Intent-based MCP server for project documentation — Maps natural language to the right sources automatically

npm version Node.js License: MIT MCP

When users say "project", "docs", or "todos", project-mcp automatically searches the right directories—no configuration needed. It understands intent, not just directory names.

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⚡ Quick Start

Install

npm install project-mcp

Configure

Add to .mcp.json:

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"project": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["-y", "project-mcp"]
		}
	}
}

That's it. The server automatically finds and indexes:

• .project/ — Operational truth (plans, todos, status)
• Root markdown files — README.md, DEVELOPMENT.md, etc.
• docs/ — Reference documentation

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Table of Contents

• project-mcp
• ⚡ Quick Start
  • Install
  • Configure
  • Table of Contents
  • 🎯 Why project-mcp?
  • 🛠️ Available Tools (37)
    • Search Tools
    • Project Management Tools
    • Backlog Tools
    • Task Management Tools
    • Archive Tools
    • Decision & Status Tools
    • Quality Tools
  • 📋 Task Management System
    • Workflow
    • Task File Format (Active Tasks)
    • Agent Execution Loop
    • Key Features
  • 🏗️ Project Structure Guide
    • Recommended Directory Structure
    • What Goes Where?
      • .project/ — Operational Truth
      • docs/ — Reference Truth
  • 🎨 Intent Mapping
    • How It Works
  • 📝 Documentation Examples
    • Example: .project/index.md (Contract File)
    • Example: Task Creation
    • Example: Getting Next Task
    • Example: Initialize Project
    • Example: Import Tasks to Backlog
    • Example: Promote Task to Active Work
    • Example: Archive Completed Task
  • ⚙️ Configuration
    • Custom Documentation Directory
    • Custom Working Directory
  • 🧪 Development
  • 📚 Documentation
  • 🤝 Contributing
  • 📄 License

---

🎯 Why project-mcp?

The Problem: AI agents need to search project documentation, but:

• Users say "project" not ".project/"
• Different queries need different sources
• Manual source mapping is error-prone
• No standard way to organize project knowledge

The Solution: Intent-based search that maps language to sources automatically:

User Says	Searches
"project" / "the project"	.project/ + root files + docs/
"docs" / "documentation"	Only docs/
"plan" / "todos" / "roadmap" / "status"	Only .project/

---

🛠️ Available Tools (37)

Search Tools

Tool	Description	Use When
search_project	Intent-based search across all sources	User says "project" or asks about status/plans
search_docs	Search reference documentation only	User specifically asks for "docs"
get_doc	Get full file content	You know the exact file path
list_docs	List all documentation files	Browsing available docs
get_doc_structure	Get directory structure	Understanding organization

Project Management Tools

Tool	Description	Use When
init_project	Initialize .project/ with all standard files	Starting a new project
manage_project_file	Smart create/update based on content analysis	Auto-detect which file to update
create_or_update_roadmap	Create or update ROADMAP.md	Planning milestones and phases
create_or_update_todo	Create or update TODO.md	Managing project-wide todos
create_or_update_status	Create or update STATUS.md	Tracking project health
create_or_update_index	Create or update index.md (contract file)	Defining source mappings
create_or_update_decisions	Create or update DECISIONS.md	Recording architecture decisions
check_project_state	Check which project files exist	Before making changes

Backlog Tools

Tool	Description	Use When
add_to_backlog	Add single item to BACKLOG.md	Quick task creation
get_backlog	Read backlog with filtering/sorting	Viewing queued work
update_backlog_item	Update priority, title, tags, phase	Adjusting backlog items
remove_from_backlog	Delete item without promoting	Removing cancelled work
import_tasks	Parse plan/roadmap and bulk add to BACKLOG.md	Populating from roadmap
promote_task	Move task from BACKLOG to active work (creates YAML)	Starting work on a backlog item

Task Management Tools

Tool	Description	Use When
create_task	Create active task directly (bypass backlog)	Urgent/immediate work
get_task	Read specific task by ID with full details	Viewing task details
update_task	Update any task field, transition status	Modifying existing tasks
delete_task	Permanently remove a task (with confirmation)	Removing cancelled tasks
search_tasks	Search tasks by keyword in title/content	Finding specific tasks
get_next_task	Get dependency-aware next task(s) to work on	Determining what to do
list_tasks	List/filter tasks with summary dashboard	Reviewing all tasks
sync_todo_index	Generate TODO.md dashboard from active tasks	Updating the overview

