io.github.manticoresoftware/mcp-manticore

Official

by manticoresoftware · Python

Manticore Search

MCP server for Manticore Search — lets AI assistants query and manage search databases.

Query and manage Manticore Search databases through AI assistant integration.

README.md9 KBView on GitHub

Manticore Search MCP Server

MCP server for Manticore Search — enables AI assistants to query and manage Manticore Search databases directly.

Quick Start

Installation

bash

# Option 1: Install with uv (recommended, requires PyPI release)
uvx mcp-manticore

# Option 2: Install with pip
pip install mcp-manticore

# Option 3: Run from source (for local development)
uvx --from . mcp-manticore
# Or: uv run mcp-manticore

Note:

uvx runs the package directly without installation. First-time run may take a moment to download dependencies.

The package must be published to PyPI for uvx mcp-manticore to work.

For local development or testing unreleased versions, use uvx --from . mcp-manticore

What It Does

Tools

Tool	Description
`run_query`	Execute SQL queries (SELECT, SHOW, DESCRIBE, etc.)
`list_tables`	List all tables and indexes
`describe_table`	Get table schema
`list_documentation`	List available documentation files
`get_documentation`	Fetch specific documentation from Manticore manual

Prompts

manticore_initial_prompt — Built-in prompt teaching LLMs about Manticore Search features (full-text operators, KNN vector search, fuzzy search, etc.)

Health Check

HTTP endpoint at /health for monitoring connectivity.

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`MANTICORE_HOST`	`localhost`	Manticore server host
`MANTICORE_PORT`	`9308`	HTTP API port
`MANTICORE_USER`	—	Username (optional)
`MANTICORE_PASSWORD`	—	Password (optional)
`MANTICORE_CONNECT_TIMEOUT`	`30`	Connection timeout (seconds)
`MANTICORE_QUERY_TIMEOUT`	`30`	Query timeout (seconds)
`MANTICORE_ALLOW_WRITE_ACCESS`	`false`	Enable write operations (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE)
`MANTICORE_ALLOW_DROP`	`false`	Enable destructive operations (DROP, TRUNCATE)
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	—	GitHub token for higher API rate limit

Safety

By default, all write operations are blocked. To enable:

bash

# Enable writes (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE)
export MANTICORE_ALLOW_WRITE_ACCESS=true

# Enable destructive operations (DROP, TRUNCATE)
export MANTICORE_ALLOW_DROP=true

Connect to Your AI Assistant

<details> <summary>Claude Code</summary>

Open terminal and run:

bash

claude mcp add manticore -- uvx mcp-manticore

Or with environment variables:

bash

claude mcp add manticore -- uvx mcp-manticore -- \
  MANTICORE_HOST=localhost \
  MANTICORE_PORT=9308

For full configuration, edit ~/.claude/mcp_settings.json:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code or type /mcp restart to apply changes.

</details> <details> <summary>Cursor</summary>

Method 1: Via Settings UI

Open Cursor → Settings → Tools & MCP
Click "Add MCP Server"
Enter name: manticore
Command: uvx mcp-manticore

Method 2: Via Config File

Global config (~/.cursor/mcp.json):

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

Project config (.cursor/mcp.json in your project):

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"]
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary>Windsurf</summary>

Method 1: Via Cascade UI

Open Windsurf → Cascade panel
Click the MCPs icon (🔨) in the top-right
Click "Add Server"
Enter: uvx mcp-manticore

Method 2: Via Config File

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or open directly in Windsurf: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → "MCP Configuration Panel"

</details> <details> <summary>OpenAI Codex</summary>

Run in terminal:

bash

codex mcp add manticore -- uvx mcp-manticore

With environment variables:

bash

codex mcp add manticore \
  --env MANTICORE_HOST=localhost \
  --env MANTICORE_PORT=9308 \
  -- uvx mcp-manticore

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

toml

[mcp_servers.manticore]
command = "uvx"
args = ["mcp-manticore"]
env = { MANTICORE_HOST = "localhost", MANTICORE_PORT = "9308" }

</details> <details> <summary>Gemini CLI</summary>

Edit ~/.gemini/settings.json:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary>VS Code (GitHub Copilot)</summary>

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

json

{
  "servers": {
    "manticore": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary>Cline</summary>

Open Cline panel in VS Code
Click the MCP Servers icon
Click "Configure" → "Add Server"
Select "Command (stdio)" and enter:
- Name: manticore
- Command: uvx mcp-manticore

Or edit the MCP settings file directly (accessible via the MCP Servers icon → "Edit Config"):

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary>Roo Code</summary>

Open Roo Code panel in VS Code
Click the MCP Servers icon → "Edit MCP Settings"
Add the server configuration

Or create .roo/mcp.json in your project root:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details> <details> <summary>Claude Desktop (Legacy)</summary>

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

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-manticore"],
      "env": {
        "MANTICORE_HOST": "localhost",
        "MANTICORE_PORT": "9308"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

HTTP Transport (Remote MCP)

By default, MCP uses stdio (local). For remote access:

bash

export MANTICORE_MCP_SERVER_TRANSPORT=http
export MANTICORE_MCP_BIND_PORT=8000
export MANTICORE_MCP_AUTH_TOKEN="your-secure-token"

uvx mcp-manticore

Connect via URL:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manticore": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-secure-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Install uv (required)

macOS / Linux:

bash

# Via installer script (recommended)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Or via Homebrew
brew install uv

Windows:

powershell

# Via PowerShell
irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex

# Or via winget
winget install astral-sh.uv

Verify installation:

bash

uv --version

MCP server not connecting

Verify Manticore is running: curl http://localhost:9308/health
Check environment variables are set correctly
For Claude Code: restart with /mcp restart

Too many tools loaded

Some agents limit active MCP tools. Remove unused servers or use project-scoped configs.

Development

bash

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/manticoresoftware/mcp-manticore.git
cd mcp-manticore

# Install dependencies
uv sync

# Run locally
uv run mcp-manticore

# Run with custom config
MANTICORE_HOST=remote-server MANTICORE_PORT=9308 uv run mcp-manticore

# Run tests
uv run pytest

# Build package
uv build

# Publish to PyPI
uv publish

Architecture

File	Purpose
`mcp_manticore/mcp_env.py`	Configuration management
`mcp_manticore/mcp_server.py`	MCP server implementation
`mcp_manticore/manticore_prompt.py`	LLM guidance/prompts
`mcp_manticore/docs_fetcher.py`	GitHub docs fetcher
`mcp_manticore/main.py`	CLI entry point

License

Apache-2.0

Install

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-manticore": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-manticore"
      ]
    }
  }
}