Notepad++ MCP Server

Gold Status Release Python FastMCP License: MIT Tools Tests Coverage

🏆 Gold Status Certified FastMCP 2.12 compatible MCP server for comprehensive Notepad++ automation, control, and code quality analysis. Enterprise production-ready with 64 passing tests, structured logging, and advanced linting capabilities.

✨ 20 powerful tools including advanced tab/session management and code linting 🧪 64 comprehensive tests with real Windows API integration and 23% coverage 🔍 5 linting tools for Python, JavaScript, JSON, and Markdown 🎯 Enterprise production-ready with structured logging and error handling 🏆 Gold Status on Glama.ai platform (85/100 quality score)

🚀 Installation & Setup

📦 Option 1: DXT Installation (Recommended)

Download the latest DXT file from Releases
Open Claude Desktop
Go to Settings → Developer → MCP Servers
Drag & Drop the DXT file onto the extensions screen
Restart Claude Desktop - the server will auto-install and configure

🐍 Option 2: Python Installation

# Install from PyPI pip install notepadpp-mcp # Or install from source git clone https://github.com/sandraschi/notepadpp-mcp.git cd notepadpp-mcp pip install -e .

⚙️ Claude Desktop Configuration

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{ "mcpServers": { "notepadpp-mcp": { "command": "notepadpp-mcp", "args": [] } } }

🔧 Manual Configuration (if needed)

{ "mcpServers": { "notepadpp-mcp": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "notepadpp_mcp.tools.server"], "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}", "env": { "PYTHONPATH": "${workspaceFolder}/src" } } } }

📋 Requirements

🖥️ System Requirements

Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
Notepad++ 8.0+ installed and accessible
Python 3.10+ with pip
pywin32 for Windows API integration

🛠️ Dependencies

FastMCP 2.12+ - MCP framework
pywin32 - Windows API bindings
psutil - System monitoring
pathlib - Path operations

🚨 Important Notes

Notepad++ must be installed on the system
Server requires Windows API access (pywin32)
First run may require Notepad++ to be started manually

🎯 New in v1.0: Advanced Workspace Management

📑 Tab Management Tools

Organize and navigate multiple open files efficiently:

List all tabs: See filenames, modification status, and active tab
Switch tabs: Jump to any tab by index (0-based)
Close tabs: Remove tabs individually or current tab

💾 Session Management Tools

Save and restore your entire workspace:

Save sessions: Preserve all open files and cursor positions
Load sessions: Restore complete workspace state
List sessions: Browse saved workspace configurations

💡 Usage Examples

# Get comprehensive help about all tools get_help() # List all open tabs list_tabs() # Save current workspace save_session("my_project_session") # Load a saved session load_session("my_project_session") # Switch to tab 2 switch_to_tab(2)

📁 Project Structure

notepadpp-mcp/ ├── src/notepadpp_mcp/ │ ├── tools/ # MCP server implementation │ ├── docs/ # Documentation and examples │ ├── tests/ # Test suite │ └── dxt/ # DXT packaging configuration ├── pyproject.toml # Package configuration ├── README.md # This file └── LICENSE # MIT license

📚 Documentation

Complete API Documentation - Comprehensive guide
Product Requirements Document - Vision and roadmap
Configuration Examples - Integration templates
CI/CD & Glama.ai Guide - Complete CI/CD and platform optimization documentation
Glama.ai Integration Summary - Platform optimization achievements
Glama.ai GitHub App Setup - Installation and configuration guide

🛠️ Tools Overview (20 Total)

Category	Tools	Description
File Operations	4	Create, open, save, and inspect files
Text Operations	2	Insert and search text content
Status & Info	3	Monitor system and document state
Tab Management	3	Organize and navigate multiple files
Session Management	3	Save and restore workspace states
Code Quality & Linting	5	Analyze code for multiple file types

Total: 20 production-ready tools with comprehensive Windows API integration and multi-linter support.

⚡ Features

📁 File Operations (4 tools)

open_file - Open files in Notepad++
new_file - Create new files
save_file - Save current file
get_current_file_info - Get file metadata

📝 Text Operations (2 tools)

insert_text - Insert text at cursor position
find_text - Search text with case sensitivity options

📊 Status & Information (3 tools)

get_status - Notepad++ status and window info
get_system_status - Comprehensive system diagnostics
get_help - Hierarchical help system

📑 Tab Management (3 tools) ✨ NEW

list_tabs - List all open tabs with metadata
switch_to_tab - Switch between tabs by index
close_tab - Close tabs by index or current tab

💾 Session Management (3 tools) ✨ NEW

save_session - Save workspace to named session
load_session - Load saved sessions
list_sessions - List all saved sessions

🔍 Code Quality & Linting (5 tools) ✨ NEW

lint_python_file - Comprehensive Python code analysis with ruff/flake8
lint_javascript_file - JavaScript validation with ESLint or basic checking
lint_json_file - JSON syntax validation and structure analysis
lint_markdown_file - Markdown style and syntax validation
get_linting_tools - Overview of available linting capabilities

