Agent skill
mcp-cli
Use when interacting with external tools, APIs, or data sources through MCP servers. Covers discovery, schema inspection, and tool invocation.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/other/mcp-cli-cmtkdot-arc
SKILL.md
MCP-CLI
Access MCP servers through the command line. MCP enables interaction with external systems like GitHub, filesystems, databases, and APIs.
Commands
| Command | Output |
|---|---|
mcp-cli |
List all servers and tools |
mcp-cli info <server> |
Show server tools and parameters |
mcp-cli info <server> <tool> |
Get tool JSON schema |
mcp-cli grep "<pattern>" |
Search tools by name |
mcp-cli call <server> <tool> |
Call tool (reads JSON from stdin if no args) |
mcp-cli call <server> <tool> '<json>' |
Call tool with arguments |
Both formats work: <server> <tool> or <server>/<tool>.
Workflow
- Discover:
mcp-clito see available servers. - Explore:
mcp-cli info <server>to see tools with parameters. - Inspect:
mcp-cli info <server> <tool>to get full JSON schema. - Execute:
mcp-cli call <server> <tool> '<json>'to run with arguments.
Examples
# List all servers
mcp-cli
# With descriptions
mcp-cli -d
# See server tools
mcp-cli info filesystem
# Get tool schema (both formats work)
mcp-cli info filesystem read_file
mcp-cli info filesystem/read_file
# Call tool
mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "./README.md"}'
# Pipe from stdin (no '-' needed)
cat args.json | mcp-cli call filesystem read_file
# Search for tools
mcp-cli grep "*file*"
# Output is raw text (pipe-friendly)
mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "./file"}' | head -10
Advanced Chaining
# Chain: search files -> read first match
mcp-cli call filesystem search_files '{"path": ".", "pattern": "*.md"}' \
| head -1 \
| xargs -I {} mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "{}"}'
# Loop: process multiple files
mcp-cli call filesystem list_directory '{"path": "./src"}' \
| while read f; do mcp-cli call filesystem read_file "{\"path\": \"$f\"}"; done
# Conditional: check before reading
mcp-cli call filesystem list_directory '{"path": "."}' \
| grep -q "README" \
&& mcp-cli call filesystem read_file '{"path": "./README.md"}'
# Multi-server aggregation
{
mcp-cli call github search_repositories '{"query": "mcp", "per_page": 3}'
mcp-cli call filesystem list_directory '{"path": "."}'
}
# Save to file
mcp-cli call github get_file_contents '{"owner": "x", "repo": "y", "path": "z"}' > output.txt
Note: call outputs raw text content directly (often no jq needed for text extraction).
Options
| Flag | Purpose |
|---|---|
-d |
Include descriptions |
-c <path> |
Specify config file |
Common Errors
| Wrong Command | Error | Fix |
|---|---|---|
mcp-cli server tool |
AMBIGUOUS_COMMAND |
Use call server tool or info server tool |
mcp-cli run server tool |
UNKNOWN_SUBCOMMAND |
Use call instead of run |
mcp-cli list |
UNKNOWN_SUBCOMMAND |
Use info instead of list |
mcp-cli call server |
MISSING_ARGUMENT |
Add tool name |
mcp-cli call server tool {bad} |
INVALID_JSON |
Use valid JSON with quotes |
Exit Codes
0: Success1: Client error (bad args, missing config)2: Server error (tool failed)3: Network error
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