Stata-MCP

# Stata Help > **macOS and Linux Only!** This module is currently only supported on macOS and Linux systems. Windows support is not available at this time. ## Overview StataHelp is a utility module that retrieves help documentation for Stata commands directly from your local Stata installation. It provides quick access to Stata's built-in help system with intelligent caching for improved performance. ## Key Features ### Local Help Access StataHelp queries the Stata help system installed on your machine: - **No Internet Required**: All help documentation comes from your local Stata installation - **Fast Access**: Retrieves help information instantly through Stata CLI - **Complete Documentation**: Access the same comprehensive help available in Stata ### Intelligent Caching System StataHelp includes a multi-level caching mechanism to improve performance: - **Project-Level Cache**: Saves help results to your project's temporary directory for quick access - **Global Cache**: Stores help files in `~/.stata_mcp/help/` for reuse across projects - **Environment Control**: Use `STATA_MCP_CACHE_HELP` and `STATA_MCP_SAVE_HELP` to control caching behavior ### Command Validation Before executing a Stata command, you can use StataHelp to verify if the command exists: - Checks if help documentation is available for a given command - Helps prevent errors from typos or missing packages - Useful for validating user input in automated workflows ## Use Cases - **Command Verification**: Check if a Stata command exists before execution - **Documentation Lookup**: Retrieve help text for Stata commands programmatically - **Interactive Assistance**: Provide in-context help in AI-powered Stata workflows - **Error Prevention**: Validate commands before running them in scripts ## How It Works 1. **Cache Check**: First checks project-level cache, then global cache (if enabled) 2. **Stata Query**: If not cached, sends `help {command}` request to Stata CLI 3. **Documentation Retrieval**: Stata searches its local documentation for the specified command 4. **Cache Storage**: Saves the result to cache (if enabled) 5. **Result Return**: Returns the help text for display or processing ## Configuration Control caching behavior with environment variables: ```bash # Enable global caching (default: false) export STATA_MCP_CACHE_HELP=true # Enable project-level saving (default: true) export STATA_MCP_SAVE_HELP=true ``` ## Limitations - **Platform Support**: Currently only works on macOS and Linux - **Local Documentation Only**: Cannot access help for packages that are not installed locally - **No Internet Search**: Does not perform online searches for missing commands ## File Locations - **Global Cache Directory**: `~/.stata_mcp/help/` - **Project Cache Directory**: `{project_tmp_dir}/` (usually in `stata-mcp-tmp/`)