@ldclabs/kip-mcp-server

Minimal MCP server that exposes KIP (Knowledge Interaction Protocol) tools over stdio.

This server is a thin bridge:

• MCP client (Claude / VS Code / Cursor / etc) -> this package (stdio)
• this package -> your KIP backend (HTTP)

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18

What it provides

Tools

• execute_kip: Execute one or more KIP commands against your backend. Important: clients should inject kip_bootstrap (or load kip://docs/Instructions.md) so the agent can use KIP correctly.
• list_logs: List backend log entries (if your backend implements it).

Resources

This package ships documentation as MCP resources:

• kip://docs/Instructions.md
• kip://docs/KIP.md

Prompt

• kip_bootstrap: Returns a ready-to-inject system prompt for KIP usage.

Quickstart (with anda-db backend via Docker)

KIP backend implementation: https://github.com/ldclabs/anda-db/tree/main/rs/anda_cognitive_nexus_server

Start the backend:

docker run -d \
	--name anda_kip \
	-p 8080:8080 \
	-e API_KEY=your_secret_key \
	-v $(pwd)/db:/app/db \
	ghcr.io/ldclabs/anda_cognitive_nexus_server_amd64:latest \
	local --db /app/db

Then run this MCP server (stdio) and point it at the backend endpoint:

export KIP_BACKEND_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8080/kip"
export KIP_API_KEY="your_secret_key"

npx -y @ldclabs/kip-mcp-server

Notes:

• KIP_BACKEND_URL is a single HTTP endpoint that accepts a JSON body like { "method": "execute_kip", "params": ... }.
• The example URL /kip depends on your backend route. If unsure, check backend docs/logs and update the URL accordingly.
• Backend uses API_KEY, this MCP server uses KIP_API_KEY (sent as Authorization: Bearer <key>).

Install / Run

Option A: Run via npx (recommended)

KIP_BACKEND_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8080/kip" npx -y @ldclabs/kip-mcp-server

Option B: Global install

npm i -g @ldclabs/kip-mcp-server
KIP_BACKEND_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8080/kip" kip-mcp-server

Option C: Run from source (development)

cd mcp/kip-mcp-server
npm i
KIP_BACKEND_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8080/kip" npm run dev

Configuration

Required:

• KIP_BACKEND_URL: HTTP URL for the KIP backend endpoint.

Optional:

• KIP_API_KEY: sent as Authorization: Bearer <key>
• KIP_AUTH_HEADER: overrides the Authorization header completely (e.g. Bearer ... or a custom scheme)
• KIP_TIMEOUT_MS: request timeout in milliseconds (default 30000)

Using it in MCP clients

This MCP server runs over stdio, so most MCP clients can launch it with a command, args, and env.

Claude Desktop

Add a server entry to Claude Desktop config (macOS path shown):

• ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Example:

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"kip": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["-y", "@ldclabs/kip-mcp-server"],
			"env": {
				"KIP_BACKEND_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:8080/kip",
				"KIP_API_KEY": "your_secret_key"
			}
		}
	}
}

Restart Claude Desktop after editing the file.

VS Code

VS Code itself does not ship a single built-in MCP UI across all distributions, but several MCP-capable extensions support the same stdio-style server definition.

Use your extension's UI/settings to add an MCP server:

• Command: npx
• Args: -y @ldclabs/kip-mcp-server
• Env: KIP_BACKEND_URL, KIP_API_KEY (optional)

If your extension uses a JSON setting (often named mcpServers), the Claude example above typically works with minimal changes.

Other MCP apps (Cursor / etc.)

Look for a section named like “MCP Servers” / “Tools” / “Server (stdio)”.

Use the same launch parameters:

• command: npx
• args: -y @ldclabs/kip-mcp-server
• env: KIP_BACKEND_URL (+ optional auth vars)

Bundled docs (Resources)

By default this package serves bundled docs from docs/.

Optional:

• KIP_REPO_ROOT: if set, the server will additionally try loading Instructions.md.