Transform any Cobra CLI into an MCP server
Ophis automatically converts your Cobra commands into MCP tools with CLI commands for integration with Claude Desktop and VSCode.
go get github.com/njayp/ophispackage main
import (
"os"
"github.com/njayp/ophis"
)
func main() {
rootCmd := createMyRootCommand()
rootCmd.AddCommand(ophis.Command(nil))
if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
os.Exit(1)
}
}# Claude Desktop
./my-cli mcp claude enable
# Restart Claude Desktop
# VSCode (requires Copilot in Agent Mode)
./my-cli mcp vscode enableYour CLI commands are now available as MCP tools!
The ophis.Command(nil) adds these subcommands to your CLI:
mcp
├── start # Start MCP server on stdio
├── tools # Export available MCP tools as JSON
├── claude
│ ├── enable # Add server to Claude Desktop config
│ ├── disable # Remove server from Claude Desktop config
│ └── list # List Claude Desktop MCP servers
└── vscode
├── enable # Add server to VSCode config
├── disable # Remove server from VSCode config
└── list # List VSCode MCP servers
Control which commands and flags are exposed as MCP tools using selectors. By default, all commands and flags are exposed (except hidden/deprecated).
config := &ophis.Config{
Selectors: []ophis.Selector{
{
CmdSelector: ophis.AllowCmdsContaining("get", "list"),
LocalFlagSelector: ophis.ExcludeFlags("token", "secret"),
InheritedFlagSelector: ophis.NoFlags, // Exclude persistent flags
// Add timeout for these commands
PreRun: func(ctx context.Context, ctr *mcp.CallToolRequest, ti ophis.ToolInput) (context.Context, *mcp.CallToolRequest, ophis.ToolInput) {
ctx, _ = context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Minute)
return ctx, ctr, ti
},
},
},
}
rootCmd.AddCommand(ophis.Command(config))See docs/config.md for detailed configuration options.
Ophis bridges Cobra commands and the Model Context Protocol:
- Command Discovery: Recursively walks your Cobra command tree
- Schema Generation: Creates JSON schemas from command flags and arguments (docs/schema.md)
- Tool Execution: Spawns your CLI as a subprocess and captures output (docs/execution.md)
Build all examples:
make buildExample projects using Ophis:
Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md.