Archive Tools

Tool	Description	Use When
archive_task	Move completed task to archive/	Cleaning up done work
list_archived_tasks	List tasks in archive with filtering	Reviewing completed history
unarchive_task	Restore task from archive to active	Reopening completed work

Decision & Status Tools

Tool	Description	Use When
add_decision	Record ADR with structured format	Documenting architecture choices
get_decision	Read specific decision by ADR ID	Viewing decision details
list_decisions	List/filter architecture ADRs	Reviewing past decisions
update_project_status	Quick timestamped status update	Reporting progress
add_roadmap_milestone	Add milestone with deliverables	Planning future work
get_roadmap	Read roadmap content	Viewing planned work

Quality Tools

Tool	Description	Use When
lint_project_docs	Validate documentation against standards	Before commits, ensuring quality

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📋 Task Management System

Tasks flow from planning → backlog → active → archive. Only active tasks (10-30 items) are YAML files.

Workflow

ROADMAP.md ──→ import_tasks ──→ BACKLOG.md ──→ promote_task ──→ todos/*.md ──→ archive_task ──→ archive/
  (plan)        (extract)         (queue)        (activate)      (work)        (complete)       (history)
               hundreds ok      hundreds ok     10-30 files     YAML files

Stage	Files	Purpose
Planning	ROADMAP.md	Phases, milestones, high-level
Backlog	BACKLOG.md	Prioritized queue, hundreds of items OK
Active	todos/*.md	YAML files with full metadata, 10-30 items
Archive	archive/*.md	Completed work history

Task File Format (Active Tasks)

---
id: AUTH-001
title: Implement OAuth authentication
project: AUTH
priority: P0
status: todo
owner: cursor
depends_on:
  - AUTH-002
blocked_by: []
tags:
  - security
  - feature
estimate: 2d
due: 2025-01-15
created: 2025-12-29
updated: 2025-12-29
---

# AUTH-001: Implement OAuth authentication

## Description

Implement OAuth 2.0 authentication flow...

## Subtasks

- [ ] Set up OAuth provider
- [ ] Implement callback handler
- [x] Configure environment variables

## Notes

Agent Execution Loop

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. promote_task(task_id: "AUTH-001")                       │
│     → Creates todos/AUTH-001.md from BACKLOG.md             │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  2. get_next_task()                                         │
│     → Returns AUTH-001 (dependencies met, highest priority) │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  3. update_task(id: "AUTH-001", status: "in_progress")      │
│     → Agent works on the task                               │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  4. update_task(id: "AUTH-001", status: "done")             │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  5. archive_task(task_id: "AUTH-001")                       │
│     → Moves to archive/, keeps todos/ small                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Features

• Backlog-first: Plan hundreds of items in BACKLOG.md, promote to active as needed
• Small active queue: Only 10-30 YAML task files at a time, not hundreds
• Stable IDs: {PROJECT}-{NNN} format (e.g., AUTH-001, API-042)
• Dependencies: depends_on array - task won't appear in get_next_task until deps are done
• Priority Sorting: P0 (critical) → P3 (low) in all views
• Status Workflow: todo → in_progress → blocked | review → done
• Archive history: Completed work preserved in archive/ for reference

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🏗️ Project Structure Guide

Recommended Directory Structure

my-project/
├── .project/                    # Operational truth (current state)
│   ├── index.md                 # Contract file (defines source mappings)
│   ├── BACKLOG.md               # Prioritized work queue (hundreds of items OK)
│   ├── TODO.md                  # Task dashboard (auto-generated)
│   ├── ROADMAP.md               # Project roadmap and milestones
│   ├── STATUS.md                # Current project status
│   ├── DECISIONS.md             # Architecture and design decisions
│   ├── todos/                   # Active tasks (10-30 YAML files)
│   │   ├── AUTH-001.md
│   │   └── AUTH-002.md
│   └── archive/                 # Completed tasks (history)
│       └── AUTH-000.md
│
├── docs/                        # Reference truth (long-form docs)
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── architecture/
│   └── guides/
│
├── README.md                    # Project overview
└── CONTRIBUTING.md              # Contribution guidelines

What Goes Where?