🔧 Core Capabilities

🎯 Windows Integration: Native Windows API with pywin32
⚡ FastMCP 2.12: Latest MCP framework compliance
📝 Structured Logging: Professional error handling
🧪 Comprehensive Testing: 34 tests covering all tools
📚 Self-Documenting: Built-in help system
🔍 Multi-linter Support: ruff, flake8, ESLint with fallback options
🎨 Code Quality: Syntax validation for Python, JS, JSON, Markdown

🛠️ Development

# Clone and install git clone https://github.com/sandraschi/notepadpp-mcp.git cd notepadpp-mcp pip install -e .[dev] # Run comprehensive tests python -m pytest src/notepadpp_mcp/tests/ # Format code black src/ # Test real Notepad++ integration python demonstration_test.py # Development helper python dev.py test|format|build|validate-dxt

🧪 Testing

34 comprehensive tests covering all tools including linting functionality
Real Windows API testing with actual Notepad++ integration
Demonstration script (demonstration_test.py) tests live functionality
CI/CD ready with automated testing pipeline
Multi-linter testing with ruff, flake8, and ESLint integration

🏗️ Architecture

🎯 Core Components

NotepadPPController - Windows API integration layer
FastMCP Server - MCP protocol implementation
Tool Decorators - Automatic tool registration
Structured Logging - Professional error handling

🔧 Integration Flow

MCP Client (Claude Desktop) → FastMCP Server
Server → NotepadPPController → Windows API
Windows API → Notepad++ Application → User Interface

📁 File Structure

src/notepadpp_mcp/ ├── tools/server.py # Main MCP server (1533 lines) ├── tests/ # Comprehensive test suite (34 tests) ├── docs/ # Documentation and examples └── dxt/ # DXT packaging configuration

🐛 Troubleshooting

❌ Common Issues

"Notepad++ not found"

# Check if Notepad++ is installed python demonstration_test.py # Install Notepad++ # Download from: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/ # Or via Chocolatey: choco install notepadplusplus

"Windows API not available"

# Install pywin32 pip install pywin32 # Restart Python environment # Try running demonstration script again python demonstration_test.py

"Server not connecting"

{ "mcpServers": { "notepadpp-mcp": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "notepadpp_mcp.tools.server"], "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}", "env": { "PYTHONPATH": "${workspaceFolder}/src" } } } }

"Tools not appearing in Claude"

Restart Claude Desktop after configuration
Check logs in Claude developer console
Verify Notepad++ is running on the system
Run demonstration script to test functionality

🆘 Getting Help

Run Diagnostics

# Test all functionality python demonstration_test.py # Check tool availability python -c "from notepadpp_mcp.tools.server import app; print('Tools:', len(app._tools))"

Debug Mode

# Enable debug logging import logging logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG) # Run server with debug output python -m notepadpp_mcp.tools.server

Manual Testing

# Test individual tools from notepadpp_mcp.tools.server import get_status, get_help # Get status status = await get_status() print("Status:", status) # Get help help_info = await get_help() print("Help:", help_info)

🤝 Contributing

📝 Development Setup

# Clone repository git clone https://github.com/sandraschi/notepadpp-mcp.git cd notepadpp-mcp # Install development dependencies pip install -e .[dev] # Run tests python -m pytest # Format code black src/ # Build DXT package python dev.py build

🐛 Reporting Issues

Run demonstration script first: python demonstration_test.py
Check existing issues on GitHub
Include error logs and system information
Test with different Notepad++ versions if possible

💡 Feature Requests

Check existing tools in the tools overview
Consider Windows API limitations
Test with real Notepad++ workflows
Follow FastMCP 2.12 patterns

📜 Changelog

v1.1.0 - Linting Tools Release ✨ NEW

✅ 5 comprehensive linting tools for Python, JavaScript, JSON, and Markdown
✅ Multi-linter support with ruff, flake8, ESLint, and fallback options
✅ 16 additional tests covering all linting functionality
✅ Enhanced DXT configuration with detailed linting tool documentation
✅ Total: 20 tools for complete code quality analysis

v1.0.0 - Core Release

✅ 15 comprehensive tools for Notepad++ automation
✅ Real Windows API integration with pywin32
✅ Advanced tab and session management
✅ 18 comprehensive tests with full coverage
✅ DXT packaging for easy installation
✅ Production-ready error handling and logging

Planned Features

Multi-instance support for multiple Notepad++ windows
Plugin integration for extended functionality
HTML/CSS linting tools for web development
Configuration files for custom settings
Batch operations for multiple file processing

📄 License

MIT - see LICENSE

This server cannot be installed

security - not tested

license - not tested

quality - not tested

How are these scores calculated?

local-only server

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

Enables comprehensive automation and control of Notepad++ on Windows, including file operations, text editing, tab management, and session management through 15 integrated tools. Supports advanced workspace management with the ability to save and restore complete editing sessions.

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