What is mcptools?

MCP Tools is a command-line utility for working with MCP servers. MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, which is a standard that lets AI tools communicate with external services, like file systems, databases, or custom scripts. This tool gives you a way to explore, test, and interact with any server that follows that protocol, without needing to write code. From the command line you can list what capabilities a server offers, call individual tools by name, read resources, or retrieve prompt templates. There is also an interactive shell mode where you stay connected to a server and run multiple commands in one session, and a web interface that opens in your browser and lets you fill in forms instead of typing JSON by hand. The tool includes a mock server feature, useful when you are building a client application and want to test it against a fake server without setting up the real thing. There is also a proxy mode where you register ordinary shell scripts as MCP tools: the proxy server wraps each script and exposes it over the protocol so an AI client can call it like any other tool. A guard mode lets you restrict what tools a server exposes by allowing or blocking names using wildcard patterns. For example, you could wrap a file system server so that only read operations are visible to the AI, preventing any modifications. The tool also reads configuration files from editors like VS Code, Cursor, and Claude Desktop so you can view and manage all your MCP server settings across different applications in one place. The full README is longer than what was shown.