UAB Research Computing Documentation MCP Server

# UAB Research Computing Documentation MCP Server - Quick Start ## What You Have A complete, ready-to-use MCP server that provides AI assistants (like Claude) with access to UAB Research Computing documentation. ## Files Included 1. **uab_docs_server.py** - The main MCP server implementation 2. **pyproject.toml** - Project configuration and dependencies 3. **README.md** - Complete user documentation 4. **CONTRIBUTING.md** - Developer guide for contributing 5. **CLAUDE_DESKTOP_CONFIG.md** - Configuration examples for Claude Desktop 6. **test_server.py** - Test script to verify functionality 7. **setup.sh** - Automated setup for macOS/Linux 8. **setup.ps1** - Automated setup for Windows 9. **.gitignore** - Git ignore configuration ## 5-Minute Setup Guide ### Option 1: Automated Setup (Recommended) **macOS/Linux:** ```bash chmod +x setup.sh ./setup.sh ``` **Windows (PowerShell):** ```powershell .\setup.ps1 ``` The script will: - ✅ Verify Python 3.10+ is installed - ✅ Install uv package manager if needed - ✅ Create virtual environment - ✅ Install all dependencies - ✅ Run tests to verify everything works - ✅ Show you the exact configuration for Claude Desktop ### Option 2: Manual Setup 1. **Install uv:** ```bash # macOS/Linux curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh # Windows (PowerShell) powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex" ``` 2. **Setup the project:** ```bash cd /path/to/uab-rc-docs-mcp-server uv venv source .venv/bin/activate # macOS/Linux # OR .venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1 # Windows uv pip install -e . ``` 3. **Test it:** ```bash python test_server.py ``` ## Configure Claude Desktop 1. **Open Claude Desktop config file:** - macOS/Linux: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` - Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` 2. **Add this configuration:** ```json { "mcpServers": { "uab-research-computing": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "--directory", "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/uab-rc-docs-mcp-server", "run", "uab_docs_server.py" ] } } } ``` **Important:** Replace `/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/uab-rc-docs-mcp-server` with the actual path! 3. **Restart Claude Desktop** 4. **Verify connection:** - Look for 🔌 icon in bottom right - Click it to see "uab-research-computing" server - Should show 5 available tools ## Available Tools Once connected, the MCP server provides these tools: ### 1. search_documentation Search UAB RC documentation for specific topics. **Example queries:** - "Search the UAB docs for SLURM tutorials" - "Find information about GPU computing on Cheaha" - "How do I submit a job?" ### 2. get_documentation_page Retrieve the full content of a specific documentation page. **Example queries:** - "Get the page about storage systems" - "Show me the quick start guide" ### 3. get_support_info Get support contact information and office hours. **Example queries:** - "How do I get help from UAB Research Computing?" - "What are the office hours?" ### 4. list_documentation_sections List all main sections in the documentation. **Example queries:** - "What topics are covered in the UAB RC docs?" - "Show me the documentation structure" ### 5. get_cheaha_quick_start Get quick start information for Cheaha HPC cluster. **Example queries:** - "How do I get started with Cheaha?" - "What is Cheaha?" ## Example Usage in Claude After setup, you can ask Claude questions like: - "Search the UAB Research Computing docs for information about Python" - "How do I submit a SLURM job on Cheaha?" - "What storage options are available at UAB RC?" - "Show me the quick start guide for Cheaha" - "What are the office hours for getting help?" - "Find documentation about using GPUs" ## Troubleshooting ### Server doesn't appear in Claude Desktop 1. Check that the path is absolute (not relative) 2. Verify `uv` is installed: `which uv` (macOS/Linux) or `where uv` (Windows) 3. Restart Claude Desktop completely 4. Check Claude Desktop logs for errors ### "Command not found" error - Use the full path to `uv` in the config - Find it with: `which uv` (macOS/Linux) or `where uv` (Windows) ### Search returns no results - GitHub API has rate limits (60 requests/hour without auth) - Try searching with different terms - Check that you have internet connectivity ### Tests fail - Ensure Python 3.10+ is installed - Verify all dependencies installed: `uv pip install -e .` - Check for network connectivity ## Key Features ✅ **5 specialized tools** for UAB RC documentation ✅ **Search functionality** via GitHub API ✅ **Direct page retrieval** from documentation site ✅ **Support information** always up-to-date ✅ **Quick start guides** for new users ✅ **Comprehensive error handling** ✅ **Follows MCP best practices** ✅ **Easy to extend** with new tools ## Architecture - **FastMCP framework** - Simplifies MCP server development - **STDIO transport** - Standard communication with MCP clients - **Async/await** - Efficient I/O operations - **GitHub API** - Searches the documentation repository - **HTTP fetching** - Retrieves page content directly ## Next Steps 1. **Run the setup script** to get started 2. **Configure Claude Desktop** with the absolute path 3. **Test the connection** by asking Claude about UAB RC 4. **Explore the documentation** through natural language queries 5. **Contribute improvements** using CONTRIBUTING.md ## Resources - **UAB RC Documentation:** https://docs.rc.uab.edu - **Cheaha Access:** https://rc.uab.edu - **Model Context Protocol:** https://modelcontextprotocol.io - **FastMCP:** https://github.com/jlowin/fastmcp ## Support - **This MCP Server:** See README.md and CONTRIBUTING.md - **UAB Research Computing:** https://docs.rc.uab.edu/help/support - **MCP Protocol:** https://modelcontextprotocol.io ## Success Indicators You'll know it's working when: - ✅ Setup script completes without errors - ✅ Tests pass successfully - ✅ Server appears in Claude Desktop (🔌 icon) - ✅ Claude can answer questions about UAB RC - ✅ You see "uab-research-computing" with 5 tools That's it! You're ready to make UAB Research Computing documentation accessible through AI assistance. --- **Built for the UAB Research Computing community**