback and dependency validation

Phase 2B - July 1-2, 2025

• ✅ Complete chat-based persona management
• ✅ GitHub marketplace integration
• ✅ User identity and attribution system
• ✅ Real-time validation and editing
• ✅ Enterprise-grade GitHub Actions security

Phase 1 - July 1, 2025

• ✅ Fresh AGPL-3.0 licensed repository
• ✅ Enhanced unique ID system
• ✅ Anonymous user support
• ✅ Marketplace-ready metadata schema

🎭 Transform your AI interactions with the power of personas

For support, please open an issue or visit our marketplace.