Claude Code Guide MCP Server: Install & Tools

Technical reference for claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp, the local stdio server that exposes this guide to MCP-compatible coding clients.

Public package status checked on 2026-10-05:

• public npm package: 1.3.6
• public runtime handshake: 1.3.6
• public runtime surface: 17 tools, 6 resources, 1 prompt
• official MCP Registry identity: io.github.FlorianBruniaux/claude-code-guide; version 1.3.6 was active and marked latest at 2026-10-05T19:21:02Z, separately verified from npm

The public runtime snapshot, measured at 2026-10-05T18:52:56Z, records the public package handshake and list methods. The public package installed from npm was also checked over stdio on 2026-10-05: initialization, 17 tools, 6 resources, 1 prompt, guide search, and source retrieval passed. The downloaded tarball matched the tested release candidate integrity. Client installation commands below were not executed in that check. The generated product manifest describes the repository contract; a repository candidate can differ from the published package. The official Registry accepted publication of 1.3.6 at 2026-10-05T19:15:19.901349Z. Separate public reads of its version-specific and latest endpoints at 2026-10-05T19:21:02Z confirmed version 1.3.6, status active, and isLatest: true. npm and Registry publication were verified separately.

TL;DR

Use the MCP server when you want a coding client to search the guide, open the exact source section, retrieve a production template, or inspect Claude Code releases without loading the full guide into context.

The server runs locally over stdio. Version 1.3.6 has no first-party telemetry. Some tools can contact GitHub or Anthropic when invoked and can write local cache files. Downloads are not users, active installations, sessions, or executions.

Install the currently published package:

claude mcp add --scope user claude-code-guide -- npx -y claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6
codex mcp add claude-code-guide -- npx -y claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6

What the server solves

The guide is too large to inject in full for every question. The MCP server provides a smaller discovery and retrieval loop:

1. search the structured guide index;
2. return matching paths and anchors;
3. read only the relevant source section;
4. fetch a specific template or release record when needed.

This reduces irrelevant context. It does not guarantee that an answer is correct, current, or appropriate for a specific repository. The client still has to inspect the retrieved source and verify time-sensitive claims.

Install by client

All examples below use the public npm version observed on 2026-10-05. Pinning the version makes installation reproducible.

Claude Code

User scope:

claude mcp add --scope user claude-code-guide -- npx -y claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6
claude mcp list

Project scope in .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-code-guide": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6"]
    }
  }
}

Remove the user-scoped entry:

claude mcp remove --scope user claude-code-guide

Codex

codex mcp add claude-code-guide -- npx -y claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6
codex mcp list

Remove it with:

codex mcp remove claude-code-guide

Cursor

Add this entry to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claude-code-guide": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Add this entry to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "claude-code-guide": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6"]
    }
  }
}

First useful query

Ask the client:

Call search_guide with query=“session-scoped hooks” and limit=20. Find the hooks_session_scoped entry, open its returned path and line with read_section, and cite the source path and exact heading.

The expected tool sequence is:

search_guide({ query: "session-scoped hooks", limit: 20 })
// Use the path and offset returned for hooks_session_scoped.
// The 2026-10-05 check returned the following values:
read_section({ path: "guide/ultimate-guide.md", offset: 10043, limit: 80 })

The checked response read lines 10043-10055 under Session-Scoped Hooks. The default search limit of 10 did not include that exact entry in this check; use 20 and inspect the matching result. Line numbers can change, so reuse the returned offset rather than assuming 10043 remains current.

Public 1.3.6 repairs chapter routing: chapter boundaries are generated from the guide headings instead of stale static ranges. The checked session-scoped hooks search and read now return the correct Guide chapter link, 07-hooks. Use the returned path and offset, inspect the heading, and cite the GitHub source or the Hooks section. GitHub main is mutable.

Historical limitation: public 1.3.5 returned 08-mcp for this same hooks entry because its static chapter ranges were stale. That routing defect is fixed in 1.3.6; the earlier check did not pin the GitHub content SHA.

For a template, start with search_examples, then call get_example with the returned name. For official documentation changes, run init_official_docs once, then refresh_official_docs and diff_official_docs when you need a new comparison.

