hugo-mcp
README.md
# Hugo MCP Server
A powerful MCP (Model Control Protocol) server for managing Hugo static site generator. This server provides a comprehensive set of tools for creating, managing, and deploying Hugo sites.
## Table of Contents
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Usage](#usage)
- [Tools](#tools)
- [Environment Setup Tools](#environment-setup-tools)
- [Site Management Tools](#site-management-tools)
- [Theme Management Tools](#theme-management-tools)
- [Content Management Tools](#content-management-tools)
- [Preview and Build Tools](#preview-and-build-tools)
- [Complete Workflow Example](#complete-workflow-example)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
## Installation
### Prerequisites
- Python 3.10+
- uv (Python package manager)
- Git (Highly recommended)
### Installing the Hugo MCP Server
1. Clone the repository:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/sunnycloudyang/hugo-mcp.git
```
2. Add server to your config (make sure `uv` has been installed before):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"hugo-mcp": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/hugo-mcp",
"run",
"main.py"
]
}
}
}
```
Remember to replace "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/hugo-mcp" to your installation path
3. Enalble this mcp server and try it!
## Usage
The Hugo MCP server provides a set of tools that can be used to manage Hugo sites. Each tool has specific parameters and returns a structured response.
### Basic Usage
1. Start the server manually (If needed):
```bash
uv run main.py
```
2. Connect to the server using an MCP client.
3. Use the tools to manage your Hugo sites.
## Tools
### Environment Setup Tools
#### check_hugo_installation
**Description**: Check if Hugo is installed and get its version.
**Parameters**: None
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"version": "Hugo Static Site Generator v0.92.0/extended linux/amd64 BuildDate=unknown"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Hugo is not installed or not in PATH"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: None
**Actions After Success**: None
**Actions After Failure**: Install Hugo using the `install_hugo` tool.
#### install_hugo
**Description**: Install Hugo using the appropriate method for the current OS.
**Parameters**:
- `version` (optional): The version of Hugo to install. Defaults to "latest".
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"message": "Hugo installed via Homebrew"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Installation failed: Command 'brew install hugo' returned non-zero exit status 1."
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Appropriate package manager (Homebrew, apt, dnf, yum) must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: Hugo is installed and ready to use.
**Actions After Failure**: Manual installation may be required.
#### check_go_installation
**Description**: Check if Go is installed and get its version.
**Parameters**: None
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"version": "go version go1.17.5 darwin/amd64"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Go is not installed or not in PATH"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: None
**Actions After Success**: None
**Actions After Failure**: Install Go using the `install_go` tool.
#### install_go
**Description**: Install Go using the appropriate method for the current OS.
**Parameters**:
- `version` (optional): The version of Go to install. Defaults to "latest".
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"message": "Go installed via Homebrew"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Installation failed: Command 'brew install go' returned non-zero exit status 1."
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Appropriate package manager (Homebrew, apt, dnf, yum) must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: Go is installed and ready to use.
**Actions After Failure**: Manual installation may be required.
#### check_git_installation
**Description**: Check if Git is installed and get its configuration.
**Parameters**: None
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"version": "git version 2.30.1 (Apple Git-130)",
"user": {
"name": "John Doe",
"email": "john.doe@example.com"
},
"default_branch": "main"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Git is not installed or not in PATH"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: None
**Actions After Success**: None
**Actions After Failure**: Install Git using the `install_git` tool.
#### install_git
**Description**: Install Git using the appropriate method for the current OS.
**Parameters**: None
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"message": "Git installed via Homebrew"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Installation failed: Command 'brew install git' returned non-zero exit status 1."
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Appropriate package manager (Homebrew, apt, dnf, yum) must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: Git is installed and ready to use.
**Actions After Failure**: Manual installation may be required.
#### configure_git
**Description**: Configure Git with user name and email.
**Parameters**:
- `name`: The user name to set.
