Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI assistants with comprehensive access to shadcn/ui v4 components, blocks, demos, and metadata. This server enables AI tools like Claude Desktop, Continue.dev, and other MCP-compatible clients to retrieve and work with shadcn/ui components seamlessly.

🚀 Key Features

Component Source Code: Get the latest shadcn/ui v4 component TypeScript source
Component Demos: Access example implementations and usage patterns
Blocks Support: Retrieve complete block implementations (dashboards, calendars, login forms, etc.)
Metadata Access: Get component dependencies, descriptions, and configuration details
Directory Browsing: Explore the shadcn/ui repository structure
GitHub API Integration: Efficient caching and intelligent rate limit handling

📦 Quick Start

⚡ Using npx (Recommended)

The fastest way to get started - no installation required!

# Basic usage (rate limited to 60 requests/hour)
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server

# With GitHub token for better rate limits (5000 requests/hour)
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --github-api-key ghp_your_token_here

# Short form
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server -g ghp_your_token_here

# Using environment variable
export GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server

🎯 Try it now: Run npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --help to see all options!

🔧 Command Line Options

shadcn-ui-mcp-server [options]

Options:
  --github-api-key, -g <token>    GitHub Personal Access Token
  --help, -h                      Show help message  
  --version, -v                   Show version information

Environment Variables:
  GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN    Alternative way to provide GitHub token

Examples:
  npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --help
  npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --version
  npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server -g ghp_1234567890abcdef
  GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=ghp_token npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server

🔑 GitHub API Token Setup

Why do you need a token?

Without token: Limited to 60 API requests per hour
With token: Up to 5,000 requests per hour
Better reliability and faster responses

📝 Getting Your Token (2 minutes)

Go to GitHub Settings:
- Visit GitHub Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic)
- Or: GitHub Profile → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens
Generate New Token:
- Click "Generate new token (classic)"
- Add a note: "shadcn-ui MCP server"
- Expiration: Choose your preference (90 days recommended)
- Scopes: ✅ No scopes needed! (public repository access is sufficient)
Copy Your Token:
- Copy the generated token (starts with ghp_)
- ⚠️ Save it securely - you won't see it again!

🚀 Using Your Token

Method 1: Command Line (Quick testing)

npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --github-api-key ghp_your_token_here

Method 2: Environment Variable (Recommended)

# Add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.)
export GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here

# Then simply run:
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server

Method 3: Claude Desktop Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn-ui": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

✅ Verify Your Setup

# Test without token (should show rate limit warning)
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --help

# Test with token (should show success message)
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --github-api-key ghp_your_token --help

# Check your current rate limit
curl -H "Authorization: token ghp_your_token" https://api.github.com/rate_limit

🛠️ Available Tools

The MCP server provides these tools for AI assistants:

Component Tools

get_component - Get component source code
get_component_demo - Get component usage examples
list_components - List all available components
get_component_metadata - Get component dependencies and info

Block Tools

get_block - Get complete block implementations (dashboard-01, calendar-01, etc.)
list_blocks - List all available blocks with categories

Repository Tools

get_directory_structure - Explore the shadcn/ui repository structure

Example Tool Usage

// These tools can be called by AI assistants via MCP protocol

// Get button component source
{
  "tool": "get_component",
  "arguments": { "componentName": "button" }
}

// List all components
{
  "tool": "list_components",
  "arguments": {}
}

// Get dashboard block
{
  "tool": "get_block", 
  "arguments": { "blockName": "dashboard-01" }
}

🔗 Claude Desktop Integration

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn-ui": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server", "--github-api-key", "ghp_your_token_here"]
    }
  }
}

Or with environment variable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn-ui": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Rate limit exceeded" errors:

# Solution: Add GitHub API token
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --github-api-key ghp_your_token_here

"Command not found" errors:

# Solution: Install Node.js 18+ and ensure npx is available
node --version  # Should be 18+
npx --version   # Should work

Component not found:

# Check available components first
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server
# Then call list_components tool via your MCP client

Network/proxy issues:

# Set proxy if needed
export HTTP_PROXY=http://your-proxy:8080
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://your-proxy:8080
npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server

Debug Mode

Enable verbose logging:

# Set debug environment variable
DEBUG=* npx @jpisnice/shadcn-ui-mcp-server --github-api-key ghp_your_token

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🤝 Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

📞 Support

🔗 Related Projects

shadcn/ui - The component library this server provides access to
Model Context Protocol - The protocol specification
MCP TypeScript SDK - Official MCP SDK

⭐ Acknowledgments

shadcn for the amazing UI component library
Anthropic for the Model Context Protocol specification
The open source community for inspiration and contributions

Made with ❤️ by Janardhan Polle

Star ⭐ this repo if you find it helpful!

Shadcn UI v4 MCP Server