@aidemd-mcp/server

MCP server that brings intent-driven development to any AI-powered IDE.

Manage `.aide` spec files that live next to your code — the domain context

that architects plan from, implementors build from, and QA validates against.

Learn more at aidemd.dev.

Features

• Project-wide spec discovery with a progressive disclosure tree that surfaces intent, research, and QA specs at every level of your codebase
• One-command project bootstrap via `aide_init` — wires methodology docs, pipeline commands, and this MCP server into your project in a single guided flow
• Automatic naming convention enforcement — `aide_scaffold` handles the `.aide` / `intent.aide` rename rules so you never create conflicting specs
• Health-check validation via `aide_validate` — detects orphaned specs, missing descriptions, broken links, and naming conflicts before they cause drift
• Code introspection via `aide_inspect` — returns JSDoc, signatures, and kind for named symbols without opening files, giving agents Tier 2 progressive disclosure for code
• Upgrade drift detection via `aide_upgrade` — compares your project's AIDE methodology artifacts against canonical versions and writes updates per-category
• Runtime brain entry-point via `aide_brain` — on-demand tool that returns ready-to-execute prose telling the agent which MCP tools to call and how to reach whatever brain backend is wired, without the agent knowing which backend it is

Installation

Quick Start (Claude Code)

The fastest path is a single npx command that wires everything up automatically:

npx @aidemd-mcp/server@latest init

This command:

• Merges the AIDE MCP server entry into `.mcp.json`
• Merges a placeholder brain MCP entry into `.mcp.json` (vault path filled in by `/aide`)
• Writes every pipeline slash command to `.claude/commands/aide/`
• Installs 9 canonical pipeline agents to `.claude/agents/aide/`
• Installs skills (`study-playbook`, `brain`) to `.claude/skills/`
• Installs the methodology docs hub to `.aide/docs/`
• Writes the `aide-tree` launcher to `.aide/bin/aide-tree.mjs`
• Adds an AIDE badge to `README.md` (appends if not present)

All operations are additive — files that already exist are never overwritten. Safe to re-run at any time.

Pass `--vault-path ` to record your brain vault location at install time, skipping the vault-path prompt when `/aide` first runs.

After running, open Claude Code and run `/aide` — the orchestrator will prompt for any setup the cli could not finish (IDE choice, vault path if not supplied).

Syncing brain.aide to .mcp.json

Run this after editing `.aide/config/brain.aide` — for example, when you update the vault path argument in `mcpServerConfig.args` or rename the brain in the `name` field:

npx @aidemd-mcp/server@latest sync

`sync` reads `.aide/config/brain.aide`, copies `mcpServerConfig` verbatim into `.mcp.json` under the fixed `brain` key, and writes the `name` field as the server label. Every other key in `mcpServers` (including your `aide` entry and any personal MCP integrations) is left byte-identical. If a legacy `obsidian` key is present it is removed in the same write. The command is idempotent — running it twice produces the same `.mcp.json` bytes, and the second invocation prints `already in sync` without touching the file. Exit code is `0` on success (including the no-change case), `1` on a missing or malformed `brain.aide` or invalid `.mcp.json`, and `2` on `--help`.

Example output after updating the vault path in `mcpServerConfig.args`:

Read .aide/brain.aide
Wrote brain MCP entry into .mcp.json
  command: npx
  args: [-y, obsidian-mcp, D:/notes/new-vault]
Done.

Manual Configuration

If you use a client other than Claude Code, or prefer to configure manually, add the server entry to your client's MCP config file.

Claude Code

claude mcp add aide npx -- -y @aidemd-mcp/server@latest

Or add to your project's `.mcp.json`:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aide": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aidemd-mcp/server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

> [!NOTE]

> The Quick Start command above handles this automatically for Claude Code users.

Claude Desktop

Config file locations:

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aide": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aidemd-mcp/server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

> [!NOTE]

> Claude Desktop does not inherit the terminal PATH. If you use nvm or Homebrew to manage Node, `npx` may not be found. Run `which npx` in your terminal to get the absolute path and replace `"npx"` with it in the config above.

Claude Desktop requires a full quit-and-reopen after any config change.

Cursor

Add to `~/.cursor/mcp.json`:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aide": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aidemd-mcp/server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code / Copilot

Add to `.vscode/mcp.json`:

{
  "servers": {
    "aide": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aidemd-mcp/server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

> [!NOTE]

> VS Code / Copilot uses `"servers"` as the root key, not `"mcpServers"`. Using the wrong root key causes the server to silently fail to load.

Windsurf

Add to `~/.windsurf/mcp.json`:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aide": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@aidemd-mcp/server@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

aide_discover

Scan the project for `.aide` spec files and return a progressive disclosure tree map showing each spec's type, location, and summary.

Inputs:

• `path` (string, optional): Subdirectory to drill into. When provided, the response opens with the ancestor chain — the cascading intent lineage from root to target, each ancestor showing its description and alignment status — followed by the detailed subtree with summaries and warnings. When omitted, returns a shallow project-wide map (locations and types only).

aide_read

Read an `.aide` spec file with full context, returning the file content, its classified type (intent/research/plan/todo), related specs in the same directory, and links found in the content.

