mcp docs server

Mapbox MCP Documentation Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives AI assistants instant access to Mapbox documentation and reference materials — no Mapbox access token required.

Quick Start

Hosted (no install required)

Connect directly to the hosted endpoint — nothing to install or maintain:

Claude Code / Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mapbox-docs": {
      "url": "https://mcp-docs.mapbox.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

---

npx (runs locally, no install)

Claude Code — run claude mcp add:

claude mcp add mapbox-docs -- npx -y @mapbox/mcp-docs-server

Claude Desktop — add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mapbox-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@mapbox/mcp-docs-server"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor / VS Code — add the same mcpServers block to your editor's MCP settings file.

---

Docker

Build the image:

docker build -t mapbox/mcp-docs-server .

Or pull from the registry:

docker pull mapbox/mcp-docs-server

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code — configure your MCP client to run the container:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mapbox-docs": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--rm", "-i", "mapbox/mcp-docs-server"]
    }
  }
}

---

Local (from source)

git clone https://github.com/mapbox/mcp-docs-server.git
cd mcp-docs-server
npm install
npm run build

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mapbox-docs": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-docs-server/dist/esm/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

get_document_tool — Fetches the full content of a specific Mapbox documentation page by URL. Use this to follow a link from a resource and retrieve the complete page content.

Example prompts:

• "What Mapbox APIs are available?"
• "How do I add a custom layer to a Mapbox style?"
• "What's the latest Mapbox GL JS version?"

batch_get_documents_tool — Fetches multiple Mapbox documentation pages in a single call (max 20). More efficient than calling get_document_tool multiple times. Failed pages include an error message rather than failing the whole batch.

search_mapbox_docs_tool — Searches Mapbox documentation using Algolia full-text search and returns matching page URLs and excerpts. Use this to find relevant documentation before fetching full pages with get_document_tool or batch_get_documents_tool.

Example prompts:

• "Find docs about camera animation"
• "Search for geocoding API examples"
• "What documentation exists for custom layers?"

Resources

MCP resources expose reference data that AI assistants can read on demand:

Resource URI	Contents
resource://mapbox-api-reference	REST API reference docs (endpoints, parameters, rate limits)
resource://mapbox-sdk-docs	SDK and client library docs (iOS, Android, Flutter, web)
resource://mapbox-guides	Tutorials, how-tos, and guides
resource://mapbox-examples	Code examples, API playgrounds, and interactive demos
resource://mapbox-reference	Tilesets, data products, accounts, and pricing reference
resource://mapbox-style-layers	Style layer reference (paint/layout properties for all layer types)
resource://mapbox-streets-v8-fields	Mapbox Streets v8 tileset field reference
resource://mapbox-token-scopes	All available Mapbox token scopes with descriptions
resource://mapbox-layer-type-mapping	Mapping of Mapbox layer types to their properties

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 22
• npm

Setup

git clone https://github.com/mapbox/mcp-docs-server.git
cd mcp-docs-server
npm install

Commands

npm run build          # Compile TypeScript (ESM + CJS)
npm test               # Run test suite (vitest)
npm run lint           # ESLint
npm run format         # Prettier check
npm run format:fix     # Prettier auto-fix
npm run inspect:build  # Launch MCP Inspector against built server
npm run inspect:dev    # Launch MCP Inspector against source (tsx)

Architecture

The server is a TypeScript MCP server using @modelcontextprotocol/sdk with a dual ESM/CJS build via tshy.

• Tools extend BaseTool<InputSchema, OutputSchema> in src/tools/
• Resources extend BaseResource in src/resources/
• No Mapbox access token required for documentation tools
• HTTP requests use a shared httpPipeline with 1-hour caching

Creating a New Tool

1. Create a directory src/tools/my-tool/
2. Add MyTool.input.schema.ts (Zod schema), MyTool.output.schema.ts, and MyTool.ts (extends BaseTool)
3. Register in src/tools/toolRegistry.ts
4. Add tests in test/tools/my-tool/

Contributing

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md and VISION.md before submitting a pull request. Contributors using AI coding assistants should also review:

• CLAUDE.md — for Claude Code
• AGENTS.md — for other AI coding assistants (Cursor, Copilot, Aider, etc.)

License

MIT — see LICENSE