⚡ Quick Start Guide

🚀 Get Started in 5 Minutes

Step 1: Build (30 seconds)

cd packages/dev-tools
npm install
npm run build

✅ Expected result: dist/ created with compiled files

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Step 2: Claude Desktop Configuration (2 minutes)

Find your config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Edit it and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dev-tools": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/ABSOLUTE/PATH/to/packages/dev-tools/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "WORKSPACE_DIR": "/path/to/your/workspace"
      }
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Replace the paths with your actual paths (absolute, not relative!)

To get the absolute path:

cd packages/dev-tools
pwd
# Copy the result + /dist/index.js

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Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop (1 minute)

1. Completely quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q or Alt+F4)
2. Relaunch the application
3. Wait for reconnection

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Step 4: Quick Test (1 minute)

In Claude, test:

Can you check if package.json exists in my workspace?

✅ If it works: Claude will use file_exists and respond

❌ If error: See Troubleshooting section below

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🧪 Complete Test

Test 1: Check Existence

Check if README.md exists

Test 2: File Info

Get information about package.json

Test 3: Create and Modify (THE IMPORTANT TEST!)

Create a test file called hello.txt with "Hello World"

Then:

Now modify hello.txt to say "Hello MCP!"

✅ Success: Claude uses rename_file to modify in place (no new file created!)

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🔧 Express Troubleshooting

Issue: “Module not found”

cd packages/dev-tools
npm install
npm run build

Issue: Claude doesn’t see tools

1. Verify absolute paths in config
2. Restart Claude Desktop completely
3. Check logs: ls .logs/

Issue: “Invalid path”

• Verify that WORKSPACE_DIR is correct
• Use paths relative to workspace in Claude

Issue: Build fails

See troubleshooting.md - fixes already applied, should build now

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📁 Quick Verification

After build, you should have:

packages/dev-tools/
├── dist/
│   ├── index.js          ← Entry point
│   ├── server.js
│   ├── index.d.ts
│   └── ... (other compiled files)
├── node_modules/         ← Dependencies
├── src/                  ← TypeScript sources
└── tests/                ← Tests

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📊 Useful Commands

# Quick validation
node validate.js

# View logs
tail -f .logs/dev-tools-*.log

# Clean and rebuild
npm run clean && npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Type checking
npm run type-check

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✅ Quick Checklist

• npm run build successful
• dist/index.js exists
• Claude config with absolute path
• Claude Desktop restarted
• file_exists test OK
• File modification test OK

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🎯 Daily Usage

Once configured, use Claude normally:

"Modify src/utils.ts to add error handling"
"Copy template.tsx to NewComponent.tsx"
"Delete all .log files"
"Check if config.json exists"

Claude will automatically use MCP Dev Tools!

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📚 More Info

• Detailed installation: installation.md
• Complete documentation: Main documentation index
• Bug fixes: lessons-learned.md
• Troubleshooting: troubleshooting.md

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💡 Pro Tips

1. Enable backups (already enabled by default)
2. Check logs regularly: .logs/
3. Clean up backups periodically: .backups/
4. Use LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG for debugging

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🎉 That’s it! You’re ready to use MCP Dev Tools!

In case of issues: Consult installation.md for the complete guide