Onyx MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server providing search and query access to Onyx programming language documentation and GitHub code examples. The server includes comprehensive crawling capabilities to populate data, but crawling is NOT accessible through the MCP interface - ensuring clean separation between data collection and query functionality.
🚀 Quick Start
⚡ Instant Access with NPX (No Installation Required!)
Configure Claude Desktop (or other MCP-compatible LLM):
{
"mcpServers": {
"onyx": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@onyxlang/mcp-server", "bridge", "--url", "https://mcp.onyxlang.io"]
}
}
}
🎆 That's it! No installation, no setup, no data crawling needed. You get instant access to the latest Onyx documentation and examples.
Installation
Option 1: Install from npm (Recommended)
# Install globally
npm install -g @onyxlang/mcp-server
# Or install locally in your project
npm install @onyxlang/mcp-server
Option 2: Install from source
git clone https://github.com/onyx-lang/onyx-mcp-server.git
cd onyx-mcp-server
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add your GitHub token (optional but recommended)
Usage
If installed globally:
# Start MCP server
onyx-mcp server
# Start HTTP server
onyx-mcp http
# Start bridge to hosted server
onyx-mcp bridge --url https://mcp.onyxlang.io
# Crawl data (if running locally)
onyx-mcp crawl all
If installed locally or from source:
# Use npm scripts with arguments
npm start # MCP server
npm run http # HTTP server on default port (3001)
npm run http -- --port 3002 # HTTP server on custom port
npm run bridge # Bridge to default (localhost:3001)
npm run bridge -- --url https://mcp.onyxlang.io # Bridge to hosted server
npm run crawl:all # Crawl all data
# Or run directly
node src/index.js server
node src/index.js http --port 3002
node src/index.js bridge --url https://mcp.onyxlang.io
Basic Usage
# Start the MCP server (default)
npm start
# Start the HTTP server for REST API access
npm run http
npm run http -- --port 3002 # Custom port
# Start the MCP-to-HTTP bridge (connects to local or remote HTTP server)
npm run bridge
npm run bridge -- --url https://mcp.onyxlang.io # Connect to hosted server
# Run with development mode
npm run dev # MCP server
npm run http:dev # HTTP server
# Run tests
npm test
# Crawl data to populate the MCP (CLI only, not through MCP interface)
npm run crawl:all
🎯 Server Interface
The system provides both MCP query functionality and CLI-based crawling:
# MCP Server operations (query/search only)
node src/index.js server # Start MCP server
node src/index.js server --dev # Development mode
node src/index.js http # Start HTTP server
node src/index.js http --port 3002 # HTTP server on custom port
node src/index.js bridge # Start MCP-to-HTTP bridge
node src/index.js bridge --url https://mcp.onyxlang.io # Connect to hosted server
# Using npm scripts (with argument passing)
npm start # MCP server
npm run http # HTTP server (port 3001)
npm run http -- --port 3002 # HTTP server on custom port
npm run bridge # Bridge to localhost:3001
npm run bridge -- --url https://mcp.onyxlang.io # Bridge to hosted server
# Data crawling (CLI only - NOT accessible through MCP)
node src/index.js crawl docs # Documentation only
node src/index.js crawl github repo1 repo2 # Specific repositories
node src/index.js crawl url https://... # Single URL
node src/index.js crawl all # Everything
# Utilities
node src/index.js test # Run test suite
node src/index.js validate # Validate setup
📁 Project Structure
onyx_mcp/
├── src/
│ ├── bridge.js # 🌉 MCP-to-HTTP bridge for remote access
│ ├── index.js # 🎯 Unified entry point
│ ├── mcp-server.js # 🌐 MCP server implementation
│ ├── mcp-http.js # 🌐 MCP over HTTP server implementation
│ ├── test.js # 🧪 Test suite
│ ├── validate.js # ✅ Setup validation
│ ├── crawlers/ # 📡 Data crawlers
│ │ ├── docs.js # - Documentation crawler
│ │ ├── github.js # - GitHub repository crawler
│ │ └── urls.js # - URL content crawler
│ └── core/ # 🔧 Core functionality
│ └── search-engine.js # - Search and indexing
├── data/ # 📊 Crawled data (auto-generated)
├── .env.example # 🔐 Environment template
└── package.json # 📦 Dependencies & scripts
🛠️ MCP Tools Available
The server provides these read-only search and query tools to Claude:
📚 Documentation
search_onyx_docs- Search official documentation
🐙 GitHub Integration
search_github_examples- Search code by topicget_onyx_functions- Function definitions from GitHubget_onyx_structs- Struct definitions from GitHublist_github_repos- List available repositories
🔍 Unified Search
search_all_sources- Search across all data sources
🚀 Code Execution
run_onyx_code- Execute Onyx code and return output/errors for testing and debuggingrun_wasm- Execute WebAssembly code and return output/errors for testing and debuggingbuild_onyx_code- Build Onyx code file using "onyx build" in a specified directoryonyx_pkg_build- Build an Onyx package using "onyx pkg build" in a specified directory
⚠️ Important Note
Crawling tools are available through the CLI but intentionally NOT accessible through the MCP interface. This ensures clean separation between data collection and query functionality.
