CourseForge MCP Client

stdio transport for connecting Claude Code and other MCP clients to the CourseForge API.

Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g courseforge-mcp-client

Local Installation

npm install courseforge-mcp-client

Usage

With Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code configuration file (.claude.json in your project or global config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "courseforge": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "courseforge-mcp-client"],
      "env": {
        "COURSEFORGE_API_KEY": "cf_prod_your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace cf_prod_your_api_key_here with your actual CourseForge API key.

Get Your API Key

1. Go to https://courseforge.caringai.app
2. Sign in to your account
3. Navigate to Settings → API Keys
4. Create a new API key
5. Copy the key (it starts with cf_prod_)

Local Development

For local development, point to your local server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "courseforge": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "courseforge-mcp-client"],
      "env": {
        "COURSEFORGE_API_KEY": "cf_dev_your_test_key",
        "COURSEFORGE_API_URL": "http://localhost:3000/api/mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

Direct Command Line Usage

COURSEFORGE_API_KEY=cf_prod_xxx courseforge-mcp

The client will listen for MCP JSON-RPC requests on stdin and send responses to stdout.

Environment Variables

• COURSEFORGE_API_KEY (required) - Your CourseForge API key
• COURSEFORGE_API_URL (optional) - API endpoint (default: https://courseforge.caringai.app/api/mcp)

Available Tools

Once connected, you'll have access to 28 CourseForge MCP tools:

Course Management (5 tools)

• list_courses - List all your courses
• create_course - Create a new course
• get_course - Get course details
• update_course - Update course information
• delete_course - Delete a course

Module Management (5 tools)

• create_module - Add a module to a course
• update_module - Update module details
• delete_module - Remove a module
• reorder_modules - Change module order
• get_module - Get module details

Lesson Management (5 tools)

• create_lesson - Add a lesson to a module
• update_lesson - Update lesson details
• delete_lesson - Remove a lesson
• reorder_lessons - Change lesson order
• get_lesson - Get lesson details

Content Block Management (5 tools)

• add_content_block - Add content to a lesson
• update_content_block - Update content block
• delete_content_block - Remove content block
• get_content_block - Get content block details
• reorder_content_blocks - Change content block order

AI Assistant Tools (4 tools)

• ai_chat_assistant - Chat with AI instructional designer
• generate_image - Generate custom images with Gemini 2.5
• marketing_support_chat - Get marketing and support help
• get_openapi_spec - Get API documentation

Content Generation (1 tool)

• generate_lesson_content - AI-powered lesson content generation

API Key Management (3 tools)

• list_api_keys - View your API keys
• create_api_key - Create a new API key
• revoke_api_key - Revoke an API key

Example Usage in Claude Code

Once configured, you can ask Claude:

List my CourseForge courses

Create a new course called "Introduction to Python" with beginner difficulty

Generate content for my course about variables in Python

Troubleshooting

Red JSON validation errors on startup (FIXED in v1.0.1+)

Symptoms:

• Red error messages appear in Claude Desktop when starting up
• Error mentions "ZodError", "invalid_union", or "unrecognized_keys"
• Tools work correctly after startup

Solution: Update to version 1.0.1 or later, which includes proper MCP protocol handling:

# The latest version will be used automatically with npx
npx -y courseforge-mcp-client@latest

# Or update if installed globally
npm update -g courseforge-mcp-client

After updating, restart Claude Desktop completely. The red errors should no longer appear.

Technical Details: Version 1.0.1+ properly handles MCP protocol methods (notifications/*, prompts/list, resources/list) locally instead of forwarding them to the API.

"COURSEFORGE_API_KEY environment variable is required"

Make sure you've set the COURSEFORGE_API_KEY in your MCP configuration under the env section.

"HTTP 401: Unauthorized"

• Verify your API key is correct and starts with cf_prod_
• Check that the API key hasn't been revoked
• Ensure your API key hasn't expired

Tools not showing in Claude Code

1. Check that the configuration file is valid JSON
2. Restart Claude Code completely (Quit and reopen)
3. Check Claude Code logs for connection errors
4. Verify npx is working: npx -y courseforge-mcp-client --version

Connection errors

• Check your internet connection
• Verify the API URL is correct
• Try the local development configuration first
• Check that port 443 (HTTPS) is not blocked

Development

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/your-org/courseforge.git
cd courseforge/packages/courseforge-mcp-client
npm install
npm run build

Run locally

npm run dev  # Watch mode

Test manually

echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize"}' | COURSEFORGE_API_KEY=cf_xxx node dist/index.js

Support

• Documentation: https://courseforge.caringai.app/docs
• Issues: File issues on GitHub
• API Reference: Use the get_openapi_spec tool

License

MIT