Architecture and data flow

MCP client
  -> local stdio process started through npx
     -> bundled indexes and datasets
     -> optional GitHub fetch for guide content and templates
     -> optional Anthropic fetch for official documentation snapshots
     -> local cache under ~/.cache/claude-code-guide/

The MCP protocol travels through the child process standard input and standard output. There is no hosted guide MCP endpoint in this architecture. The client controls when the local process starts and which tools it calls.

Tools, resources, and prompt

The published 1.3.6 package exposes the following generated contract:

Capability	Count	Purpose
Tools	17	Search, source retrieval, templates, releases, threats, and official documentation snapshots
Resources	6	Reference index, release history, llms.txt, Agent Harness Map, distribution channels, and translation metadata
Prompts	1	claude-code-expert search and retrieval workflow

Tools by workflow:

Workflow	Tools
Guide discovery	search_guide, read_section, list_topics
Templates	get_example, list_examples, search_examples
Guide and release history	get_changelog, get_digest, get_release, compare_versions, get_cheatsheet
Security reference	get_threat, list_threats
Official Anthropic docs	init_official_docs, refresh_official_docs, diff_official_docs, search_official_docs

Resources:

• claude-code-guide://reference
• claude-code-guide://releases
• claude-code-guide://llms
• claude-code-guide://agent-harnesses
• claude-code-guide://distribution-channels
• claude-code-guide://translations

The published package searches its bundled generated index. This reference does not infer the entry count from an older package snapshot. The public runtime snapshot verifies the capability names and counts without storing descriptions, arguments, content, local paths, or user data.

Bundled content, GitHub fetch, and cache

The package bundles the structured reference, release history, guide navigation, and other declared resource datasets. Initialization, list operations, and guide search use bundled data.

These tools can fetch content from GitHub when a local checkout or usable cache entry is not available:

• read_section
• get_example
• get_cheatsheet
• get_changelog
• get_digest
• get_threat
• list_threats

Successful GitHub responses can be cached under ~/.cache/claude-code-guide/<version>/ for 24 hours. When GUIDE_ROOT points to a local guide checkout, content tools read from that checkout instead.

init_official_docs and refresh_official_docs fetch Anthropic documentation and store separate local snapshots. diff_official_docs and search_official_docs read those snapshots without making a network request.

Network and privacy boundary

Version 1.3.6 has no first-party telemetry, analytics endpoint, device identifier, or event upload. MCP requests and responses are not sent to this project’s author.

Network access is tool-specific:

Operation	Network	Local write
List capabilities and search bundled index	No	No
Read uncached guide content or templates	GitHub, when needed	24-hour cache
Initialize or refresh official docs	Anthropic	Local snapshots
Diff or search existing official-doc snapshots	No	No

The MCP client, npm, npx, GitHub, Anthropic, and the machine operator can have their own logs or policies. Those systems are outside this server’s first-party telemetry boundary.

Telemetry decision for 1.3.6

Centralized product telemetry is deliberately not implemented in 1.3.6. Download counts do not justify adding a tracking endpoint, and they cannot establish active usage.

Any future proposal requires a reviewed privacy decision before code exists. The minimum acceptance criteria are:

• disabled by default and enabled by an explicit user action;
• no query text, arguments, file paths, returned content, repository identity, hostname, or account identity;
• a locally generated random identifier that the user can reset;
• only package version, tool name, success or failure, and coarse latency;
• a documented endpoint, retention period, deletion process, and exact payload schema;
• an immediate disable mechanism and a public way to inspect emitted events.

Until those conditions are approved and implemented, the accurate claim is no first-party telemetry.

Offline behavior

The server is partially offline, not fully offline.

• capability listing, topic listing, release data, resources, and index search work from bundled content;
• cached guide content can be read while the cache remains usable;
• uncached Markdown sections and templates can require GitHub;
• official-doc search and diff require snapshots previously created with network access;
• the first npx execution can require npm registry access unless the package is already cached or installed.

For development or controlled offline use, install dependencies ahead of time, build the package, and start dist/index.js from a local checkout with GUIDE_ROOT set.

Compatibility

Requirement	Published 1.3.6
Transport	local stdio
Node.js	>=18.14.1
MCP SDK dependency range	@modelcontextprotocol/sdk ^1.30.0
Documented client configuration shapes	Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code; installation in these clients was not tested by the 2026-10-05 stdio check
Package manager entry point	npx

Other MCP clients can work if they support local stdio servers and the same command-plus-arguments model. That statement is protocol compatibility, not a claim that every client release has been tested.

