Free local MCP server

Run the Software Builder Tools MCP

My continuously-updated engineering best-practices guide — reference sections, skills, agents, and checklists — as callable tools inside Claude. It runs locally over stdio: clone the repo, point Claude at it, done.

Open source (MIT) · needs Node 18+ and git · about 2 minutes
01

Clone the repo

Grab the open-source guide + MCP server from GitHub (MIT licensed).

Terminal

git clone https://github.com/MatthewKerns/software-development-best-practices-guide.git
02

Install dependencies

Step into the folder and install — just three small packages.

Terminal

cd software-development-best-practices-guide && npm install
03

Add it to Claude Code

Register the server over stdio. Run this from inside the cloned folder so the path resolves automatically.

Terminal

claude mcp add software-builder-tools -- node "$(pwd)/mcp/server.mjs"
04

Verify it's connected

Confirm the server is registered. After restarting Claude, its tools are available in any chat.

Terminal

claude mcp list

Using Claude Desktop instead?

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json (swap in the absolute path to where you cloned the repo), then restart Claude Desktop.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "software-builder-tools": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/software-development-best-practices-guide/mcp/server.mjs"
      ]
    }
  }
}

What you get

Six tools that read straight from the guide — so the answers reflect the latest version, not a snapshot.

get_best_practiceFree

Search the guide by topic and get the best-matching doc back.

read_guideFree

Read any specific reference doc by its path.

list_patternsFree

Discover every section, skill, agent, and checklist available.

get_checklistFree

Pull a quick-reference checklist (code review, SOLID, TDD…).

scaffold_agents_mdFree

Generate the AGENTS.md template for a repo.

validate_flag_registryFree

Lint a feature-flag registry against the guide's rules.

Always current, by design

The guide behind this server is the same one I maintain and update as my own practices evolve — pull the repo to get the latest. A one-click hosted connector is on the way; for now this local setup gives you the full toolset.

Browse all free toolsView on GitHub