Env

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for secure environment variable and configuration management with Claude Code integration

License: MIT MCP Built by BuildAppolis

Features

• Secure Storage: Store environment variables with optional sensitive data protection
• Categories: Organize variables by category for better management
• Search & Filter: Find variables quickly with search functionality
• Multiple Formats: Export/import support for .env, JSON, and YAML formats
• MCP Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Claude Code for AI-assisted configuration management
• CLI Tool: Powerful command-line interface for manual management

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/buildappolis/env-mcp.git
cd env-mcp

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Build the project
pnpm run build

Configuration

Add to Claude Code

The server is already configured with Claude Code. To verify:

claude mcp list

You should see:

env-mcp: node /home/cory-ubuntu/coding/env-mcp/dist/index.js - ✓ Connected

Manual Configuration

If you need to reconfigure:

claude mcp add env-mcp "node" "/path/to/env-mcp/dist/index.js"

CLI Usage

Basic Commands

# Set a variable
./env-mcp-cli set KEY "value" --description "Description" --category "category"

# Set a sensitive variable (will be redacted in output)
./env-mcp-cli set API_KEY "secret" --sensitive --category "secrets"

# Get a variable
./env-mcp-cli get KEY

# List all variables
./env-mcp-cli list

# List by category
./env-mcp-cli list --category "secrets"

# Search variables
./env-mcp-cli search "api"

# Delete a variable
./env-mcp-cli delete KEY

# List categories
./env-mcp-cli categories

Import/Export

# Export to .env format
./env-mcp-cli export --format env --output .env

# Export to JSON
./env-mcp-cli export --format json --output config.json

# Export to YAML
./env-mcp-cli export --format yaml --output config.yaml

# Import from .env file
./env-mcp-cli import .env

MCP Tools (Available in Claude)

When using Claude Code, the following tools are available:

• env_get - Get an environment variable value
• env_set - Set an environment variable with optional metadata
• env_delete - Delete an environment variable
• env_search - Search for variables by query
• env_list - List all variables or filter by category
• env_export - Export variables in different formats
• env_import - Import variables from a file

Data Storage

Configuration is stored in: ~/.env-mcp/config.yaml

The storage format includes:

• Variable key/value pairs
• Optional descriptions
• Categories for organization
• Sensitive data flags
• Creation/update timestamps

Examples

Setting up a development environment

# Database configuration
./env-mcp-cli set DB_HOST "localhost" --category "database"
./env-mcp-cli set DB_PORT "5432" --category "database"
./env-mcp-cli set DB_NAME "myapp" --category "database"
./env-mcp-cli set DB_USER "admin" --category "database"
./env-mcp-cli set DB_PASS "secret" --sensitive --category "database"

# API Keys
./env-mcp-cli set OPENAI_API_KEY "sk-..." --sensitive --category "api-keys"
./env-mcp-cli set STRIPE_API_KEY "sk_test_..." --sensitive --category "api-keys"

# Application settings
./env-mcp-cli set NODE_ENV "development" --category "app"
./env-mcp-cli set PORT "3000" --category "app"
./env-mcp-cli set LOG_LEVEL "debug" --category "app"

# Export for use in application
./env-mcp-cli export --format env --output .env

Searching and filtering

# Find all database-related variables
./env-mcp-cli search "db"

# List all API keys
./env-mcp-cli list --category "api-keys"

# Show all categories
./env-mcp-cli categories

JSON output for scripting

# Get JSON output for parsing
./env-mcp-cli list --json | jq '.[] | select(.category == "database")'

# Export specific category to JSON
./env-mcp-cli list --category "app" --json > app-config.json

Security

• Variables marked as --sensitive are redacted in normal output
• Use --show-sensitive flag with get command to view sensitive values
• Sensitive values are still exported normally (be careful with exports)
• Configuration file permissions should be restricted (chmod 600)

Development

Project Structure

env-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts       # MCP server implementation
│   ├── cli.ts         # CLI tool implementation
│   ├── store.ts       # Storage layer
│   └── types.ts       # TypeScript type definitions
├── dist/              # Compiled JavaScript
├── package.json       # Dependencies and scripts
└── tsconfig.json      # TypeScript configuration

Scripts

# Build the project
pnpm run build

# Run in development mode
pnpm run dev

# Run CLI in development
pnpm run cli

Troubleshooting

MCP Server won't connect

1. Check if the server is built:

   pnpm run build
   

2. Test the server manually:

   echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"1.0.0"}},"id":1}' | node dist/index.js
   

3. Reconnect with Claude:

   claude mcp list  # Check status
   

Variables not persisting

Check the configuration file:

cat ~/.env-mcp/config.yaml

Ensure write permissions:

mkdir -p ~/.env-mcp
chmod 755 ~/.env-mcp

License

MIT

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and pull requests to improve the env-mcp server.