MCP Setup

GitKB exposes 49 tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), giving AI assistants full read/write access to your knowledge base.

How it works

The git-kb mcp command starts a stdio-based MCP server that connects to the GitKB daemon. The daemon auto-starts when needed — no manual setup required.

Client configuration

Claude Code

Add to .mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitkb": {
      "command": "git-kb",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitkb": {
      "command": "git-kb",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Note: MCP tools only appear in Cursor’s Agent mode, not in normal chat. If you use the Cursor integration scaffold, GitKB also installs repo rules and skill forwarders under .cursor/.

Codex

Codex can use the same MCP server through its local MCP configuration. The recommended setup is:

codex mcp add gitkb -- git-kb mcp

This writes the server entry to $CODEX_HOME/config.toml when CODEX_HOME is set, or ~/.codex/config.toml by default. If editing manually, add:

[mcp_servers.gitkb]
command = "git-kb"
args = ["mcp"]

For Codex skills and instructions, run:

git-kb init codex

Cline (VS Code)

Add to your Cline MCP settings (accessible via the Cline extension settings):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitkb": {
      "command": "git-kb",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitkb": {
      "command": "git-kb",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Verify the connection

After configuring, ask your AI assistant:

“List all documents in the knowledge base”

The assistant should use the kb_list tool and return your documents.

Available tools

GitKB provides 49 MCP tools organized by category. See the MCP Tools Reference for full parameter documentation.

Category	Tools
Documents	`kb_list`, `kb_show`, `kb_create`, `kb_update`, `kb_set`, `kb_mv`, `kb_delete`, `kb_assign`, `kb_unassign`
Workspace	`kb_checkout`, `kb_status`, `kb_diff`, `kb_commit`, `kb_stash`, `kb_reset`, `kb_clear`, `kb_log`
Search	`kb_search`, `kb_semantic`
Graph	`kb_graph`, `kb_link`, `kb_unlink`, `kb_reorder`
Board & Views	`kb_board`, `kb_view`
Context & Config	`kb_context`, `kb_smart_context`, `kb_ready`, `kb_resolve`, `kb_config_get`, `kb_events`
Export & Recovery	`kb_export`, `kb_backup`, `kb_restore`
Conflicts	`kb_conflict_show`, `kb_conflict_accept`
Code Intelligence	`kb_symbols`, `kb_callers`, `kb_callees`, `kb_impact`, `kb_dead_code`, `kb_symbol_refs`, `kb_index`, `kb_code_doctor`, `kb_code_entrypoints`, `kb_code_flows`, `kb_code_flow`, `kb_code_query`
AI	`kb_embed`

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Tools not appearing	Restart your editor after adding MCP config
“Daemon not running”	Run `git-kb daemon start` to start manually
Connection timeout	Check `git-kb doctor` for diagnostics
Wrong KB loaded	Verify you’re in the correct project directory

Next steps

Claude Code — Set up rules, skills, and MCP config
Agent Harnesses & Skills — Compare Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, and MCP clients
Agent Workflows — Learn how AI agents use GitKB effectively
Documents — Understand document types and structure

Quick Start Agent Harnesses & Skills