shadcn/ui MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI assistants with direct access to shadcn/ui components and blocks. This server enables AI assistants like Claude (via Cursor) to fetch real-time component source code, documentation, and implementation examples.

⚡ Quick Install

Get started instantly without any setup:

# Run directly with npx (no installation required)
npx @magnusrodseth/shadcn-mcp-server

# Or install globally
npm install -g @magnusrodseth/shadcn-mcp-server

Then add to your Cursor configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@magnusrodseth/shadcn-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Next, restart the MCP tool and your Cursor settings should look something like this:

🎯 What is this?

The Shadcn MCP Server bridges the gap between AI assistants and the shadcn/ui component library. Instead of relying on potentially outdated training data, AI assistants can now fetch the latest component implementations directly from the shadcn/ui repository.

Key Benefits

• ✅ Always Up-to-Date: Fetches components directly from the official shadcn/ui repository
• ✅ Complete Implementation: Get full source code, dependencies, and usage examples
• ✅ AI-Powered Development: Let AI assistants help you implement components correctly
• ✅ Time-Saving: No more manual copying from docs or searching for examples

🔄 How It Works

sequenceDiagram
    participant User as 👤 User
    participant Cursor as 🖥️ Cursor/AI Assistant
    participant MCP as 🔧 MCP Server
    participant GitHub as 📦 shadcn/ui Repository

    User->>Cursor: "Show me button component"
    Cursor->>MCP: JSON-RPC Request (get_component)
    MCP->>GitHub: Fetch component data via API
    GitHub-->>MCP: Component source code & metadata
    MCP-->>Cursor: Structured component response
    Cursor->>Cursor: AI processes & formats
    Cursor-->>User: Formatted component with examples

    Note over MCP: Available Tools:<br/>• list_components<br/>• get_component<br/>• list_blocks<br/>• get_block

🚀 Getting Started with Developing

Prerequisites

• Node.js ≥ 22.0.0
• pnpm (recommended) or npm
• Cursor IDE (for AI integration)
• Recommended: GitHub Personal Access Token (for higher rate limits)

1. Installation

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

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Build the project
pnpm run build

2. Cursor Configuration

Option A: Automatic Setup (Recommended)

# Run the setup script
node scripts/test-cursor.js

This script will:

• Generate the correct Cursor configuration
• Create a wrapper script for your system
• Provide step-by-step instructions

Option B: Manual Configuration

1. Find your Cursor settings:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/User/globalStorage/cursor-settings.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Cursor\User\globalStorage\cursor-settings.json
   • Linux: ~/.config/Cursor/User/globalStorage/cursor-settings.json

2. Add the MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/shadcn-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "your_github_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Cursor completely (quit and reopen)

3. Verify Installation

Open Cursor and try these commands with Claude:

"List all available shadcn components"
"Show me the button component source code"
"Get the dashboard-01 block implementation"
"What shadcn blocks are available?"

If configured correctly, Claude will fetch real-time data from the shadcn/ui repository!

🧪 Testing & Development

Local Testing

# Run unit tests
pnpm test

# Test MCP server integration
pnpm run test:mcp

# Manual testing (interactive)
pnpm run test:manual

Development Mode

# Development with hot reload
pnpm run dev

# Watch tests
pnpm run test:watch

# Clean build artifacts
pnpm run clean

🛠️ Available Tools

Tool	Description	Example Usage
list_components	List all available shadcn/ui components	"What shadcn components are available?"
get_component	Get source code and metadata for a specific component	"Show me the button component"
list_blocks	List all available shadcn/ui blocks	"What shadcn blocks can I use?"
get_block	Get a complete shadcn/ui block implementation	"Get the dashboard-01 block"

💡 Usage Examples

Basic Component Usage

User: "Show me how to create a button with different variants"

Claude with MCP: Will fetch the latest button component and provide:

• Complete source code
• All available variants (default, destructive, outline, secondary, ghost, link)
• Size options (sm, default, lg, icon)
• Usage examples with proper imports
• Accessibility features

Advanced Block Implementation

User: "I need a complete dashboard layout"

Claude with MCP: Will fetch dashboard blocks and provide:

• Full implementation code
• Required dependencies
• Component breakdown
• Styling and layout structure

Real-time Component Discovery

User: "What new components were added to shadcn recently?"

Claude with MCP: Will fetch the current component list and highlight:

• All available components
• Brief descriptions
• Categorization

🔧 Configuration Options

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

# Optional: GitHub token for higher rate limits
GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here

# Optional: Enable debug logging
DEBUG=true

# Optional: Set environment
NODE_ENV=development

GitHub Token Setup (Optional but Recommended)

1. Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
2. Generate a new token (classic)
3. No special permissions needed - public repository access is sufficient
4. Add the token to your environment variables

Benefits of using a token:

• Higher rate limits (5,000 requests/hour vs 60/hour)
• More reliable for heavy usage
• Better performance

📦 Deployment Options

Option 1: NPX (Recommended) 🌟

No installation required - always uses the latest version:

# No setup needed, just add to Cursor config:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@magnusrodseth/shadcn-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Benefits:

• ✅ Always up-to-date
• ✅ No global installation
• ✅ Works immediately
• ✅ No build step required

Option 2: Global npm Installation

# Install once, use everywhere
npm install -g @magnusrodseth/shadcn-mcp-server

# Use in Cursor config:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn": {
      "command": "@magnusrodseth/shadcn-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Local Development

Perfect for contributing or customization:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/shadcn-mcp-server.git
cd shadcn-mcp-server
pnpm install && pnpm run build

# Use absolute path in Cursor config:
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/shadcn-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]

Option 4: Direct Git Installation

npm install -g git+https://github.com/yourusername/shadcn-mcp-server.git

🎯 Architecture Overview

shadcn-mcp-server/
├── index.ts                 # Main MCP server setup
├── services/
│   └── shadcn-service.ts   # Core component fetching logic
├── types/
│   └── shadcn.ts           # TypeScript definitions
├── utils/
│   └── logger.ts           # Logging configuration
└── scripts/
    ├── test-cursor.js      # Cursor setup automation
    └── test-mcp.js         # MCP protocol testing

Key Components

• MCP Server: Handles JSON-RPC communication with Cursor/Claude
• Shadcn Service: Fetches components and blocks from GitHub API
• Type Safety: Full TypeScript support for all operations
• Error Handling: Graceful degradation and informative error messages
• Caching: Smart caching to reduce API calls and improve performance

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"MCP server not found"

• Verify the absolute path in your Cursor configuration
• Ensure the project is built (pnpm run build)
• Check that Node.js is in your system PATH

"Rate limit exceeded"

• Add a GitHub token to your environment variables
• The server will automatically use the token for authenticated requests

"Component not found"

• Check component name spelling (use list_components first)
• Some components may have different names than expected

"Cursor not recognizing MCP server"

• Restart Cursor completely (quit and reopen)
• Verify JSON syntax in your Cursor configuration
• Check the MCP server logs for errors

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging:

DEBUG=true node dist/index.js

Or set in your Cursor configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shadcn": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DEBUG": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests (pnpm test)
5. Run the full test suite (pnpm run test:mcp)
6. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
7. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
8. Open a Pull Request

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Made with ❤️ for the shadcn/ui and AI development community

If this project helps you build better UIs faster, consider giving it a ⭐!