- `email`: The email address to set.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"message": "Git configured with name 'John Doe' and email 'john.doe@example.com'"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Failed to configure Git: Command 'git config --global user.name John Doe' returned non-zero exit status 1."
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Git must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: Git is configured with the specified user name and email.
**Actions After Failure**: Manual configuration may be required.
### Site Management Tools
#### create_site
**Description**: Create a new Hugo site.
**Parameters**:
- `site_name`: The name of the site to create.
- `theme` (optional): The theme to use for the site.
- `force` (optional): Whether to force creation if the directory already exists. Defaults to `false`.
- `use_example_site` (optional): Whether to use the example site from the theme. Defaults to `true`.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"path": "/path/to/site",
"theme": "paper",
"example_site": true,
"author": {
"name": "John Doe",
"email": "john.doe@example.com"
}
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Directory 'site' already exists. Use force=True to overwrite."
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Hugo must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: A new Hugo site is created with the specified theme and example content.
**Actions After Failure**: The site is not created.
### Theme Management Tools
#### list_themes
**Description**: List available Hugo themes from the official Hugo themes website.
**Parameters**: None
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"themes": [
{
"name": "PaperMod",
"url": "https://github.com/gohugoio/hugoThemes/tree/master/themes/hugo-papermod",
"image": "https://themes.gohugo.io/themes/hugo-papermod/tn-featured_hu_275191178647f5e7.png"
},
{
"name": "Hugo Blox - Tailwind",
"url": "https://github.com/gohugoio/hugoThemes/tree/master/themes/blox-tailwind",
"image": "https://themes.gohugo.io/themes/blox-tailwind/tn-featured_hu_8c1541d303ce3b9b.png"
}
],
"count": 150
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Network error: Connection refused"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Internet connection.
**Actions After Success**: A list of available themes is returned.
**Actions After Failure**: No themes are returned.
#### get_theme_details
**Description**: Get detailed information about a specific Hugo theme.
**Parameters**:
- `theme_name`: The name of the theme to get details for.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"theme": {
"name": "Paper",
"url": "https://github.com/gohugoio/hugoThemes/tree/master/themes/paper",
"image": "https://themes.gohugo.io/themes/paper/tn-featured.png",
"description": "A simple, clean, and responsive Hugo theme for personal blog.",
"features": [
"Responsive design",
"Clean and minimal",
"Fast and lightweight",
"SEO friendly"
],
"tags": ["blog", "minimal", "responsive"],
"github_url": "https://github.com/nanxiaobei/hugo-paper",
"demo_url": "https://themes.gohugo.io/theme/paper/",
"installation": "git submodule add https://github.com/nanxiaobei/hugo-paper themes/paper"
}
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Theme 'NonExistentTheme' not found on the Hugo themes website"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Internet connection.
**Actions After Success**: Detailed information about the theme is returned.
**Actions After Failure**: No theme details are returned.
#### install_theme
**Description**: Install a Hugo theme using git submodule or Hugo modules.
**Parameters**:
- `site_path`: The path to the Hugo site.
- `theme_name`: The name of the theme to install.
- `theme_url`: The URL of the theme repository.
- `use_modules` (optional): Whether to use Hugo modules instead of git submodules. Defaults to `false`.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"theme": "paper",
"method": "git_submodule"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Failed to install theme: Command 'git submodule add https://github.com/nanxiaobei/hugo-paper themes/paper' returned non-zero exit status 1."
}
```
**Prerequisites**:
- Hugo must be installed.
- Git must be installed (for git submodules).
- Go must be installed (for Hugo modules).
**Actions After Success**: The theme is installed and configured in the site.
**Actions After Failure**: The theme is not installed.
#### update_theme
**Description**: Update an installed Hugo theme.
**Parameters**:
- `site_path`: The path to the Hugo site.
- `theme_name`: The name of the theme to update.
