i18nexus MCP

An MCP server for the i18nexus translation-management API. Exposes i18nexus projects to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and any other MCP-compatible host, with configurable permission scopes so you can plug it in read-only or grant it full write access.

Install

No install step needed — run it directly with npx:

npx -y @knobik/i18nexus-mcp

Or install globally:

npm install -g @knobik/i18nexus-mcp

Environment variables

| Variable | Required | Default | Purpose | |---|---|---|---| | I18NEXUS_API_KEY | yes | — | Project API key (reads). Found at Settings → API Key in the i18nexus dashboard. | | I18NEXUS_ACCESS_TOKEN | yes for write scopes | — | Personal Access Token (writes). Generated in your user settings. | | I18NEXUS_SCOPE | no | readonly | One of readonly, soft-write, full. |

Scopes

| Scope | Registers | Includes destructive ops? | |---|---|---| | readonly (default) | 4 read tools | no | | soft-write | + 4 create/update/import tools | no | | full | + delete_string | yes — permanent deletion |

Configure in Claude Code

Add to your MCP config (typically ~/.claude.json or project .mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "i18nexus": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@knobik/i18nexus-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "I18NEXUS_API_KEY": "your_project_api_key",
        "I18NEXUS_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_personal_access_token",
        "I18NEXUS_SCOPE": "soft-write"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or via CLI:

claude mcp add i18nexus \
  --env I18NEXUS_API_KEY=your_project_api_key \
  --env I18NEXUS_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_personal_access_token \
  --env I18NEXUS_SCOPE=soft-write \
  -- npx -y @knobik/i18nexus-mcp

Configure in Claude Desktop

Edit claude_desktop_config.json:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "i18nexus": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@knobik/i18nexus-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "I18NEXUS_API_KEY": "your_project_api_key",
        "I18NEXUS_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_personal_access_token",
        "I18NEXUS_SCOPE": "readonly"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after editing.

Tools

Read (always registered)

| Tool | What it does | |---|---| | list_languages | List project languages. | | list_namespaces | List project namespaces. | | list_versions | List recent export versions (newest first). | | get_translations | Fetch translations — all, by language, or by language + namespace. Optional confirmed filter. |

Soft-write (scope ≥ soft-write)

| Tool | What it does | |---|---| | create_string | Create a new base-language key with machine translations. | | update_string | Update an existing key (rename, edit value, move namespace, etc.). | | import_strings | Bulk import JSON translations into a namespace. | | create_namespace | Add a new namespace. |

Full (full only)

| Tool | What it does | |---|---| | delete_string | Destructive. Permanently deletes a key and all its translations. |

Local development

git clone https://github.com/knobik/i18nexus-mcp
cd i18nexus-mcp
npm install
npm run build

# interactive smoke test
I18NEXUS_API_KEY=... I18NEXUS_ACCESS_TOKEN=... I18NEXUS_SCOPE=full \
  npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js

Publishing (maintainer notes)

npm run build
npm pack --dry-run   # preview tarball contents
npm publish --access public

License

MIT