MCP Manager Skill

Overview

Natural language interface to MCP Manager CLI tool for managing Model Context Protocol server configurations. Users interact conversationally: "enable the filesystem MCP", "add a database server", "show me all my MCPs".

Activation

Activates on MCP keywords within 3-message window or explicit invocation: /mcp-manager

Commands

1. List MCPs

Display all configured MCP servers with status.

• "List all my MCPs" / "Show me my MCP servers"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli list

2. Enable MCP

Activate a disabled MCP server.

• "Enable the filesystem MCP" / "Turn on puppeteer"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli enable <server-name>

3. Disable MCP

Deactivate an MCP server without removing it. Requires confirmation.

• "Disable the puppeteer MCP" / "Turn off github"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli disable <server-name>

4. Add MCP

Add new MCP server interactively (collects name, command, args, env vars).

• "Add a new MCP server" / "Configure a database MCP"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli add <name> <command> [args...] --env KEY=VALUE

5. Remove MCP

Delete MCP server configuration completely. Requires confirmation with warning.

• "Remove the puppeteer MCP" / "Delete the old-server"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli remove <server-name>

6. Show MCP

Display detailed information for specific MCP server.

• "Show me the filesystem MCP" / "Details for github server"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli show <server-name>

7. Validate MCPs

Check all MCP configurations for errors.

• "Validate my MCP configuration" / "Check for MCP errors"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli validate

8. Export MCPs

Export configurations to JSON file for backup.

• "Export my MCP configuration" / "Back up my MCPs"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli export [output-file]

9. Import MCPs

Import configurations from JSON file.

• "Import MCPs from backup.json" / "Restore my MCPs"

• CLI: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli import <input-file> [--merge]

Usage Examples

Example 1: List and Enable

User: "List all my MCPs"

[Executes: cd .claude/scenarios && python3 -m mcp-manager.cli list ]

Response: "You have 3 MCP servers configured: ✓ filesystem (enabled) - Local filesystem access ✓ github (enabled) - GitHub API integration ✗ puppeteer (disabled) - Browser automation"

Follow-up: "Turn on puppeteer"

[Executes: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli enable puppeteer ]

"✓ Successfully enabled 'puppeteer' MCP server."

Example 2: Add New Server

User: "Add a new MCP for database access"

Interactive Collection:

• Name: "postgres-local"

• Command: "node /opt/mcp-servers/postgres/index.js"

• Args: "--port 5432 --host localhost"

• Env: "DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb"

[Executes: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli add postgres-local "node /opt/mcp-servers/postgres/index.js" --port 5432 --host localhost --env "DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb" ]

"✓ Successfully added 'postgres-local' MCP server. Server is currently disabled. Enable with: 'enable postgres-local'"

Example 3: Remove Server

User: "Remove the puppeteer MCP"

Confirmation: "⚠️ WARNING: You're about to remove 'puppeteer' MCP server. This will delete the configuration completely. This action cannot be undone. Are you sure? (yes/no)"

[User confirms: "yes"]

[Executes: python3 -m mcp-manager.cli remove puppeteer ]

"✓ Successfully removed 'puppeteer' MCP server."

Tool Invocation

All commands execute from ~/.amplihack/.claude/scenarios/ directory:

cd .claude/scenarios && python3 -m mcp-manager.cli <command> [args]

Key Commands:

• list

• List all MCPs

• enable <name>

• Enable server

• disable <name>

• Disable server

• add <name> <cmd> [args...] --env KEY=VAL

• Add server

• remove <name>

• Remove server

• show <name>

• Show details

• validate

• Validate all configurations

• export [file]

• Export to JSON

• import <file> [--merge]

• Import from JSON

Output Handling:

• Success: Exit code 0, stdout with ✓ prefix

• Error: Non-zero exit code, stderr with ❌ prefix

• Redact sensitive info (tokens, passwords) in responses

Error Handling

Common Errors:

• CLI Not Found: Offer installation instructions (see README)

• Server Not Found: List available servers, suggest alternatives

• Server Already Exists: Suggest show/remove/rename

• Permission Denied: Check file/directory permissions

• Malformed settings.json: Validate JSON, offer backup restore

• Invalid Command: Show common command patterns

For detailed error scenarios and troubleshooting, see ~/.amplihack/.claude/scenarios/mcp-manager/README.md

Best Practices

• Always confirm destructive operations (disable, remove)

• Validate server names before executing

• Redact sensitive information in responses

• Provide clear error messages with actionable next steps

• Show current state before and after changes

See Also

• Full documentation: ~/.amplihack/.claude/scenarios/mcp-manager/README.md

• Tool creation guide: ~/.amplihack/.claude/scenarios/mcp-manager/HOW_TO_CREATE_YOUR_OWN.md

• MCP Protocol: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/

• Claude Code Settings: ~/.amplihack/.claude/settings.json

Version: 1.0.0 | Updated: 2025-11-24 | Maintainer: amplihack team