add_git_repository

Add a Git repository to the MCP Docs RAG Server for retrieval-augmented generation. Specify a repository URL, optional custom document name, and subdirectory for sparse checkout to organize and access specific content efficiently.

Instructions

Add a git repository to the docs directory with optional sparse checkout. Please do not use 'docs' in the document name.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`document_name`	No	Optional: Custom name for the document (defaults to repository name). Use a simple, descriptive name without '-docs' suffix. For example, use 'react' instead of 'react-docs'.
`repository_url`	Yes	URL of the git repository to clone
`subdirectory`	No	Optional: Specific subdirectory to sparse checkout (e.g. 'path/to/specific/dir'). This uses Git's sparse-checkout feature to only download the specified directory.

Implementation Reference

src/index.ts:513-551 (handler)

MCP CallTool handler case for 'add_git_repository': validates input, invokes cloneRepository helper, handles existing document check and formats success/error responses.

case "add_git_repository": {
  const repositoryUrl = String(request.params.arguments?.repository_url);
  const subdirectory = request.params.arguments?.subdirectory ? String(request.params.arguments?.subdirectory) : undefined;
  const documentName = request.params.arguments?.document_name ? String(request.params.arguments?.document_name) : undefined;
  
  if (!repositoryUrl) {
    throw new Error("Repository URL is required");
  }
  
  const result = await cloneRepository(repositoryUrl, subdirectory, documentName);
  
  // If document already exists, inform the user without updating
  if (result.exists) {
    return {
      content: [{
        type: "text",
        text: `Document '${result.name}' already exists. Please use list_documents to view existing documents.`
      }]
    };
  }
  
  // Prepare response message for new document
  let responseText = `Added git repository: ${result.name}`;
  
  if (subdirectory) {
    responseText += ` (sparse checkout of '${subdirectory}')`;  
  }
  
  if (documentName) {
    responseText += ` with custom name '${documentName}'`;  
  }
  
  return {
    content: [{
      type: "text",
      text: `${responseText}. The index will be created when you query this document for the first time.`
    }]
  };
}

src/index.ts:389-410 (schema)

Schema definition for add_git_repository tool in ListTools response, defining parameters: repository_url (required), document_name (optional), subdirectory (optional).

{
  name: "add_git_repository",
  description: "Add a git repository to the docs directory with optional sparse checkout. Please do not use 'docs' in the document name.",
  inputSchema: {
    type: "object",
    properties: {
      repository_url: {
        type: "string",
        description: "URL of the git repository to clone"
      },
      document_name: {
        type: "string",
        description: "Optional: Custom name for the document (defaults to repository name). Use a simple, descriptive name without '-docs' suffix. For example, use 'react' instead of 'react-docs'."
      },
      subdirectory: {
        type: "string",
        description: "Optional: Specific subdirectory to sparse checkout (e.g. 'path/to/specific/dir'). This uses Git's sparse-checkout feature to only download the specified directory."
      }
    },
    required: ["repository_url"]
  }
},

src/index.ts:230-256 (helper)

Core helper function implementing git clone logic: normal clone or sparse-checkout for subdirectory, checks for existing repos, normalizes name.

export async function cloneRepository(repoUrl: string, subdirectory?: string, documentName?: string): Promise<{ name: string; exists: boolean }> {
  // Use custom document name if provided, otherwise normalize repo name
  const repoName = documentName || normalizeRepoName(repoUrl);
  const repoPath = path.join(DOCS_PATH, repoName);
  
  // Check if repository already exists
  if (fs.existsSync(repoPath)) {
    // Document already exists, don't update it
    return { name: repoName, exists: true };
  } else {
    if (subdirectory) {
      // Clone with sparse-checkout for specific subdirectory
      await execAsync(`mkdir -p "${repoPath}" && cd "${repoPath}" && \
                      git init && \
                      git remote add origin ${repoUrl} && \
                      git config core.sparseCheckout true && \
                      git config --local core.autocrlf false && \
                      echo "${subdirectory}/*" >> .git/info/sparse-checkout && \
                      git pull --depth=1 origin main || git pull --depth=1 origin master`);
    } else {
      // Normal clone for the entire repository
      await execAsync(`cd "${DOCS_PATH}" && git clone ${repoUrl}`);
    }
  }
  
  return { name: repoName, exists: false };
}

src/index.ts:64-67 (helper)

Utility function to derive document name from repository URL by taking basename and stripping .git.

export function normalizeRepoName(repoUrl: string): string {
  const parts = repoUrl.split('/');
  return parts[parts.length - 1].replace('.git', '');
}

MCP Docs RAG Server