Skip to main content

mcp-methods

Shared Rust-powered utilities for Model Context Protocol servers. Pip-installable Python library AND a native Rust crate AND a generic CLI binary — three distribution shapes, one set of primitives.

Fast file search (ripgrep-backed), GitHub integration with smart compaction, text utilities, and an rmcp-backed MCP server framework with YAML-manifest configuration. The common building blocks needed when writing MCP tool servers.

The Rust library is the source of truth; the Python wheel is a thin pyo3 binding over it. Rust consumers see zero pyo3 in their dep tree.

Install

Python — pip install

pip install mcp-methods
from mcp_methods import ElementCache, ripgrep, list_dir, github_discussions, read_file

The wheel ships the mcp-server CLI on PATH alongside the library — which mcp-server should resolve immediately. Single abi3 wheel per OS; works on Python 3.10 through 3.13 without reinstall.

Rust library — cargo add

[dependencies]
mcp-methods = "0.4"
use mcp_methods::cache::ElementCache;
use mcp_methods::{github, files, grep, list_dir, compact, html};
use mcp_methods::server::{McpServer, ServerOptions, Manifest}; // with default `server` feature

Zero pyo3 in the dep tree. The server feature (default-on) adds the rmcp-backed framework; disable with default-features = false for the bare primitives. The 0.4 line requires Rust 1.88 or newer.

For pre-release coordination — pinning against a specific commit while the framework is iterating quickly — depend on a git rev:

mcp-methods = { git = "https://github.com/kkollsga/mcp-methods.git", rev = "<short SHA>", features = ["server"] }

The downstream kglite-mcp-server uses this pattern to stay locked to the exact framework rev its integration tests pass against.

CLI — cargo install (alternative path)

The CLI ships in the pip wheel by default. If you'd rather skip Python:

cargo install --git https://github.com/kkollsga/mcp-methods mcp-server

Not on crates.io — mcp-server is unpublished on purpose. The Rust library on crates.io is the published surface; the binary ships via the wheel and via git.

Documentation

Full docs at mcp-methods.readthedocs.io (Sphinx + Read the Docs, structured along Diátaxis lines):

  • Getting Started — 15-minute walkthrough from pip install to a running server
  • Core Concepts — manifest, operating modes, trust gates, downstream-binary pattern
  • Guides — writing a manifest, downstream binaries, trust gates, python bindings, watch + workspace modes
  • Reference — manifest schema, Python API, Rust API
  • Explanation — three-crate architecture, advisory-trust pattern, distribution shape

Rust API rustdoc: docs.rs/mcp-methods.

What's included

Primitive Purpose
list_dir Tree-formatted directory listing with depth, glob, .gitignore, annotation
ripgrep_files, ripgrep, ripgrep_lines Ripgrep-powered search (in-process, no subprocess)
read_file Safe file reading with path traversal protection
github_discussions, git_api GitHub issue/PR fetching with smart compaction, REST wrapper
ElementCache Drill-down cache for collapsed elements in GitHub discussions
html_to_text, compact_text, collapse_code_blocks Text utilities
extract_github_refs, detect_git_repo, validate_repo Git/GitHub helpers
mcp_methods.fastmcp Composable tool registrations for FastMCP servers
SkillRegistry, Skill, register_skills_as_prompts Operator-authored methodology as MCP prompts (layered: project → domain pack → manifest-inline → owned → bundled defaults). See crates/mcp-methods/dev-documentation/skills-aware-mcp.md for the design doc.

Plus the server framework in mcp_methods::server::*: McpServer, ServerOptions, Manifest, Workspace, watch_dir, load_env_walk, serve_prompts. See the Rust API reference.

License

MIT.

Metadata

Release files for mcp-methods 0.4.13

For a detailed explanation of source distributions (sdists) and built distributions (wheels), please see the package formats documentation.

Built distributions (wheels)

Table of built distributions (wheels) for mcp-methods 0.4.13
File Interpreter ABI Platform
mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-win_amd64.whl CPython 3.10 abi3 Windows x86-64 Details
mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_39_x86_64.whl CPython 3.10 abi3 Linux glibc 2.39+ x86-64 Details
mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl CPython 3.10 abi3 macOS 11.0+ ARM64 Details

Total release size: 25.1 MB

Release files / mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-win_amd64.whl

Download URL mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-win_amd64.whl
Size 7.8 MB
Tags CPython 3.10 Windows x86-64 abi3
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
d6d6290fe05ab240382d5fa24cf9a12aae101efd7ec4ce88dae7c0fdd9a7d746
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
2953f2e92c9bb41f290d00b1a27c3cab0bfe3f52b487797555481fb8dd23823d
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
No
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Release files / mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_39_x86_64.whl

Download URL mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_39_x86_64.whl
Size 9.1 MB
Tags CPython 3.10 Linux glibc 2.39+ x86-64 abi3
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
b12106db5adc9909be5d80ba188399de66080c673d031085476e46a1a082386c
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
89d730532722991874e23a34ebb36403080735989d6345487ed2a8d96d8feff9
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
No
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Release files / mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl

Download URL mcp_methods-0.4.13-cp310-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl
Size 8.1 MB
Tags CPython 3.10 abi3 macOS 11.0+ ARM64
SHA-256 checksum
How to use checksums
7bcb45e2a561b09eba40d4abbf582f889924969ae1a32eb03db54d16de620a41
BLAKE2b-256 checksum
How to use checksums
162fd74f12ba38078443dfce8f9129b8394806241982ed7002b96e230500f40c
Upload date
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing?
What is trusted publishing?
No
Uploaded via twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

Release history Release notifications | RSS feed

This release

0.4.13 This release

3 release files

0.4.12

3 release files

0.4.11

3 release files

0.4.10

3 release files

0.4.9

3 release files

0.4.8

3 release files

0.4.7

3 release files

0.4.6

3 release files

0.4.5

3 release files

0.4.4

3 release files

0.4.3

3 release files

0.4.2

3 release files

0.4.1

3 release files

0.4.0

3 release files

0.3.44

3 release files

0.3.43

3 release files

0.3.42

3 release files

0.3.40

3 release files

0.3.39

3 release files

0.3.38

3 release files

0.3.37

3 release files

0.3.36

3 release files

0.3.35

3 release files

0.3.34

3 release files

0.3.33

3 release files

0.3.32

3 release files

0.3.31

3 release files

0.3.30

3 release files

0.3.29

3 release files

0.3.28

3 release files

0.3.27

3 release files

0.3.26

3 release files

0.3.9

12 release files

0.3.8

12 release files

0.3.7

12 release files

0.3.6

12 release files

0.3.5

12 release files

0.3.4

12 release files

0.3.3

12 release files

0.3.2

12 release files

0.3.1

12 release files

0.2.9

12 release files

0.2.8

12 release files

0.2.7

12 release files

0.2.5

12 release files

0.1.1

2 release files

Anthropic, PBC Visionary sponsor Bloomberg Visionary sponsor Hudson River Trading Visionary sponsor Meta Visionary sponsor NVIDIA Visionary sponsor Microsoft Sustainability sponsor Depot Continuous Integration AWS Cloud computing and Security Sponsor Datadog Monitoring Fastly CDN Google Download Analytics Sentry Error logging StatusPage Status page