MCP-Grep

A grep server implementation that exposes grep functionality through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Installation

pip install mcp-grep

Usage

MCP-Grep runs as a server that can be used by MCP-compatible clients:

# Start the MCP-Grep server
mcp-grep-server

# Or use the MCP Inspector for interactive debugging and testing
mcp-grep-inspector

The server exposes the following MCP functionality:

Resource: grep://info - Returns information about the system grep binary
Tool: grep - Searches for patterns in files using the system grep binary

Features

Information about the system grep binary (path, version, supported features)
Search for patterns in files using regular expressions
Support for common grep options:
- Case-insensitive matching
- Context lines (before and after matches)
- Maximum match count
- Fixed string matching (non-regex)
- Recursive directory searching
Natural language prompt understanding for easier use with LLMs
Interactive debugging and testing through MCP Inspector

Example API Usage

Using the MCP Python client:

from mcp.client import MCPClient

# Connect to the MCP-Grep server
client = MCPClient()

# Get information about the grep binary
grep_info = client.get_resource("grep://info")
print(grep_info)

# Search for a pattern in files
result = client.use_tool("grep", {
    "pattern": "search_pattern",
    "paths": ["file.txt", "directory/"],
    "ignore_case": True,
    "recursive": True
})
print(result)

Natural Language Prompts

MCP-Grep understands natural language prompts, making it easier to use with LLMs. Examples:

# Basic search
Search for 'error' in log.txt

# Case-insensitive search
Find all instances of 'WARNING' regardless of case in system.log

# With context lines
Search for 'exception' in error.log and show 3 lines before and after each match

# Recursive search
Find all occurrences of 'deprecated' in the src directory and its subdirectories

# Fixed string search (non-regex)
Search for the exact string '.*' in config.js

# Limited results
Show me just the first 5 occurrences of 'TODO' in the project files

# Multiple options
Find 'password' case-insensitively in all .php files, show 2 lines of context, and limit to 10 results

MCP Inspector Integration

MCP-Grep includes an MCP Inspector integration for interactive debugging and testing:

# Start the MCP Inspector with MCP-Grep
mcp-grep-inspector

This opens a web-based UI where you can:

Explore available resources and tools
Test grep operations with different parameters
View formatted results
Debug issues with your grep queries

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/erniebrodeur/mcp-grep.git
cd mcp-grep

# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest

License

MIT

This server cannot be installed

security - not tested

license - permissive license

quality - not tested

local-only server

The server can only run on the client's local machine because it depends on local resources.

A server implementation that exposes grep functionality through the Model Context Protocol, allowing MCP-compatible clients to search for patterns in files using regular expressions.

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MCP-Grep

MCP-Grep

Installation

Usage

Features

Example API Usage

Natural Language Prompts

MCP Inspector Integration

Development

License

Related MCP Servers

MCP-Ragdocs

Everything Search MCP Server

file-finder-mcp

LSP Tools MCP Server

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MCP directory API