glyphs-info-mcp 1.0.0rc2

Unified MCP server for Glyphs handbook and API queries

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Glyphs info MCP

A unified MCP server integrating Glyphs handbook queries and API reference lookups.

📋 Project Overview

Glyphs info MCP is a unified MCP (Model Context Protocol) server specifically designed for Glyphs font design software, providing developers and designers with an integrated knowledge query platform.

⚠️ Important Notes

Please note the following important points before using this project:

🏗️ Development Approach

• This project was largely built using Vibe Coding iterative development, focusing on rapid feature implementation and practicality

🌐 Network Requirements

• Forum search tools, tutorial search tools, and official news search tools only work when connected to the internet
• Local cache tools can be used as a fallback option when offline

🤖 Recommended Model

• After testing, this project works best with Claude models
• We recommend using it in the Claude Desktop environment for the best experience

📊 Data Sources

• API Reference: Converted from Glyphs official GitHub SDK code
• Handbook Content: Scraped and organized from Glyphs official website using an internal parser
• Terminology Translation: Extracted from Glyphs application localization string files (.strings), ensuring consistency with the software interface

💡 Usage Tips

• Prioritize using network search tools to get the latest information
• Rely on local cache data when offline usage is needed
• Recommended to use Claude's conversational capabilities for complex queries

✨ Features

• 🔍 Unified Search - Smart query routing with automatic content type detection
• 🌏 Multilingual UI Terms - Support for Glyphs UI terminology in 14 languages
• 📚 Complete Handbook Queries - Covers all Glyphs official handbook content
• 🔌 Comprehensive API Reference - Full documentation for Python and Objective-C APIs
• 🧠 Smart Cross-referencing - Automatic linking of related content and terminology
• 🛠️ MCP Protocol Compatible - Standardized tool interface, easy to integrate

🚀 Quick Start

Requirements

• Python 3.10+ - Must be installed
• uv package manager - MCP officially recommended package management tool
• Claude Desktop - For running the MCP server
• Operating System: macOS

📦 Installation

Method 1: Using uvx (Recommended)

This is the simplest installation method, no manual project download required.

Step 1: Install uv

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Step 2: Configure Claude Desktop

Edit the Claude Desktop configuration file (path shown below) and add the following:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "glyphs-info": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["glyphs-info-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop and you're ready to go!

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Method 2: Install from Source (Developers)

Suitable for users who need customization or development.

Step 1: Install uv package manager

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Restart your terminal after installation to ensure the uv command is available.

Step 2: Download the Project

Option 1: Clone with submodules (recommended)

git clone --recursive https://github.com/yintzuyuan/glyphs-info-mcp.git
cd glyphs-info-mcp

Option 2: Clone and then initialize submodules

git clone https://github.com/yintzuyuan/glyphs-info-mcp.git
cd glyphs-info-mcp
git submodule update --init --recursive

📦 Git Submodules Note: This project uses Git Submodules to manage external resources, including:

• GlyphsSDK: Official SDK documentation and examples
• mekkablue-scripts: 358+ production scripts (ready to use)
• vanilla: UI framework documentation (ready to use)

Dynamic path switching feature:

• Prioritizes local installation (~/Library/Application Support/Glyphs 3/Repositories/)
• Automatically uses built-in Submodule when not installed (no additional setup needed)
• Provides out-of-the-box experience while maintaining flexibility

Step 3: Install Dependencies

# Install basic dependencies
uv sync

# (Optional) Install development dependencies
uv sync --extra dev

Step 4: Test the Server

# Test if the server starts correctly
uv run glyphs-info-mcp

If you see the server startup success message, installation is complete!

To use this MCP server in Claude Desktop, you need to edit the configuration file.

Configuration File Location

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration Content

Add the following to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "glyphs-info-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/glyphs-info-mcp",
        "run",
        "glyphs-info-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Important Notes:

• Replace /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/glyphs-info-mcp with your actual project path
• You must use an absolute path, relative paths or ~ symbol are not supported

Configuration Example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "glyphs-info-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/Users/username/glyphs-info-mcp",
        "run",
        "glyphs-info-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

🔧 Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the server not starting, check:

1. Path correctness: Ensure the --directory parameter uses an absolute path
2. JSON format: Ensure there are no syntax errors in the configuration file
3. Dependencies: Run uv sync to reinstall dependencies
4. Restart application: You must restart Claude Desktop after modifying the configuration

Apply Configuration

1. Save the claude_desktop_config.json file
2. Restart Claude Desktop
3. Test if MCP tools are available in the conversation

📋 Usage Examples

After configuration, you can use the following features directly in Claude Desktop:

# Query using MCP tools
search_glyphs("GSFont")          # API class query
search_glyphs("4.1")             # Handbook chapter query
search_glyphs("edit view")       # Feature query
get_class_overview("GSFont")     # Detailed class information
get_handbook_toc()               # Handbook table of contents

🛠️ Installation Verification

Verify uv installation

uv --version

Should display version number, e.g., uv 0.1.x

Verify project dependencies

cd glyphs-info-mcp
uv run python -c "import mcp; print('MCP package is working')"

Verify MCP server

uv run glyphs-info-mcp

You should see output similar to:

✅ Vocabulary module loaded successfully
✅ Handbook module loaded successfully
✅ API module loaded successfully
✅ Glyphs info MCP Server initialized with 8 modules and 53 tools

❓ FAQ

Q: Cannot find uv command

A: Make sure you've restarted your terminal. If the issue persists, run source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc

Q: Claude Desktop cannot load the MCP server

A: Check the following:

1. Is the configuration file path correct?
2. Is there a JSON syntax error?
3. Is the project path an absolute path?
4. Have you restarted Claude Desktop?