- `use_modules` (optional): Whether the theme was installed using Hugo modules. Defaults to `false`.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"theme": "paper",
"method": "git_submodule"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Failed to update theme: Command 'git submodule update --remote themes/paper' returned non-zero exit status 1."
}
```
**Prerequisites**:
- Hugo must be installed.
- Git must be installed (for git submodules).
- Go must be installed (for Hugo modules).
- The theme must be already installed.
**Actions After Success**: The theme is updated to the latest version.
**Actions After Failure**: The theme is not updated.
### Content Management Tools
#### create_post
**Description**: Create a new Hugo post.
**Parameters**:
- `site_path`: The path to the Hugo site.
- `post_title`: The title of the post.
- `content_type` (optional): The content type of the post. Defaults to "posts".
- `draft` (optional): Whether the post should be a draft. Defaults to `true`.
- `date` (optional): The date of the post.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"file": "content/posts/my-first-post.md",
"draft": true
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Site path '/path/to/site' does not exist"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Hugo must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: A new post is created in the specified content type directory.
**Actions After Failure**: The post is not created.
#### list_content
**Description**: List content in the Hugo site.
**Parameters**:
- `site_path`: The path to the Hugo site.
- `content_type` (optional): The content type to list. If not specified, all content is listed.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"content": [
"posts/my-first-post.md",
"posts/another-post.md",
"pages/about.md"
]
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Site path '/path/to/site' does not exist"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Hugo must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: A list of content files is returned.
**Actions After Failure**: No content is returned.
### Preview and Build Tools
#### start_preview
**Description**: Start Hugo local server.
**Parameters**:
- `site_path`: The path to the Hugo site.
- `port` (optional): The port to use. Defaults to 1313.
- `bind` (optional): The address to bind to. Defaults to "127.0.0.1".
- `build_drafts` (optional): Whether to build draft content. Defaults to `false`.
- `build_future` (optional): Whether to build future content. Defaults to `false`.
- `build_expired` (optional): Whether to build expired content. Defaults to `false`.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:1313",
"pid": 12345,
"options": {
"build_drafts": false,
"build_future": false,
"build_expired": false
}
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Site path '/path/to/site' does not exist"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Hugo must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: The Hugo server is started and accessible at the specified URL.
**Actions After Failure**: The server is not started.
#### stop_preview
**Description**: Stop a running Hugo preview server.
**Parameters**:
- `pid`: The process ID of the server to stop.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"message": "Server with PID 12345 stopped"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Process with PID 12345 not found"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: None.
**Actions After Success**: The Hugo server is stopped.
**Actions After Failure**: The server is not stopped.
#### build_site
**Description**: Build the Hugo site for production.
**Parameters**:
- `site_path`: The path to the Hugo site.
- `destination` (optional): The destination directory. Defaults to "public".
- `clean_destination` (optional): Whether to clean the destination directory before building. Defaults to `false`.
- `minify` (optional): Whether to minify the output. Defaults to `false`.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"destination": "/path/to/site/public",
"output": "Built in 123 ms"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Site path '/path/to/site' does not exist"
}
```
**Prerequisites**: Hugo must be installed.
**Actions After Success**: The site is built and ready for deployment.
**Actions After Failure**: The site is not built.
#### deploy_site
**Description**: Deploy a Hugo site to various platforms.
**Parameters**:
- `site_path`: The path to the Hugo site.
- `platform`: Deployment platform (github-pages, netlify, vercel, custom).
- `destination` (optional): Build destination directory. Defaults to "public".
- `branch` (optional): Branch to deploy to. Defaults to "main".
- `commit_message` (optional): Commit message for the deployment. Defaults to "Update site".
- `remote_url` (optional): Remote URL for custom deployment.
- `api_key` (optional): API key for the deployment platform.
- `additional_options` (optional): Additional platform-specific options.
