edstem-cli

TypeScript CLI and MCP access for Ed Discussion.

One Ed implementation powers three adapters:

• edstem: compact JSON CLI for agents and scripts
• edstem-mcp: local stdio MCP server
• remote MCP: OAuth, encrypted Ed tokens, and SQLite for hosted connectors

Install

npm install -g edstem-cli
export ED_API_TOKEN="your-token"
edstem user --fields id,name,courses

Create a token at edstem.org/settings/api-tokens. The CLI also reads ~/.config/edstem-cli/token.

The npm package requires Node.js 20 or newer. The hosted remote adapter uses Bun.

CLI

JSON is the default. List commands return summaries without thread bodies, lesson slides, or repeated user records.

edstem courses
edstem threads 12345 --max 20 --fields id,number,title,flags
edstem thread 67890
edstem thread 12345#42
edstem lessons 12345 --module "Week 2"
edstem lesson 105199
edstem activity 12345 --max 10

Detail commands support Markdown export:

edstem thread 67890 --md --output thread.md
edstem lesson 105199 --md --output lesson.md

Raw Ed XML stays out of thread JSON unless you pass --include-html. Use --pretty for indented JSON and --legacy-json for the pre-0.4 thread shape.

Quiz and lesson-progress commands update your Ed state:

edstem lessons questions 4401
edstem lessons quiz 4401 --answer 991 --choice 2
edstem lessons quiz 4401 --submit
edstem lessons read 12345 Pre-Reading

Run edstem --help for the full command list.

Local MCP

Configure an MCP client to launch the stdio executable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "edstem": {
      "command": "edstem-mcp",
      "env": {
        "ED_API_TOKEN": "your-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

The server exposes courses, lessons, threads, activity, quiz submission, and lesson-progress tools. It returns compact JSON text without a duplicate structuredContent payload.

Agent skill

npx skills add https://github.com/bunizao/edstem-cli

# Check metadata or regenerate SKILL.md
edstem skills
edstem skills generate

SKILL.md derives its CLI table and MCP tool list from the code. CI rejects drift.

Remote MCP

The hosted adapter keeps each Ed token encrypted with AES-256-GCM and resolves it from the requesting OAuth identity. It enforces a separate write scope for quiz and progress mutations.

Public endpoint: https://edstem.tuuhub.com/mcp

Self-host with Docker:

cp .env.example .env
# Set MASTER_KEY and PUBLIC_BASE_URL.
docker compose up -d

The image exposes /healthz, /readyz, and /mcp. SQLite data lives in the app_data volume.

Development

npm install
npm run check
npm test
npm run build
npm run pack:check
npm run pack:smoke

npm test runs Vitest for the Node CLI and stdio MCP, then Bun tests for remote OAuth, security, SQLite, and end-to-end reconnect behavior.

License

Apache-2.0. The migrated remote MCP code retains its MIT notice in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.