Inputs:

• `path` (string, required): Path to the `.aide` file to read.

aide_scaffold

Create new `.aide` spec files with automatic naming convention enforcement. Handles the rename rules: intent specs are `.aide` by default but become `intent.aide` when `research.aide` exists in the same folder; creating a `research.aide` auto-renames any existing `.aide` to `intent.aide`.

Inputs:

• `directory` (string, required): Directory where the `.aide` file(s) will be created.
• `type` (string, required): Type of `.aide` file to create. One of: `intent`, `research`, `both`, `todo`, `plan`.

aide_inspect

Return the JSDoc block, signature, and kind for a named function, method, class, interface, or type alias in the workspace — Tier 2 progressive disclosure for code. Agents can understand a symbol's contract without opening the file.

Inputs:

• `name` (string, required): Symbol name to look up.
• `file` (string, optional): Restrict search to a single file (relative to project root).

aide_validate

Run a health check on `.aide` spec files in the project. Detects orphaned specs, missing specs, naming conflicts (`.aide` and `intent.aide` in the same folder), broken links, orphaned research files, and missing frontmatter descriptions.

Inputs:

• `path` (string, optional): Subdirectory to validate. Defaults to the entire project when omitted.

aide_info

Boot-time precondition reporter. Returns two independent fields the orchestrator branches on separately: `outdated` (an array of stale AIDE artifact keys, comparing the project's `versions.json` against the shipped manifest), and `brain` (a `{ status, name?, hints }` object reporting whether the project's `brain.aide` config is wired into `.mcp.json`). `brain.status` is the four-state union `ok | no-brain-aide | no-mcp-entry | mcp-drift`, derived by comparing `.aide/config/brain.aide` against `.mcp.json` — no disk path validation. `name` is the user-declared label from `brain.aide` (only present on non-`no-brain-aide` states). `hints` is an array of candidate vault locations the orchestrator can surface during recovery.

Inputs:

(none)

aide_brain

On-demand brain entry-point tool. Call this when you need to reach the brain mid-task — do NOT call it on every `/aide` boot. Boot-time brain precondition state is already reported by `aide_info.brain.status`; firing `aide_brain` at boot duplicates that work unnecessarily.

Returns `{ status, instructions }` — exactly two fields. No `backend`, no `connector`, no `name`. `status` mirrors `aide_info.brain.status` (`ok | no-brain-aide | no-mcp-entry | mcp-drift`). `instructions` is always non-empty: on `ok` it is the verbatim `## Prose` body from the user's `.aide/config/brain.aide` (no server substitution); on the failure states it carries fixed remediation prose naming the right CLI recovery command (`npx @aidemd-mcp/server@latest init` for `no-brain-aide`, `npx @aidemd-mcp/server@latest sync` for `no-mcp-entry` and `mcp-drift`).

Inputs:

(none)

aide_init

Bootstrap the AIDE development environment into a project using a guided one-at-a-time wizard. On the first call (no `category`), returns a summary of every step with status and detected framework. On subsequent calls (with `category`), writes all pending files for that category to disk and returns a manifest.

Inputs:

• `framework` (string, optional): Force a specific framework instead of auto-detecting. One of: `claude`, `cursor`, `windsurf`, `copilot`.
• `path` (string, optional): Custom project root path. Defaults to the server working directory.
• `category` (string, optional): Write all `would-create` files for this category and return a manifest. One of: `framework`, `methodology`, `commands`, `agents`, `skills`, `mcp`, `brain`, `ide`, `readme`. Omit on the first call to get a metadata-only summary.
• `brainPath` (string, optional): Resolved brain vault path. Required when `category=brain`.

aide_upgrade

Compare the AIDE methodology artifacts in this project against canonical versions and return a structured diff grouped by category. On the first call (no `category`), returns a lightweight summary of every category with drift status. On subsequent calls (with `category`), writes all diffed or missing files for that category to disk and returns a manifest.

Inputs:

• `framework` (string, optional): Force a specific framework instead of auto-detecting. One of: `claude`, `cursor`, `windsurf`, `copilot`.
• `path` (string, optional): Custom project root path. Defaults to the server working directory.
• `category` (string, optional): Write all drifted or missing files for this category and return a manifest. One of: `pointer-stub`, `methodology-docs`, `version-metadata`, `commands`, `agents`, `skills`, `mcp`, `ide`, `readme`. Omit on the first call to get a metadata-only summary.

Getting Started

After adding the server to your MCP client, ask your agent to run `aide_init` to bootstrap the AIDE methodology into your project. This installs the methodology docs, scaffolds pipeline commands, and wires everything up.

Then try: "Scaffold an intent spec for my authentication module" — the agent will use `aide_discover` to map your project and `aide_scaffold` to create the spec in the right place with the right naming conventions.

Development

npm install
npm run build
npm test

License

MIT