🔧 Configuration
Environment Variables (.env)
# GitHub token (recommended for higher rate limits)
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token_here
# Optional settings
DEBUG=false
MAX_CRAWL_LIMIT=50
🌐 Claude Desktop Integration
You can connect to the Onyx MCP in multiple ways:
⚡ Option 1: NPX Bridge (Zero Installation)
For hosted server (always up-to-date):
{
"mcpServers": {
"onyx": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@onyxlang/mcp-server", "bridge", "--url", "https://mcp.onyxlang.io"]
}
}
}
Option 2: Local MCP Server (For Development)
{
"mcpServers": {
"onyx": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/onyx_mcp/src/index.js", "server"]
}
}
}
Option 3: Connect to Custom Hosted Server via Bridge
{
"mcpServers": {
"onyx": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/onyx_mcp/src/index.js", "bridge", "--url", "https://mcp.onyxlang.io"],
}
}
}
Option 4: Local HTTP Server + Bridge
For testing the bridge locally:
- Start the HTTP server:
npm run http --port 3002 - Configure Claude Desktop to use the bridge:
{ "mcpServers": { "onyx": { "command": "node", "args": ["/path/to/onyx_mcp/src/index.js", "bridge", "--url", "http://localhost:3002"] } } }
For Development (Local Setup)
-
Clone and setup:
git clone <repository> cd onyx_mcp npm install cp .env.example .env -
Populate data:
npm run crawl:all -
Start MCP server:
npm start -
Configure Claude Desktop with local server (see integration section above)
For Production (Hosted Server)
-
Clone and setup:
git clone <repository> cd onyx_mcp npm install -
Start HTTP server:
npm run http -
Configure Claude Desktop with bridge (see integration section above)
Bridge Architecture
The bridge allows you to connect the MCP protocol to HTTP servers:
Claude Desktop → MCP Bridge → HTTP Server (Local or Remote)
Benefits:
- ✅ Connect to hosted Onyx MCP at
mcp.onyxlang.io - ✅ No need to run local server or populate data
- ✅ Always up-to-date with latest Onyx information
- ✅ Same MCP interface, different backend
- ✅ Easy switching between local and remote servers
🔄 Code Testing & Feedback Loop
The code execution tools enable Claude to test, build, and refine Onyx code through iterative feedback:
Available Tools:
run_onyx_code- Execute code in sandbox for quick testingbuild_onyx_code- Build code files in user's specified directoryonyx_pkg_build- Build complete Onyx packages in user's project directory
How it Works:
- Claude writes Onyx code based on your requirements
- Tests with
run_onyx_codefor quick validation (sandbox) - Builds with
build_onyx_codein your project directory - Reads build/compilation errors from the output
- Analyzes and fixes issues - syntax, imports, dependencies
- Builds packages with
onyx_pkg_buildin your project directory - Repeats until success - working, compiled code in your directory!
