MCP Planning Server

MCP server for Claude Code that helps organize and track software development tasks.

What is this?

This is a plugin for Claude Code (Anthropic's AI coding assistant). It adds planning tools that help:

Break down complex tasks into steps
Track what's done and what's next
Record technical decisions
Compare different solution approaches

Prerequisites

Before installing, make sure you have:

Node.js (version 18 or higher) - download from https://nodejs.org
Claude Code - the CLI tool from Anthropic

To check if Node.js is installed, run in terminal:

node --version

Installation

Clone or download this repository
Open terminal in the project folder
Install dependencies:

npm install

Build the project:

npm run build

After build, you should see a dist folder with compiled files.

Configuration

To use this server with Claude Code, you need to add it to MCP settings.

Step 1: Find your settings file

Settings can be placed in one of these locations:

Location	File path	Use case
Project (private)	`.claude/settings.local.json`	Only for you, not shared
Project (shared)	`.claude/settings.json`	Shared with team via git
Global	`~/.claude/settings.json`	All your projects

Step 2: Add server configuration

Open or create the settings file and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "planning": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["FULL_PATH_TO/planner/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_PLANNING_STORAGE_PATH": "./.mcp-plans"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace FULL_PATH_TO with the actual path to this folder.

Example paths:

Windows: D:/Projects/planner/dist/index.js
Mac/Linux: /home/user/projects/planner/dist/index.js

Step 3 (Optional): Allow tools without confirmation

By default, Claude Code asks permission for each tool use. To skip confirmation for planning tools, add this section to your settings file:

{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": [
      "mcp__planning"
    ]
  }
}

Your complete settings file will look like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "planning": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["FULL_PATH_TO/planner/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_PLANNING_STORAGE_PATH": "./.mcp-plans"
      }
    }
  },
  "permissions": {
    "allow": [
      "mcp__planning"
    ]
  }
}

Note: Use exactly mcp__planning (not mcp__planning__*). Wildcards are not supported.

How to use

Once configured, just talk to Claude Code naturally.

Starting a new plan

Tell Claude Code what you want to build:

"I need to build a user login system"

Claude Code will automatically:

Create a plan
Add requirements
Suggest solutions
Break work into phases

Checking progress

Ask Claude Code about your plan:

"What's the status of my plan?" "What should I work on next?"

Updating progress

Tell Claude Code when you finish something:

"I finished the login form"

Claude Code will update the plan and suggest what to do next.

Available tools

The server provides tools in 8 categories:

Category	Description
Plan	Create and manage plans
Requirement	Define what needs to be built
Solution	Compare different approaches
Decision	Record technical choices
Phase	Break work into steps
Link	Connect related items
Query	Search and analyze plans
Artifact	Store code and configs

Where plans are stored

Plans are saved as JSON files:

.mcp-plans/
  plans/
    {plan-id}/
      manifest.json
      requirements.json
      solutions.json
      decisions.json
      phases.json
      links.json
      artifacts.json
  active-plans.json

Troubleshooting

Claude Code doesn't see the planning tools

Check that the path in settings is correct
Make sure you ran npm run build
Restart Claude Code after changing settings

Permission errors

Check that the storage path is writable
On Windows, avoid paths with spaces if possible

License

MIT