io.allourthings/mcp-server

Official

by matt-harding · TypeScript

AI-powered household inventory — query everything you own via natural language

Query household inventory and owned items using natural language.

Topics

mcp-server

README.md7 KBView on GitHub

AllOurThings

Your things, understood by AI.

AllOurThings is an inventory system that works the way you do. Catalog anything you like from your home appliances to your Pokémon cards — then ask plain-English questions and get instant answers.

Website: allourthings.io

Packages

Package	npm	Description
`packages/mcp-server`	`@allourthings/mcp-server`	MCP server — connects your inventory to Claude Desktop and other MCP clients
`packages/cli`	`@allourthings/cli`	CLI — manage your inventory from the terminal

Quick start

Desktop only. Requires macOS, Windows, or Linux with Claude Desktop or another MCP-compatible client.

1. Add to Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "allourthings": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@allourthings/mcp-server", "--data-dir", "~/Documents/AllOurThings"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. Your inventory vault will be created automatically on first use.

2. Start asking questions

"Add my Bosch washing machine, bought from John Lewis for £649 in January 2024 with a 2-year warranty"
"What appliances do I own?"
"What's in the kitchen?"
"When does my TV warranty expire?"
"Search for anything Samsung"
"How much have I spent on electronics?"

How it works

The MCP server exposes your inventory to any MCP-compatible AI client via 10 tools:

Tool	Description
`add_item`	Add a new item to your inventory
`get_item`	Retrieve an item by ID or name
`list_items`	List all items, optionally filtered by category, location, or tags
`update_item`	Update fields on an existing item
`delete_item`	Delete an item by ID
`search_items`	Full-text search across all item fields
`add_attachment`	Attach a file (manual, receipt, photo, warranty) to an item
`get_attachment`	Retrieve an attachment as base64
`delete_attachment`	Remove an attachment from an item
`attach_from_url`	Download a file from a URL and attach it to an item

Data

Vault structure

Your inventory lives in a vault — a plain directory on your filesystem. Each item gets its own folder:

code

~/Documents/AllOurThings/
  items/
    dyson-v15-detect-a1b2c3d4/
      item.json
      manual.pdf
      receipt.jpg
    samsung-65-qled-tv-b5c6d7e8/
      item.json
      warranty.pdf

Attachments (manuals, receipts, photos) sit alongside the item JSON. You can browse and edit the vault directly in Finder or File Explorer.

Item schema

Every item has required fields (id, name, created_at, updated_at) and well-known optional fields:

category brand model purchase_date purchase_price currency warranty_expires retailer location features notes tags attachments

The attachments field links PDFs and images stored in the item's folder:

json

{
  "attachments": [
    { "filename": "manual.pdf",  "type": "manual"   },
    { "filename": "receipt.jpg", "type": "receipt"  },
    { "filename": "photo.jpg",   "type": "photo"    }
  ]
}

You can also add any custom fields you like — they are preserved as-is.

CLI

A standalone terminal tool for power users and scripting. Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. No AI client required.

bash

# Run without installing
npx @allourthings/cli list

# Or install globally
npm install -g @allourthings/cli

Commands

bash

allourthings search <query>                          # full-text search across all fields
allourthings list [--category <c>] [-l <loc>] [-t <tag>]  # list items, optionally filtered
allourthings get <id-or-name>                        # show full item detail
allourthings add <name> [options]                    # add a new item
allourthings update <id> [options]                   # update item fields
allourthings delete <id>                             # delete an item (prompts for confirmation)

Attachment management:

bash

allourthings attach add <item-id> <file>             # attach a local file to an item
allourthings attach url <item-id> <url>              # download a file and attach it
allourthings attach get <item-id> <filename>         # save an attachment to disk
allourthings attach rm  <item-id> <filename>         # delete an attachment

add and update options:

code

-c, --category <category>
-b, --brand <brand>
-m, --model <model>
    --purchase-date <date>    ISO date, e.g. 2024-01-15
    --price <price>
    --currency <currency>     e.g. GBP, USD
    --warranty <date>         warranty expiry ISO date
    --retailer <retailer>
-l, --location <location>
    --serial <serial>
-t, --tag <tag...>            repeatable
-n, --notes <notes>
    --set key=value           custom/extra fields (update only, repeatable)

Global options:

code

--data-dir <path>    path to inventory data directory (default: ~/Documents/AllOurThings)
--json               output raw JSON — useful for scripting and agent use

Data directory: defaults to ~/Documents/AllOurThings on all platforms. To avoid passing --data-dir every time, set it once in your shell profile:

export ALLOURTHINGS_DATA_DIR=~/Dropbox/AllOurThings

The directory is created automatically on first write. Read commands (list, search, get) return empty results against a missing directory rather than erroring.

Examples

bash

# Add an item
allourthings add "Bosch Washing Machine" --brand Bosch --model "WGG244A9GB" \
  --category appliance --location kitchen \
  --purchase-date 2024-01-15 --price 649 --currency GBP \
  --warranty 2026-01-15 --retailer "John Lewis"

# Search and pipe to jq
allourthings search "warranty" --json | jq '[.[] | {name, warranty_expires}]'

# Attach a manual
allourthings attach add 6164c373 ~/Downloads/bosch-manual.pdf --label "User manual"

# Update a field
allourthings update 6164c373 --warranty 2027-01-15

# Use a custom data directory
allourthings --data-dir ~/Dropbox/AllOurThings list

Development

Prerequisites

Bun — brew install bun
Task — brew install go-task

Install dependencies

bash

bun install

Tasks

Task	Description
`task dev`	Seed vault + open MCP Inspector — fastest way to test
`task dev:mcp`	Start MCP server in watch mode (stdio)
`task test:run`	Run automated tests
`task seed`	Append test items to dev vault
`task seed:reset`	Clear dev vault and re-seed
`task inspect`	Open MCP Inspector (dev mode, no build required)
`task inspect:prod`	Build, then open MCP Inspector against compiled dist
`task build`	Compile MCP server to dist/
`task build:cli`	Compile CLI to dist/
`task cli -- <args>`	Run CLI from source against dev vault, e.g. `task cli -- list`
`task typecheck`	Run TypeScript type checking
`task clean`	Remove dist/
`task clean:vault`	Delete local dev vault

All tasks use ./dev-vault by default. Override with DATA_DIR=/your/path task <command>.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Install

Configuration

Environment variables

ALLOURTHINGS_DATA_DIR

Directory where inventory data is stored. Defaults to ~/Documents/AllOurThings.

Arguments

--data-dir

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@allourthings/mcp-server@0.2.0",
        "--data-dir"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALLOURTHINGS_DATA_DIR": "<YOUR_ALLOURTHINGS_DATA_DIR>"
      }
    }
  }
}