The package manager for MCP servers.
Install, manage, and inspect Model Context Protocol servers across all your AI clients — Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf — from a single CLI.
A complete toolchain for the MCP ecosystem — install, secure, sync, audit, and automate.
Manage servers for Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf from one unified tool. No context switching.
Resolves packages from npm, Smithery, GitHub URLs, or custom registries. Lockfile tracks everything reproducibly.
Store API keys and tokens in an AES-256-CBC encrypted vault. Auto-loaded during install — never in plaintext JSON.
Keep server configs consistent across all AI clients. Diff before syncing. Use --remove to clean extras.
Scan for vulnerabilities via OSV API. Trust scoring 0–100. --fix auto-updates vulnerable packages.
Extend mcpman with npm-based plugins. Add custom registries like Ollama or HuggingFace with a prefix-based resolver.
Scaffold new MCP servers with mcpman create. Node.js and Python templates with a working hello tool.
Tab-complete commands and server names in bash, zsh, and fish. Server names resolved dynamically from lockfile.
Automatic snapshots before every lockfile write. Restore any of the last 5 states with mcpman rollback.
Up and running in under a minute.
Or skip this and use npx for any command.
mcpman auto-detects your installed AI clients and registers the server with all of them.
Verifies runtimes, env vars, and server connectivity.
Find servers on npm or Smithery registry.
# Install globally
$ npm install -g mcpman
# Or use directly without installing
$ npx mcpman install @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem
# Health check all servers
$ mcpman doctor
# Search for servers
$ mcpman search filesystem
# List installed servers
$ mcpman list
# Sync across all clients
$ mcpman syncA complete CLI for every stage of the MCP server lifecycle.
install Install & register a serverlist List installed serversremove Uninstall a serverupdate Update installed serversupgrade Self-upgrade mcpmandoctor Run diagnosticstest JSON-RPC validationvalidate Schema checksstatus Live process statusbench Latency benchmarksinit Scaffold lockfileconfig Global config CRUDsync Cross-client syncdiff Visual client diffenv Per-server env varssecrets Encrypted vaultsearch npm + Smithery searchinfo Package detailswhy Server provenancecreate Scaffold new serverlink Link local serverwatch Auto-restart on changeprofiles Named config snapshotsgroup Batch server tagspin Version pinningrollback Restore snapshotsregistry Custom registry CRUDplugin npm-based pluginscompletions Shell tab-completeexport Portable JSON bundleimport Restore from bundletemplate Sharable server presetsrun Launch with vault secretslogs Real-time log streamingnotify Webhook + shell hooksreplay Command history replayalias Command shorthandsaudit Security vulnerability scanBuilt for power users who need more than a basic installer.
| Feature | mcpman | Smithery CLI | mcpm.sh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-client support | All 4 clients | Claude only | Limited |
| Lockfile | mcpman.lock | None | None |
| Health checks | Runtime + env + process | None | None |
| Encrypted secrets | AES-256 vault | None | None |
| Config sync | Cross-client + --remove | None | None |
| Security audit | Trust scoring + auto-fix | None | None |
| Registry sources | npm + Smithery + GitHub | Smithery only | npm only |
| Plugin system | npm-based | None | None |
| Export / Import | Full config portability | None | None |
| Server scaffolding | Node + Python templates | None | None |
| Shell completions | bash + zsh + fish | None | None |
| Auto-rollback | Auto-snapshot + restore | None | None |
| CI/CD integration | GitHub Actions | None | None |