restart_mcp
Restart Claude Desktop's MCP handler process for plugin reloading without closing the application, ensuring uninterrupted UI functionality.
Instructions
Intelligently restarts only the MCP handler process without disrupting Claude Desktop UI
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||
Implementation Reference
- src/process-manager.ts:21-76 (handler)Core handler function that implements the restart_mcp tool logic: detects MCP handler process, gracefully terminates it, and waits for auto-restart by Claude Desktop.async restartMCPHandler(): Promise<RestartResult> { try { // Step 1: Find the MCP handler process const mcpProcess = await this.detector.findMCPHandlerProcess(); if (!mcpProcess) { return { success: false, message: 'Could not find MCP handler process. It may not be running.', error: 'MCP_HANDLER_NOT_FOUND' }; } const oldPid = mcpProcess.pid; console.log(`Found MCP handler process: PID ${oldPid}`); // Step 2: Gracefully terminate the process await this.gracefulKill(mcpProcess.pid); // Step 3: Wait a moment for Claude Desktop to detect the disconnection await this.delay(1000); // Step 4: Verify the process was terminated const stillRunning = await this.isProcessRunning(oldPid); if (stillRunning) { // Force kill if graceful didn't work await this.forceKill(oldPid); await this.delay(500); } // Step 5: Wait for Claude Desktop to restart the MCP handler const newProcess = await this.waitForMCPHandler(5000); if (newProcess) { return { success: true, message: 'MCP handler restarted successfully', oldPid, newPid: newProcess.pid }; } else { return { success: false, message: 'MCP handler was terminated but did not restart automatically', oldPid, error: 'MCP_HANDLER_NOT_RESTARTED' }; } } catch (error) { return { success: false, message: 'Failed to restart MCP handler', error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'UNKNOWN_ERROR' }; } }
- src/index.ts:67-86 (handler)MCP server request handler for call_tool 'restart_mcp', which invokes the process manager's restartMCPHandler and formats the response.case 'restart_mcp': { try { console.error('Restarting MCP handler process...'); const result = await processManager.restartMCPHandler(); return { content: [ { type: 'text', text: JSON.stringify(result, null, 2), }, ], }; } catch (error) { throw new McpError( ErrorCode.InternalError, `Failed to restart MCP handler: ${error}` ); } }
- src/index.ts:33-41 (schema)Tool schema definition including name, description, and empty input schema (no parameters required).{ name: 'restart_mcp', description: 'Intelligently restarts only the MCP handler process without disrupting Claude Desktop UI', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: {}, required: [], }, },
- src/process-manager.ts:9-15 (schema)Type definition for the output/result of the restart operation.export interface RestartResult { success: boolean; message: string; oldPid?: number; newPid?: number; error?: string; }
- src/index.ts:30-62 (registration)Registration of tool list handler, which advertises the 'restart_mcp' tool to MCP clients.server.setRequestHandler(ListToolsRequestSchema, async () => { return { tools: [ { name: 'restart_mcp', description: 'Intelligently restarts only the MCP handler process without disrupting Claude Desktop UI', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: {}, required: [], }, }, { name: 'restart_claude', description: 'Fully restarts Claude Desktop application (use only if MCP restart fails)', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: {}, required: [], }, }, { name: 'get_mcp_status', description: 'Check if MCP handler and Claude Desktop processes are running', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: {}, required: [], }, }, ], }; });