**Returns**:
```json
{
"status": "success",
"platform": "github-pages",
"branch": "gh-pages",
"url": "https://username.github.io"
}
```
**Error Response**:
```json
{
"status": "error",
"message": "Deployment failed: GitHub Pages deployment failed: Command 'git push origin gh-pages --force' returned non-zero exit status 1."
}
```
**Prerequisites**:
- Hugo must be installed.
- Git must be installed.
- For GitHub Pages: Git repository must be initialized.
- For Netlify: Netlify CLI must be installed (will be installed automatically if not present).
- For Vercel: Vercel CLI must be installed (will be installed automatically if not present).
**Actions After Success**: The site is deployed to the specified platform and accessible at the returned URL.
**Actions After Failure**: The site is not deployed.
**Platform-specific notes**:
- **GitHub Pages**: Requires a Git repository and optionally an API key for authentication.
- **Netlify**: Requires Netlify CLI and optionally an API key for authentication.
- **Vercel**: Requires Vercel CLI and optionally an API key for authentication.
- **Custom**: Requires a Git repository and a remote URL.
## Complete Workflow Example
Here's a complete workflow example (in python scripts rather than mcp server tools to show the common route) for creating a new Hugo site with a theme:
1. Check if Hugo is installed:
```python
result = await check_hugo_installation()
if result["status"] != "success":
result = await install_hugo()
```
2. Check if Git is installed:
```python
result = await check_git_installation()
if result["status"] != "success":
result = await install_git()
```
3. Configure Git:
```python
result = await configure_git("John Doe", "john.doe@example.com")
```
4. List available themes:
```python
result = await list_themes()
themes = result["themes"]
```
5. Get details for a specific theme:
```python
result = await get_theme_details("Paper")
theme_details = result["theme"]
```
6. Create a new site with the theme:
```python
result = await create_site("my-blog", theme="nanxiaobei/hugo-paper", use_example_site=True)
site_path = result["path"]
```
7. Start the preview server:
```python
result = await start_preview(site_path, build_drafts=True)
preview_url = result["url"]
```
8. Create a new post:
```python
result = await create_post(site_path, "my-first-post", draft=False)
post_file = result["file"]
```
9. Build the site for production:
```python
result = await build_site(site_path, minify=True)
```
10. Deploy the site to GitHub Pages:
```python
result = await deploy_site(
site_path=site_path,
platform="github-pages",
branch="gh-pages",
commit_message="Deploy site",
api_key="your-github-token"
)
deploy_url = result["url"]
```
## Troubleshooting
### Common Issues
1. **Hugo is not installed**:
- Use the `install_hugo` tool to install Hugo.
2. **Git is not installed**:
- Use the `install_git` tool to install Git.
3. **Theme installation fails**:
- Check if the theme URL is correct.
- Make sure Git is installed for git submodules.
- Make sure Go is installed for Hugo modules.
- Read the theme's doc to check if there is sth. different
4. **Preview server fails to start**:
- Check if the port is already in use.
- Make sure the site path is correct.
- Check your network
5. **Build fails**:
- Check if the site path is correct.
- Make sure all required dependencies are installed.
### Getting Help
If you encounter any issues not covered in this documentation, please [open an issue](https://github.com/sunnycloudyang/hugo-mcp/issues) on the GitHub repository.
TDQS
B3.1/5.0
Scored across 15 tools
Disambiguation5/5
Each tool has a clearly distinct purpose: installation checks, site/content creation, preview management, building, theme operations, and deployment. No two tools overlap in functionality.
Naming Consistency5/5
All tool names follow a consistent verb_noun pattern in snake_case (e.g., install_theme, create_site, list_themes). No mixing of conventions or vague verbs.
Tool Count5/5
15 tools cover the core Hugo workflow—setup, content creation, preview, build, theme management, and deploy—without being excessive. Each tool earns its place.
Completeness4/5
The tool surface covers the main lifecycle, but lacks update/delete operations for content and themes. A minor gap given typical agent needs.
Maintenance
ActivityInactive
ResponsivenessNo issues