mcpmon

Hot reload for MCP servers. Like nodemon, but for MCP.

Features

• Hot reload - Restart server on file changes
• Tool refresh - Sends notifications/tools/list_changed so Claude Code sees new tools without session restart
• Gateway mode - Aggregate multiple MCP servers behind one gateway
• Dual implementation - Python and Bun/TypeScript with full feature parity

Install

# Python
pip install mcpmon

# Bun (no install needed)
bunx mcpmon

# npm
npm install -g mcpmon

# Or download binary from GitHub releases (no dependencies)

Usage

Single Server Mode

mcpmon --watch src/ -- python -m my_mcp_server

Gateway Mode (Multi-Server)

mcpmon --config .mcpmon.yaml

# .mcpmon.yaml
servers:
  sage:
    command: sage-mcp
    watch: ~/.sage/src/

  crucible:
    command: crucible-mcp
    watch: ~/crucible/src/

  my-server:
    command: python
    args: ["-m", "my_server"]
    watch: ./src/
    extensions: py,json

Gateway aggregates tools with prefixes: sage::recall, crucible::review, etc.

Options

Logging Levels

--quiet       Only errors
(default)     Start, stop, restart events + PID
--verbose     + file change details
--debug       + everything

Examples

# Basic - watch current directory for .py changes
mcpmon -- python server.py

# Watch specific directory and extensions
mcpmon --watch src/ --ext py,json -- python -m myserver

# With timestamps and log file
mcpmon --timestamps --log-file mcpmon.log -- python server.py

# Gateway mode - multiple servers
mcpmon --config .mcpmon.yaml

Sample Output

[mcpmon 16:08:50] Watching src/ for .py changes
[mcpmon 16:08:50 pid:53307] Started: python -m my_server
[mcpmon 16:08:54] File modified: tools.py
[mcpmon 16:08:54 pid:53307] Restarting...
[mcpmon 16:08:54 pid:53411] Started: python -m my_server
[mcpmon 16:08:54 pid:53411] Restart #1 complete
[mcpmon 16:08:54] Sent tools/list_changed notification

MCP Config

Single Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "mcpmon",
      "args": ["--watch", "src/", "--", "python", "-m", "my_server"]
    }
  }
}

Gateway (Multiple Servers)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gateway": {
      "command": "mcpmon",
      "args": ["--config", ".mcpmon.yaml"]
    }
  }
}

How It Works

Single Server Mode

1. Starts your MCP server as a subprocess
2. Watches specified directory for file changes
3. On change: SIGTERM → wait 2s → SIGKILL → restart
4. Sends notifications/tools/list_changed notification
5. Claude Code refreshes tool cache automatically

Gateway Mode

1. Reads config file, starts all backend servers
2. Aggregates tools from all backends (prefixed: backend::tool)
3. Routes tool calls to correct backend
4. Watches each backend's files independently
5. Hot-reloads individual backends on change
6. Hot-adds/removes backends when config changes

Development

# Python
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v  # 42 tests

# Bun/TypeScript
bun test  # 16 tests

License

MIT