Show HN: MCP Server Installation Instructions Generator

Hey HN, we’ve been experimenting a lot with MCP servers lately, and one of the most time-consuming challenges has been connecting MCP clients to remote MCP servers. To solve this, we built a library that generates them on the fly, enabling 1-click installation buttons and links for most clients out there.

Feel free to try out the generator and use it to improve the README of your remote MCP server with the generated markdown. You can even configure the library to return HTML instructions if someone accesses your remote MCP server via the web.

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thamer a day ago | parent | next [-]

Is this only about remote MCP servers? The instructions all seem to contain a URL, but personally almost all the MCP servers I'm running locally are stdio based and not networked. Are you planning to support those in some way?

There's also this new effort by Anthropic to provide a packaging system for MCP servers, called MCPB or MCP Bundles[1]. A bundle is a zip file with a manifest inside it, a bit like how Chrome extensions are structured (maybe VSCode extensions too?).

Is this something you're looking to integrate with? I can't say I have seen any MCPB files anywhere just yet, but with a focus on simple installs and given that Anthropic introduced MCP in the first place, I wouldn't be surprised if this new format also got some traction. These archives could contain a lot more data than the small amount you're currently encoding in the URL though[2].

[1] https://www.npmjs.com/package/@anthropic-ai/mcpb

[2] https://github.com/anthropics/mcpb/blob/main/README.md#direc...

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pmig a day ago | parent [-]

That's a good point, we really think that the future of MCP servers are remote servers, as running "random" software that has little to no boundaries, no verification or similar shouldn't be a thing. Is there a specific reason, you prefer stio servers over http servers? Which servers are you using?

Thanks for the mcpb hint, we will look into it.

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thamer a day ago | parent | next [-]

> Is there a specific reason, you prefer stio servers over http servers?

Yes: the main reason is that I control which applications are configured with the command/args/environment to run the MCP server, instead of exposing a service on my localhost that any process on my computer can connect to (or worse, on my network if it listens on all interfaces).

I mostly run MCP servers that I've written, but otherwise most of the third party ones I use are related to software development and AI providers (e.g. context7, Replicate, ElevenLabs…). The last two costs me money when their tools are invoked, so I'm not about to expose them on a port given that auth doesn't happen at the protocol level.

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robertlagrant a day ago | parent | prev [-]

> as running "random" software that has little to no boundaries, no verification or similar shouldn't be a thing

Would you class all locally running software this way, and all remotely running software the inverse?

	▲	pmig a day ago \| parent [-]
		Most software we install locally is at least distributed via a trusted party (App Store, Play Store, Linux package repos, etc) and have a valid signatur (Desktop & Mobile) or are contained in some way (containers, browser extensions, etc..). In the case of MCP, remote servers at least protect you from local file leakages.

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felipe-pathwave 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Nice! Right when I need it! Thank you