@pathmode/mcp-server

Build structured intent specs through Socratic AI conversation — right in your terminal.

No signup. No API key. Just add the MCP server and start talking.

Intent Compiler

The Intent Compiler turns Claude Code into a Socratic product thinking partner. Describe a problem, paste a support ticket, or explain what's broken — Claude challenges vague thinking, asks pointed questions, and builds a structured spec.

> Help me write an intent spec for our checkout flow

  What's broken about it? When you say "checkout flow" — is the whole
  thing failing, or is there one specific moment where users bail?

> Payment step times out and users get confused

  When you say "times out" — is that 5 seconds or 30? And what does
  the user actually see? A spinner? A blank screen? An error?

> About 8 seconds, they see a spinner with no feedback

  Proposed Objective: "Reduce cart abandonment caused by payment step
  timeouts exceeding 3 seconds, where users see a spinner with no
  status feedback or recovery path."

  Does that capture it, or is there more to the pain?

When the spec is ready, Claude saves it as intent.md and optionally exports as .cursorrules or CLAUDE.md — so every AI agent in your project sees the intent as its implementation context.

Quick Start

Add to .claude/settings.json:

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

Then in Claude Code:

> Help me write an intent spec for [your problem here]

That's it. No API key needed.

What You Get

intent.md — Structured spec with YAML frontmatter:

---
id: "intent_17291..."
version: 1
status: "draft"
---
# Fix Checkout Payment Timeout

## Objective
Reduce cart abandonment caused by payment step
timeouts exceeding 3 seconds.

## Outcomes
- [ ] Payment completes in under 3 seconds (p95)
- [ ] Users see real-time status during processing
- [ ] Failed payments show actionable error with retry

## Edge Cases
- **Network timeout during payment**: Show retry button, no double-charge
- **Unknown provider status**: Hold order, notify user within 30s

.cursorrules — Agent-directive format for Cursor:

# CURRENT OBJECTIVE
You are implementing: "Fix Checkout Payment Timeout"

# SUCCESS OUTCOMES
Your implementation MUST satisfy ALL of these:
- Payment completes in under 3 seconds (p95)
- Users see real-time status during processing
- Failed payments show actionable error with retry

CLAUDE.md — Appends a <!-- PATHMODE:START --> section so Claude Code sees the intent in every conversation.

Intent Compiler Tools

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | intent_save | Save an intent spec to intent.md in the project root | | intent_export | Export as .cursorrules or CLAUDE.md section |

Intent Compiler Prompt

| Prompt | Description | |--------|-------------| | compile-intent | Start a Socratic conversation to build an intent spec |

Team Features (API Key Required)

For teams shipping with AI agents, connect to your Pathmode workspace for dependency tracking, strategic context, and governance.

Setup with API Key

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pathmode": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@pathmode/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PATHMODE_API_KEY": "pm_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Works with Claude Code (.claude/settings.json), Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json), and Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json).

Get your API key from Settings > API Keys in the Pathmode app.

Local Mode (Offline)

Read intent.md files from your project directory without an API key:

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

Configuration

| Method | Details | |--------|---------| | Environment variable | PATHMODE_API_KEY=pm_live_... | | Config file | ~/.pathmode/config.json with apiKey, apiUrl, workspaceId | | Local mode | --local flag — reads intent.md and .pathmode/intents/*.md | | No config | Intent Compiler works without any configuration |

Team Tools

Intent Management

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | get_current_intent | Get the active intent (first approved, or most recent) | | get_intent | Get a single intent by ID with full details | | list_intents | List all intents, optionally filtered by status | | search_intents | Search intents by keyword across goals, objectives, and outcomes | | update_intent_status | Update intent status (draft > validated > approved > shipped > verified) | | log_implementation_note | Record a technical decision or implementation note |

Strategic Analysis

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | analyze_intent_graph | Analyze dependency graph for critical path, cycles, bottlenecks | | get_intent_relations | Get the dependency graph for a specific intent |

Context & Export

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | export_context | Generate CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, or intent.md files | | get_agent_prompt | Get a structured execution prompt for an intent | | get_workspace | Get workspace details including strategy and constitution | | get_constitution | Get mandatory constraint rules for the workspace |

Team Prompts

| Prompt | Description | |--------|-------------| | implement-intent | Full implementation workflow for a specific intent | | review-risks | Analyze the intent graph for architectural risks | | what-next | Suggest the highest-priority intent to work on next |

Resources

| URI | Description | |-----|-------------| | intent://current | Currently active intent | | intent://graph | Full intent dependency graph | | intent://workspace-strategy | Workspace vision, principles, and active constitution rules |

Troubleshooting

"No Pathmode configuration found" This no longer causes an error. The Intent Compiler works without any configuration. Team features require an API key.

Tools return "not available in local mode" Most team tools require cloud mode. Set up an API key, or use --local for basic intent reading.

Connection timeout Ensure your API key is valid and has the correct scopes. Check your network connection to pathmode.io.

Privacy Policy

This MCP server connects to the Pathmode API (pathmode.io) to read and write intent specifications, workspace data, and constitution rules on behalf of the authenticated user.

The Intent Compiler works entirely offline — no data is sent to Pathmode servers. Specs are saved locally to your project directory.

Data collected (team features only): The server transmits your API key for authentication and sends/receives workspace data via the Pathmode API.

Data storage: The MCP server does not store data locally (except intent.md files it creates and in --local mode). Persistent data is stored in Pathmode's cloud infrastructure.

Third-party sharing: No data is shared with third parties. The server communicates exclusively with the Pathmode API.

Full privacy policy: pathmode.io/privacy

Links

• Intent Compiler page — Overview and setup guide
• Try in browser — Interactive sandbox, no install needed
• Pathmode — Full platform for teams
• Issues

License

MIT