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Manual Setup

If you prefer to configure the MCP server manually instead of using the .mcpb bundle, you can edit Claude Desktop's configuration file directly.

Configuration File Location​

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

JSON Configuration​

Add the following to the mcpServers section of your config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "renovatr": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/renovatr-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DESIGN_MANAGER_URL": "https://beta.renovatr.app/api/v1/mcp",
        "DESIGN_MANAGER_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace:

  • /path/to/renovatr-mcp/dist/index.js with the actual path to the built MCP bridge
  • your-api-key-here with your project-scoped API key

Building from Source​

If you want to build the MCP bridge from the repository source:

# Clone and navigate to the MCP client directory
cd mcp-client

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

The built entry point will be at mcp-client/dist/index.js.

Environment Variables​

VariableRequiredDescription
DESIGN_MANAGER_URLYesYour Renovatr MCP endpoint URL
DESIGN_MANAGER_API_KEYYesProject-scoped API key

The bridge will exit with an error if either variable is missing.

How the Bridge Works​

The MCP bridge is a lightweight Node.js process that:

  1. Starts a stdio MCP server using the @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
  2. Receives tools/list and tools/call requests from the client
  3. Forwards them as JSON-RPC calls over HTTPS to your Renovatr instance
  4. Returns the results back via stdio

It does not cache data or maintain state — every tool call is a fresh HTTP request.

Using with Other MCP Clients​

The Renovatr MCP bridge works with any MCP client that supports the stdio transport. The configuration will vary by client, but the essentials are the same:

  • Command: node
  • Args: path to dist/index.js
  • Environment: DESIGN_MANAGER_URL and DESIGN_MANAGER_API_KEY