Limitations

• The full guide Markdown is not bundled.
• Version 1.3.6 derives the MCP handshake from package.json and tests that contract.
• The official Registry identity is case-sensitive: io.github.FlorianBruniaux/claude-code-guide.
• Companion /ccguide:* command files live in the repository and are not installed by the npm package.
• Search retrieves candidate sections; it does not replace source review or freshness checks.
• No metric in this repository measures active users.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check	Action
Client cannot start the server	node --version and npx --version	Use Node.js >=18.14.1 and verify npm registry access
Client shows no tools	claude mcp list or codex mcp list	Check the server name, command, arguments, and configuration scope
Requested version cannot be downloaded	npm view claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp version	Use the exact version returned by npm and update the pinned client command
Source read fails offline	Inspect ~/.cache/claude-code-guide/	Retry with network access, set GUIDE_ROOT, or prefill the cache through an earlier successful read
Official-doc search says no snapshot exists	Check the official-doc cache directory	Run init_official_docs, which requires Anthropic network access
Configuration is stale	Remove and re-add the server	Use the client-specific removal command shown above

Inspect the JSON-RPC surface with the MCP Inspector:

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx -y claude-code-ultimate-guide-mcp@1.3.6

Version and dated npm statistics

Two machine-readable snapshots serve different questions:

• mcp-stats.json records npm package history, daily distribution, and official-registry presence.
• mcp-dashboard.json records one completed calendar month across npm, GSC, and GA4 with explicit availability states.

Public package snapshot

Current npm snapshot: 2026-10-05T18:53:02Z. Public version: 1.3.6, published at 2026-10-05T18:50:48.508Z. Last complete UTC day: 2026-10-04. Unit: npm package downloads, across package versions.

Period	Downloads
Since launch, 2026-02-28 through 2026-10-04	10,353
Year to date, 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-04	10,353
Trailing 30 complete days, 2026-09-05 through 2026-10-04	1,088
Trailing 7 complete days, 2026-09-28 through 2026-10-04	139

For the trailing 30 complete days, the daily median is 23.5, mean 36.3, maximum 229, and median absolute deviation 7.5. Recorded anomaly dates are September 5 and 6. These observations do not establish their cause or active usage. The window ends before 1.3.6 was published, so these counts are not downloads of 1.3.6 specifically.

Historical npm snapshot: 2026-08-31T22:41:52Z. Its last complete UTC day was 2026-08-30. The following values remain a dated comparison, not the current snapshot.

Period	Downloads
Since launch, 2026-02-28 through 2026-08-30	8,590
Year to date, 2026-01-01 through 2026-08-30	8,590
Trailing 30 complete days, 2026-08-01 through 2026-08-30	5,252
Trailing 7 complete days, 2026-08-24 through 2026-08-30	125

For the trailing 30 complete days, the daily median was 31.5, the mean was 175.1, the maximum was 727, and the median absolute deviation was 31.5. The mean is strongly affected by recorded spikes. The snapshot preserves those observations but does not assign a cause.

Reproducible monthly dashboard

The dashboard snapshot measured at 2026-10-02T16:50:00Z records 1,286 npm downloads for the completed September 2026 UTC month. Its GSC landing, GSC portfolio, and GA4 portfolio sources remain marked unavailable, with retrieval timestamps of 2026-08-31T16:51:31Z and missing-access reasons. Those older source states are not a fresh October access check and are not reported as zero.

The earlier completed July 2026 UTC snapshot recorded 1,459 npm downloads. Keep that historical month distinct from September and from the trailing 30-day window above.

The monthly workflow uses exact page URL or path filters, publishes aggregate page and package metrics only, and keeps missing sources explicit. npm downloads can include installs, CI runs, cache misses, bots, and repeated downloads. They do not identify unique or active people.

Changelog and source

• MCP package README
• Generated product contract
• Monthly dashboard collector
• Guide changelog
• Source repository
• npm package

Release changes must update the generated product manifest, pass npm run release:check in mcp-server/, and keep the public-package snapshot separate from repository candidates whenever their versions differ.