MarkdownLM MCP Server

MarkdownLM MCP Server

MarkdownLM is the persistent memory and governance layer between your team and your AI coding agents. Define your rules once. Enforced everywhere. Every session.

Note:

The MarkdownLM knowledge base supports the following categories for all rules, patterns, and decisions:

• architecture: Layering, boundaries, system design
• stack: Frameworks, libraries, versions
• testing: Test frameworks, coverage, patterns
• deployment: CI/CD, platforms, scripts
• security: Auth, validation, secrets
• style: Naming, formatting, organization
• dependencies: Approved/banned packages
• error_handling: Exceptions, logging, monitoring
• business_logic: Domain rules, workflow constraints, business invariants, pricing logic, subscription rules, permission models
• general: Anything else

When using this MCP server, always specify a category. category is a required field on query_knowledge_base.

How it works

1. Your team documents architecture rules, stack decisions, and patterns in MarkdownLM.
2. This MCP server gives AI coding agents three focused tools to query and validate against that knowledge.
3. Agents validate code against your rules before suggesting changes — violations never reach PRs.

Setup

1. Get your API key

1. Log in to MarkdownLM
2. Go to Settings → API & MCP
3. Generate an API key

2. Configure your AI tool

Pick your tool below. All use the same npm package — one codebase, every platform.

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add markdownlm -e MARKDOWNLM_API_KEY=mdlm_your_key_here -e MARKDOWNLM_API_URL=https://markdownlm.com -- npx -y markdownlm-mcp

Or manually edit ~/.claude/claude_code_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markdownlm": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "markdownlm-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_KEY": "mdlm_your_key_here",
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_URL": "https://markdownlm.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markdownlm": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "markdownlm-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_KEY": "mdlm_your_key_here",
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_URL": "https://markdownlm.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

.cursor/mcp.json in your project root (project-scoped) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markdownlm": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "markdownlm-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_KEY": "mdlm_your_key_here",
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_URL": "https://markdownlm.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markdownlm": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "markdownlm-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_KEY": "mdlm_your_key_here",
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_URL": "https://markdownlm.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cline (VS Code)

In the Cline extension settings (MCP Servers):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markdownlm": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "markdownlm-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_KEY": "mdlm_your_key_here",
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_URL": "https://markdownlm.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code (Native/Extension)

.vscode/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "servers": {
    "markdownlm": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "markdownlm-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_KEY": "mdlm_your_key_here",
        "MARKDOWNLM_API_URL": "https://markdownlm.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

`query_knowledge_base`

Query your team's documented rules before writing code. Returns relevant rules with sources and automatically logs gaps for undocumented decisions.

Inputs

Response — answer, sources[], gap_detected, optional gap_resolution

`validate_code`

Validate a code snippet against all documented rules. Returns pass/fail with violation details and fix suggestions.

Inputs

Response — status (pass/fail), violations[] (rule, message, fix_suggestion), `fix_