mcp-cli

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkDeclared2 observations
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesNot pinnedSome versions float
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

@modelcontextprotocol/sdk, @biomejs/biome, @types/bun, typescript

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/philschmid/mcp-cli/main/install.sh | bash

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 60dbdd502c25 · 20 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisherphilschmid GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderphilschmid/mcp-cliThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict60dbdd502c25A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 257 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Interface for MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers via CLI. Use when you need to interact with external tools, APIs, or data sources through MCP servers.

---
name: mcp-cli
description: Interface for MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers via CLI. Use when you need to interact with external tools, APIs, or data sources through MCP servers.
---

# MCP-CLI

Access MCP servers through the command line. MCP enables interaction with external systems like GitHub, filesystems, databases, and APIs.

## Commands

| Command | Output |
|---------|--------|
| `mcp-cli` | List all servers and tools |
| `mcp-cli info <server>` | Show server tools and parameters |
| `mcp-cli info <server> <tool>` | Get tool JSON schema |
| `mcp-cli grep "<pattern>"` | Search tools by name |
| `mcp-cli call <server> <tool>` | Call tool (reads JSON from stdin if no args) |
| `mcp-cli call <server> <tool> '<json>'` | Call tool with arguments |

**Both formats work:** `<server> <tool>` or `<server>/<tool>`

## Workflow

1. **Discover**: `mcp-cli` → see available servers
2. **Explore**: `mcp-cli info <server>` → see tools with parameters
3. **Inspect**: `mcp-cli info <server> <tool>` → get full JSON schema
4. **Execute**: `mcp-cli call <server> <tool> '<json>'` → run with arguments

## Examples

```bash
# List all servers
mcp-cli

# With descriptions  
mcp-cli -d

# See server tools
mcp-cli info filesystem

# Get tool schema (both formats work)
mcp-cli info filesystem read_file
mcp-cli info filesystem/read_file

# Call tool
mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "./README.md"}'

# Pipe from stdin (no '-' needed!)
cat args.json | mcp-cli call filesystem read_file

# Search for tools
mcp-cli grep "*file*"

# Output is raw text (pipe-friendly)
mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "./file"}' | head -10
```

## Advanced Chaining

```bash
# Chain: search files → read first match
mcp-cli call filesystem search_files '{"path": ".", "pattern": "*.md"}' \
  | head -1 \
  | xargs -I {} mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "{}"}'

# Loop: process multiple files
mcp-cli call filesystem list_directory '{"path": "./src"}' \
  | while read f; do mcp-cli call filesystem read_file "{\"path\": \"$f\"}"; done

# Conditional: check before reading
mcp-cli call filesystem list_directory '{"path": "."}' \
  | grep -q "README" \
  && mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "./README.md"}'

# Multi-server aggregation
{
  mcp-cli call github search_repositories '{"query": "mcp", "per_page": 3}'
  mcp-cli call filesystem list_directory '{"path": "."}'
}

# Save to file
mcp-cli call github get_file_contents '{"owner": "x", "repo": "y", "path": "z"}' > output.txt
```

**Note:** `call` outputs raw text content directly (no jq needed for text extraction)

## Options

| Flag | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `-d` | Include descriptions |
| `-c <path>` | Specify config file |

## Common Errors

| Wrong Command | Error | Fix |
|---------------|-------|-----|
| `mcp-cli server tool` | AMBIGUOUS_COMMAND | Use `call server tool` or `info server tool` |
| `mcp-cli run server tool` | UNKNOWN_SUBCOMMAND | Use `call` instead of `run` |
| `mcp-cli list` | UNKNOWN_SUBCOMMAND | Use `info` instead of `list` |
| `mcp-cli call server` | MISSING_ARGUMENT | Add tool name |
| `mcp-cli call server tool {bad}` | INVALID_JSON | Use valid JSON with quotes |

## Exit Codes

- `0`: Success
- `1`: Client error (bad args, missing config)
- `2`: Server error (tool failed)
- `3`: Network error

Excerpt, first 3,325 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

1. 2026-10-20
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 60dbdd502c25

Questions about mcp-cli

• github.com/philschmid/mcp-cli — the audited source at commit 60dbdd502c25 and every finding aboveObserved · 20 Oct 2026

Spotted something wrong? Report a correction · Methodology