.project/ — Operational Truth

Purpose: Current state, plans, decisions, and active work.

File	Purpose
index.md	Contract file (defines how agents interpret sources)
BACKLOG.md	Prioritized work queue (future tasks, hundreds OK)
TODO.md	Task dashboard (auto-generated by sync_todo_index)
ROADMAP.md	Future plans, milestones, upcoming features
STATUS.md	Current project status, recent changes, health
DECISIONS.md	Architecture decisions, trade-offs, rationale
todos/	Active task files (10-30 items, YAML frontmatter)
archive/	Completed tasks (history, reference)

docs/ — Reference Truth

Purpose: Long-form documentation, guides, and reference materials.

• Architecture documentation
• API references
• How-to guides
• Technical specifications

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🎨 Intent Mapping

The server uses intent detection to route queries to the right sources:

User Query
    │
    ├─ "project" / "the project"
    │  └─→ Searches: .project/ + root files + docs/
    │
    ├─ "docs" / "documentation"
    │  └─→ Searches: docs/ only
    │
    ├─ "plan" / "todos" / "roadmap" / "status"
    │  └─→ Searches: .project/ only
    │
    └─ Default
       └─→ Searches: All sources

How It Works

1. User query: "What's the project status?"
2. Intent detection: Keywords "status" → intent plan
3. Source mapping: plan → searches only .project/
4. Results: Returns .project/STATUS.md, .project/TODO.md, etc.

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📝 Documentation Examples

Example: .project/index.md (Contract File)

# Project Knowledge Index

## Contract for AI Agents

When a user says **"project"**, the canonical sources of truth are:

1. **`.project/`** — Current state, plans, todos, decisions
2. **Root markdown files** — README.md, DEVELOPMENT.md, etc.
3. **`docs/`** — Long-form reference documentation

## Principles

- **Natural language stays natural** - Users say "project" not ".project/"
- **Agents don't guess** - Explicit mappings defined here
- **Intent over structure** - Language maps to intent, not directory names

Example: Task Creation

{
	"tool": "create_task",
	"arguments": {
		"title": "Implement OAuth authentication",
		"project": "AUTH",
		"priority": "P0",
		"owner": "cursor",
		"description": "Add OAuth 2.0 support for Google and GitHub",
		"depends_on": ["AUTH-002"],
		"estimate": "2d",
		"tags": ["security", "feature"]
	}
}

Example: Getting Next Task

{
	"tool": "get_next_task",
	"arguments": {
		"owner": "cursor",
		"limit": 3
	}
}

Returns tasks sorted by priority where all dependencies are complete.

Example: Initialize Project

{
	"tool": "init_project",
	"arguments": {
		"project_name": "My App",
		"project_description": "A web application for task management"
	}
}

Creates .project/ with all standard files: index.md, TODO.md, ROADMAP.md, STATUS.md, DECISIONS.md, and todos/ directory.

Example: Import Tasks to Backlog

{
	"tool": "import_tasks",
	"arguments": {
		"source": ".project/ROADMAP.md",
		"project": "APP",
		"dry_run": true
	}
}

Parses the roadmap and adds tasks to BACKLOG.md. Use dry_run: true to preview first.

Example: Promote Task to Active Work

{
	"tool": "promote_task",
	"arguments": {
		"task_id": "APP-001",
		"owner": "cursor",
		"estimate": "2h"
	}
}

Moves task from BACKLOG.md to todos/APP-001.md with full YAML frontmatter.

Example: Archive Completed Task

{
	"tool": "archive_task",
	"arguments": {
		"task_id": "APP-001"
	}
}

Moves completed task from todos/ to archive/ to keep active queue small.

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⚙️ Configuration

Custom Documentation Directory

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"project": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["-y", "project-mcp"],
			"env": {
				"DOCS_DIR": "/path/to/documentation"
			}
		}
	}
}

Custom Working Directory

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"project": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["-y", "project-mcp"],
			"cwd": "/path/to/project/root"
		}
	}
}

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🧪 Development

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/pouyanafisi/project-mcp.git
cd project-mcp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Test the server
node src/index.js

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📚 Documentation

• Examples — Usage examples and patterns
• Contributing — How to contribute
• Security — Security policy
• Changelog — Version history
• Release Notes v2.0.0 — Latest release

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

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📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

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Get Started • Documentation • Examples • Report Issue