Q: Server fails to start

A: Common solutions:

# Reinstall dependencies
uv sync --reinstall

# Check Python version (requires 3.10+)
python --version

# Check project integrity
uv run python -m pytest tests/ -v

🔧 Main Features

MCP Tools

Tool	Description	Purpose
search_glyphs	Unified search entry	Auto-routes queries to appropriate modules
get_handbook_toc	Handbook TOC	Browse complete chapter structure
find_chapter_content	Chapter query	Get specific chapter content
search_handbook	Handbook search	Search keywords in the handbook
search_api	API search	Query API classes and methods
get_class_overview	Class information	Get detailed class documentation
get_api_statistics	API statistics	Display API coverage statistics

📖 User Guide

Search Best Practices

• Use core words of English terminology
• Prefer single concept keywords
• Utilize automatic query type detection
• Refer to the terminology reference for translations

Common Query Patterns

# API development
search_glyphs("GSFont")              # Query font class
get_class_overview("GSGlyph")        # Get glyph class details

# Feature learning
search_glyphs("kerning")             # Query kerning feature
find_chapter_content("4.1")          # View specific chapter

# Combined queries
search_glyphs("export")              # Mixed search for export-related content

🏗️ Project Structure

glyphs-info-mcp/
├── src/
│   └── glyphs_info_mcp/                    # 📦 Core package
│       ├── __init__.py                      # Package initialization
│       ├── __main__.py                      # CLI entry point
│       ├── server.py                        # MCP server main program
│       ├── config.py                        # Configuration management
│       ├── modules/                         # Feature modules
│       │   ├── glyphs_handbook/             # Handbook query module
│       │   ├── glyphs_api/                  # API query module
│       │   ├── glyphs_vocabulary/           # Terminology translation module
│       │   ├── glyphs_plugins/              # Plugin information module
│       │   ├── glyphs_news/                 # News and forum module
│       │   ├── glyphs_sdk/                  # SDK documentation module
│       │   ├── light_table_api/             # Light Table API module
│       │   └── mekkablue_scripts/           # Mekkablue scripts module
│       └── data/                            # Data files
│           ├── handbook/                    # Handbook Markdown files
│           ├── api/                         # API JSON files
│           ├── vocab/                       # Terminology reference files
│           └── plugins/                     # Plugin cache data
├── tests/                                   # 🧪 Test files
│   ├── test_glyphs_handbook/                # Handbook module tests
│   ├── test_glyphs_api/                     # API module tests
│   ├── test_glyphs_vocabulary/              # Vocabulary module tests
│   ├── test_glyphs_plugins/                 # Plugin module tests
│   └── test_integration/                    # Integration tests
├── modules_config.yaml                      # Module configuration file
├── pyproject.toml                           # ⚙️ Project configuration
├── README.md                                # 📝 Project documentation
└── uv.lock                                  # 🔒 Dependency lock

🛠️ Development

Development Environment Setup

# Install development dependencies
uv sync --extra dev

# Install test dependencies
uv sync --extra test

Code Quality

# Code formatting
uv run black src/ tests/

# Linting
uv run ruff check src/ tests/ --fix

# Type checking
uv run mypy src/

Testing

# Run all tests
uv run pytest

# Run specific tests
uv run pytest tests/test_specific.py

# Test coverage
uv run pytest --cov=src/glyphs_info_mcp

🎯 Use Cases

Type Designers

• Quickly query Glyphs features and operation instructions
• Learn advanced features and best practices
• Chinese-English terminology reference and understanding

Plugin Developers

• Query Python/Objective-C API documentation
• Get class method and property details
• Reference plugin development examples and patterns

Automation Script Developers

• Quickly find APIs and usage examples
• Understand object relationships and inheritance structures
• Get complete code references

Educators

• Structured teaching content
• Systematic knowledge organization
• Multilingual learning resources

⚙️ Configuration

Environment Variables

# Data path configuration
export GLYPHS_MCP_DATA_PATH=/custom/path/to/data

# Performance tuning
export GLYPHS_MCP_MAX_SEARCH_RESULTS=100
export GLYPHS_MCP_SEARCH_TIMEOUT=60
export GLYPHS_MCP_ENABLE_CACHE=true

# Logging settings
export GLYPHS_MCP_LOG_LEVEL=INFO

📊 Project Status

• Version: 1.0.0
• Status: Stable Release
• MCP Protocol: Fully Compatible
• License: MIT License

🔗 Related Resources

• Glyphs Official Website
• Glyphs Official Documentation
• Glyphs Learning Center
• MCP Protocol Documentation
• Report Issues

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

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Glyphs info MCP - Making Glyphs knowledge queries simple and powerful 🚀

Last updated: 2025-12-27