MCP Manager

MCP Manager Skill

Manage MCP servers for openclacky. The user's MCP configuration lives at ~/.clacky/mcp.json (the same format Claude Desktop and Cursor use). You never ask the user to edit it by hand — you do it for them through the local clacky HTTP API.

Command Parsing

If the intent is unclear, default to add — it's the most common ask.

Server Coordinates

All API calls go to the local clacky server. The host and port are exposed via environment variables:

HOST="${CLACKY_SERVER_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"
PORT="${CLACKY_SERVER_PORT:-7070}"
BASE="http://${HOST}:${PORT}"

All write operations require requests to come from 127.0.0.1 or ::1. They will, because we're running locally.

API Cheat Sheet

Request body for create/update — stdio (local process, default):

{
  "name": "filesystem",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/me/Documents"],
  "env": { "API_KEY": "xxx" },
  "description": "Read/write files in ~/Documents"
}

Request body for create/update — http (remote server, streamable-http):

{
  "name": "linear",
  "type": "http",
  "url":  "https://mcp.linear.app/sse",
  "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer lin_api_xxx" },
  "description": "Linear issues and projects"
}

If type is omitted but url is present, the server treats it as http.

Known-Good Server Catalog

When the user describes what they want, match it to one of these and propose it. Each entry: package, what it does, required params, recommended description.

1. filesystem — read/write local files

• When: "read my files", "access my desktop", "browse my code"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "<ABSOLUTE_PATH>"]
• Required: absolute directory path (ask user; default to ~/Documents)
• Tools: read_file, write_file, list_directory, search_files, etc.

2. github — GitHub repos, issues, PRs

• When: "access github", "manage my repos", "read my issues"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"]
• Env: { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<TOKEN>" }
• Required: PAT from https://github.com/settings/tokens (recommend repo scope)

3. fetch — fetch HTTP URLs as markdown

• When: "fetch web pages", "read articles by url"
• Command: uvx
• Args: ["mcp-server-fetch"]
• Required: nothing
• Note: needs Python uv installed (brew install uv)

4. memory — persistent knowledge graph

• When: "remember things across sessions", "give clacky long-term memory"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
• Required: nothing

5. postgres — query a Postgres database

• When: "query my database", "connect to postgres"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "<DATABASE_URL>"]
• Required: DATABASE_URL like postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname

6. slack — Slack messages

• When: "read slack", "send slack messages"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-slack"]
• Env: { "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN": "xoxb-...", "SLACK_TEAM_ID": "T..." }
• Required: bot token and team id (Slack admin → app config)

7. brave-search — web search via Brave API

• When: "search the web", "give clacky search"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"]
• Env: { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<KEY>" }
• Required: free API key from https://api.search.brave.com/

8. puppeteer — browser automation

• When: "automate the browser", "scrape with js"
• Command: npx
• Args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer"]
• Required: nothing (downloads Chromium on first run)

Custom (anything else)

If the user names a package or path you don't recognize, take the spec from them verbatim and pass it through. Always confirm command, args, and env back in plain language before saving.

Remote / HTTP servers (streamable-http)

Some MCP servers are hosted services and don't ship as a CLI — you connect over HTTPS instead. Trigger when the user gives you a URL ending in /mcp, /sse, or hosted on *.mcp.* / mcp.*.app, or says "the server is at https://...".

• Type: http
• Required: url (the streamable-http endpoint)
• Optional: headers — typically { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }

Examples of remote MCP servers in the wild:

• Linear: https://mcp.linear.app/sse (Bearer API key)
• Cloudflare: https://<workers-subdomain>.workers.dev/mcp (Bearer token)
• GitHub Copilot: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ (OAuth, advanced)

When the user pastes a URL, ask:

1. What service is this? (so you can pick a name and description)
2. Does it need an authorization header? If yes, paste the token.

Save with type: "http". The local clacky never spawns a process for these — it just POSTs JSON-RPC over HTTPS.

⚠️ Wrapping a regular CLI tool: if the user gives you a CLI command that is not a stdio MCP server (e.g. mcp-cli, some-api-cli login), do NOT save it as a stdio MCP entry — it won't speak JSON-RPC over stdin. Tell them: "This looks like a regular CLI, not an MCP server. Does the service offer an HTTPS endpoint instead?"

Subcommand: add — the primary flow

Goal: the user describes what they want, you produce a working MCP entry + confirm it works. Keep questions minimal.

Step 1 — Identify intent

• If the user's first message already names a server (e.g. "add filesystem"), pick that catalog entry directly.
• Otherwise, ask one open question: "What would you like Clacky to be able to do? (e.g. read your files, access GitHub, search the web)"
• Match their answer to the catalog. If multiple match, present 2–3 options with one-line descriptions and let them pick.