Example Workflows:
Quick Testing:
User: "Write a function to calculate fibonacci numbers"
1. Claude writes initial code
2. Tests with run_onyx_code (sandbox)
3. Sees errors and fixes them
4. Code runs successfully
Project Building:
User: "Build this code in my project at /home/user/myproject"
1. Claude uses build_onyx_code with directory: "/home/user/myproject"
2. Sees build errors and fixes imports
3. Creates working executable in user's directory
4. User can run the built program directly
Package Development:
User: "Build my Onyx package in /home/user/onyx-lib"
1. Claude uses onyx_pkg_build with directory: "/home/user/onyx-lib"
2. Fixes package configuration issues
3. Creates complete built package in user's directory
4. User can distribute/use the package
Benefits:
- ✅ Self-correcting code - Claude can fix its own mistakes
- ✅ Real validation - Actually runs the code, not just syntax checking
- ✅ Learning from errors - Improves suggestions based on Onyx compiler feedback
- ✅ Iterative refinement - Keeps improving until code works perfectly
- ✅ Confidence in results - You know the code actually compiles and runs
Requirements:
- Onyx compiler must be installed and available in PATH
- Install from: https://onyxlang.io/
- The tool executes code in a sandboxed temporary directory
- Default timeout of 10 seconds (configurable) prevents infinite loops
📊 Data Sources & Crawling
The system includes comprehensive crawling capabilities to populate data:
📚 Documentation Sources
- Official Onyx documentation
- Tutorial and guide files
- API documentation
- Language reference materials
🐙 GitHub Sources
- Onyx language repositories
- Code examples and tutorials
- Package and library documentation
- Configuration files and project setups
📁 Supported File Types
.onyxsource files.kdlconfiguration files- README, documentation, and guide files
- HTML documentation pages
- Package configurations (
onyx.pkg, etc.)
🔄 Data Population Process
- Use CLI crawling commands to populate the
data/directory - MCP server searches the pre-crawled data
- No crawling triggers are available through the MCP interface
📡 Enhanced GitHub Crawling
The GitHub crawler extracts comprehensive content:
📚 Documentation:
- README.md, LICENSE, CHANGELOG.md
- All documentation in
docs/folders - HTML documentation and web pages
- Tutorial and guide files
🔧 Configuration:
.kdlfiles (Onyx project management)onyx.pkgand package configurations- TOML, YAML, JSON configs
💻 Source Code:
- All
.onyxsource files - Example and tutorial files
- HTML examples and web interfaces
🌐 Web Content:
- HTML documentation pages
- Interactive examples and demos
- Web-based tutorials and guides
- API documentation in HTML format
Repository Management
# Crawl specific repositories
node src/index.js crawl github onyx-lang/onyx user/project
# With various URL formats
node src/index.js crawl github \
https://github.com/onyx-lang/onyx \
github.com/user/repo \
owner/project
🧪 Testing & Validation
# Quick validation
npm run validate
# Full test suite
npm test
# Expected results: 100% pass rate
Tests validate:
- ✅ File structure integrity
- ✅ Module import functionality
- ✅ Data directory operations
- ✅ Crawler configurations
- ✅ Search engine error handling
💡 Usage Examples
Once connected to Claude Desktop:
"Show me examples of HTTP requests in Onyx"
"How do I define a struct with KDL configuration?"
"What are the available string manipulation functions?"
"Find PostgreSQL ORM examples in Onyx repositories"
🔧 Configurable Context System
Global Context Message
All MCP tool responses include a configurable context message that can be easily modified at the top of src/mcp-server.js:
// =============================================================================
// CONFIGURABLE CONTEXT MESSAGE
// =============================================================================
// This message will be prepended to all MCP tool responses.
// Modify this section to customize the context provided to the assistant.
const GLOBAL_CONTEXT_MESSAGE = `You are assisting with Onyx programming language queries...`;
This allows you to:
- Customize the assistant's context for Onyx queries
- Provide consistent guidance across all tool responses
- Easily update instructions without modifying individual tools
- Maintain context coherence throughout conversations
🚀 Key Design Principles
Security & Separation of Concerns
- MCP interface is read-only - cannot trigger crawling or data modification
- Crawling available through CLI - full control over data collection
- Clean architecture - data collection separate from query functionality
- No external API calls through MCP tools
Enhanced User Experience
- Consistent context across all responses
- Tool-specific messaging for clarity
- Comprehensive error handling with context
- Legacy compatibility for existing workflows
🔍 Data Flow
- CLI Crawling Commands populate data sources in
data/directory - Search Engine indexes and provides unified search capabilities
- MCP Server exposes read-only search tools to Claude
- Claude receives contextual responses with configurable messaging
- Context System ensures consistent, helpful guidance in all responses
- No crawling triggers available through MCP interface
📈 Performance
- Efficient caching prevents unnecessary re-crawling
- Rate limiting respects API limits
- Parallel processing for multiple repositories
- Comprehensive error handling for reliability
This MCP server provides Claude with secure, read-only access to Onyx programming language knowledge through a configurable context system. Comprehensive crawling capabilities are available through CLI commands but intentionally not accessible through the MCP interface, ensuring clean separation between data collection and query functionality.