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Works with

Claude CodeClaude DesktopCursorVS CodeClineCodex CLIOpenClaw+ any MCP client

Install to Claude Code

This server doesn't publish a one-line install command. Follow the setup in the source repository.

Summary

MCP server for managing Git reference repositories, enabling AI assistants to add, load, and sync reference code from any Git repository.

README.md

mcp-server-grf

中文文档

![npm version](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mcp-server-grf) ![License: MIT](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) ![Node.js Version](https://nodejs.org)

MCP server for managing Git reference repositories - add, load, and sync reference code from any Git repository.

Overview

mcp-server-grf (Git Reference) is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants to manage Git reference repositories. It allows you to:

  • Add any Git repository as a reference code source
  • Load reference code into your current project
  • Sync loaded reference code to the latest version
  • Manage globally cached repositories

Primary Use Case

When an AI assistant needs to reference code implementations from open-source projects, this tool enables quick loading of reference code into the current working directory for the AI to read and learn from.

Features

  • Smart URL Parsing - Supports both HTTPS and SSH Git URL formats
  • Flexible Repository Matching - Match by full name, owner/repo, or just repo name
  • Shallow Clone Optimization - Uses shallow clones by default to save disk space and download time
  • Automatic .gitignore Management - Automatically adds loaded reference code to .gitignore
  • Subdirectory Loading - Load only specific subdirectories from a repository
  • Multi-Workspace Support - Independently manage loading state across different projects
  • Sync Status Tracking - Track commit ID changes and support incremental sync

Installation

Using npx (Recommended)

No installation required - run directly with npx:

npx mcp-server-grf

Global Installation

npm install -g mcp-server-grf

Then run:

mcp-server-grf

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-server-grf"]
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

For other MCP-compatible clients, configure the server command as:

npx -y mcp-server-grf

Tools Reference

Repository Management

grf_add

Add a reference repository to the global cache.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | --------- | ------- | -------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------- | | url | string | Yes | - | Git repository URL (HTTPS or SSH format) | | name | string | No | - | Custom repository name | | branch | string | No | - | Specify branch | | shallow | boolean | No | true | Use shallow clone | | depth | number | No | 1 | Shallow clone depth |

grf_list

List all cached repositories.

_No parameters required._

grf_get

Get detailed information about a repository.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | | --------- | ------ | -------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | name | string | Yes | Repository name (supports full name or short name) |

grf_update

Update cached repositories.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | ----------- | ------- | -------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | name | string | No | - | Repository name (updates all if not specified) | | checkOnly | boolean | No | false | Only check for updates, don't pull |

grf_clean

Clean cached repositories.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | --------- | ------- | -------- | ------- | ------------------------------ | | name | string | No | - | Repository name to delete | | all | boolean | No | false | Delete all cached repositories |

grf_switch_branch

Switch repository branch.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | | --------- | ------ | -------- | --------------- | | name | string | Yes | Repository name | | branch | string | Yes | Target branch |

Loading/Unloading

grf_load

Copy reference repository to the current directory.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | ------------------ | ------- | -------- | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | name | string | Yes | - | Repository name, short name, or Git URL | | targetPath | string | No | .gitreference/<repo-path> | Target path | | subdir | string | No | - | Only copy specified subdirectory | | updateGitignore | boolean | No | true | Update .gitignore | | branch | string | No | - | Specify branch (only for Git URL) | | workingDirectory | string | No | Current directory | Working directory |

grf_unload

Remove reference code from the project.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | ------------------ | ------- | -------- | ----------------- | ------------------------- | | name | string | No | - | Repository name | | all | boolean | No | false | Remove all reference code | | workingDirectory | string | No | Current directory | Working directory |

grf_loaded

List loaded reference code.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | ------------------ | ------- | -------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | workingDirectory | string | No | Current directory | Working directory (returns all if not specified) | | all | boolean | No | false | Return loading entries for all working directories |

Synchronization

grf_sync

Sync loaded reference code to the latest version.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | ------------------ | ------- | -------- | ----------------- | --------------------------------- | | entryId | string | No | - | Entry ID (specify entry to sync) | | all | boolean | No | false | Sync all entries | | force | boolean | No | false | Force sync (ignore version check) | | workingDirectory | string | No | Current directory | Working directory |

grf_sync_status

Get sync status of loaded reference code.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | ------------------ | ------ | -------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | | workingDirectory | string | No | Current directory | Working directory |

Configuration

grf_config

Manage global configuration.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | | --------- | --------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------- | | action | string | Yes | Operation type: get, set, or list | | key | string | No | Configuration key (required for get/set) | | value | string/number/boolean | No | Configuration value (required for set) |

Usage Examples

Basic Workflow

  1. Add a reference repository:
   grf_add url="https://github.com/expressjs/express"
  1. Load reference code into your project:
   grf_load name="express"
  1. Check loaded references:
   grf_loaded
  1. Sync to latest version:
   grf_sync all=true
  1. Remove reference code when done:
   grf_unload name="express"

Load Specific Subdirectory

Load only the lib directory from a repository:

grf_load name="express" subdir="lib"

Quick Load from URL

Load directly from a Git URL without pre-adding:

grf_load name="https://github.com/lodash/lodash" subdir="src"

Check for Updates

Check if updates are available without pulling:

grf_update checkOnly=true

Configuration Options

| Key | Type | Default | Description | | --------------- | ------- | -------- | ------------------- | | defaultBranch | string | "main" | Default branch name | | shallowClone | boolean | true | Use shallow clone | | shallowDepth | number | 1 | Shallow clone depth |

View/Modify Configuration

# List all configuration
grf_config action="list"

# Get specific configuration
grf_config action="get" key="shallowClone"

# Set configuration
grf_config action="set" key="shallowDepth" value=5

Data Storage

Global Storage

~/.gitreference/
├── config.json           # Global configuration
├── repos-index.json      # Repository index
├── loading-state.json    # Loading state records
└── repos/                # Cached repositories

Project Local Storage

<project>/
├── .gitreference/        # Default loading directory
└── .gitignore            # Automatically adds .gitreference/ entry

Requirements

  • Node.js >= 18.0.0
  • Git installed and available in PATH

License

MIT

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