Karate MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI agents with comprehensive knowledge of the Karate DSL framework for API testing, UI automation, and performance testing.

Overview

This MCP server enables AI assistants like Claude, GitHub Copilot, and Roo Code to access deep, structured knowledge about Karate DSL, including:

HTTP Methods - URL, path, request, headers, parameters, cookies, multipart uploads
Response Handling - Status codes, response body, headers, cookies, timing
Assertions - Match operators and 18+ fuzzy matchers (#string, #number, #regex, etc.)
Data Structures - Variables, JSON, XML, YAML, CSV, tables
JavaScript API - 13+ utility functions for data manipulation
Data-Driven Testing - Scenario Outline, dynamic Examples, CSV/JSON data
Code Reusability - Call, callonce, JavaScript functions
Configuration - Timeouts, SSL, proxy, headers, logging
Parallel Execution - Multi-threaded test execution
UI Automation - Cross-browser web testing
Performance Testing - Gatling integration
API Mocking - Test doubles and consumer contracts
Best Practices - 15+ recommended patterns

Features

Available Tools

The MCP server exposes 5 tools:

list_karate_categories - List all 14 Karate DSL categories
search_karate_features - Search features within a category
get_karate_feature - Get detailed info about a specific feature
generate_karate_example - Generate complete test examples
get_karate_best_practices - Get best practices and recommendations

Knowledge Base

14 categories of Karate features
100+ features and functions documented
Syntax examples for every feature
6 test templates (GET, POST, Auth, Data-driven, Parallel, UI)
15+ best practices for maintainable tests

Installation

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or higher
npm or yarn

From Source

git clone https://github.com/vspaswin/karate-mcp-server.git
cd karate-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Usage

With Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "karate": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/karate-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop to connect.

With VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

📖 Complete VS Code Setup Guide

Quick Start

Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
Run: MCP: Add Server
Select Local (stdio)
Name: karate-dsl
Command: node
Args: /absolute/path/to/karate-mcp-server/dist/index.js
Scope: Global or Workspace

Or create `.vscode/mcp.json`:

{
  "servers": {
    "karate-dsl": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/karate-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Test: Ask GitHub Copilot: @karate-dsl List all categories

With Roo Code (VS Code Extension)

📖 Complete Roo Code Setup Guide

Quick Start

Install Roo Code extension in VS Code
Open Roo Code panel → Click MCP icon (🔌)
Click "Edit Global MCP"
Add configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "karate-dsl": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/karate-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Save and verify connection in MCP panel

Test: Ask Roo: List all Karate DSL categories

Example Queries

Learning Karate

List all Karate DSL categories
What are all the assertion operators in Karate?
Show me how to use fuzzy matchers like #string and #regex
How do I configure HTTP timeouts?
Explain callonce vs call in Karate

Generating Tests

Generate a complete POST API test example
Show me how to implement authentication with callonce
Create a data-driven test with CSV data
Generate a parallel execution example
Create a UI automation test for login

Building Real Tests

Help me write a Karate test for my REST API at https://api.example.com
I need to test a POST /users endpoint that creates users
How do I assert response time is under 2 seconds?
Show me how to extract and reuse values from responses

Best Practices

What are the best practices for Karate test organization?
How should I structure my Karate project?
Show me patterns for reusing authentication logic

Tool Examples

List All Categories

Query: "List all Karate categories"

Response: Shows all 14 categories with descriptions and item counts

Search Features

Query: "Show me all assertion features"

Tool: ``json {"name": "search_karate_features", "arguments": {"category": "assertions"}} ``

Response: 18 assertion features with syntax examples

Get Specific Feature

Query: "How does match contains work?"

Tool: ``json {"name": "get_karate_feature", "arguments": {"featureName": "match contains"}} ``

Response: Detailed feature documentation

Generate Example

Query: "Generate a POST API example"

Tool: ``json {"name": "generate_karate_example", "arguments": {"useCase": "api_post"}} ``

Response: Complete, runnable test code

Available Test Templates

api_get - GET request with assertions and fuzzy matchers
api_post - POST request with JSON body
api_auth - Authentication flow with callonce for token reuse
data_driven - Data-driven test with Scenario Outline and Examples
parallel_test - Parallel execution with JUnit runner
ui_test - Web UI automation with driver

Development

Build

npm run build

Watch Mode

npm run dev

Project Structure

karate-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts              # MCP server with 5 tools
│   └── karate-knowledge.ts   # Karate DSL knowledge base
├── docs/
│   ├── vscode-setup.md       # VS Code/Copilot setup guide
│   └── roocode-setup.md      # Roo Code setup guide
├── dist/                     # Compiled JavaScript
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

Categories Covered

http_methods (11 features) - URL, path, method, request, params, headers, cookies, forms, multipart, SOAP, retry
response_handling (6 features) - Status, response, bytes, headers, cookies, timing
assertions (18 features) - Match operators, fuzzy matchers (#string, #number, #regex, etc.)
variables (8 features) - def, text, table, YAML, CSV, JSON, XML, copy
actions (10 features) - assert, print, get, set, remove, configure, call, eval, read
javascript_api (13 functions) - log, get, set, jsonPath, map, filter, merge, etc.
data_driven (4 features) - Scenario Outline, dynamic Examples, CSV/JSON data
reusability (4 features) - call, callonce, JavaScript functions, parameters
configuration (5 settings) - Timeouts, SSL, proxy, headers
parallel_execution (3 features) - Runner, thread configuration, @parallel tag
ui_automation (4 features) - driver, input, click, screenshot
performance_testing (2 features) - Gatling integration, load profiles
mocking (2 features) - Mock servers, stateful mocks
best_practices (15 tips) - Organization, naming, performance, maintainability

Supported AI Assistants

Claude Desktop - Native MCP support
GitHub Copilot (VS Code) - MCP integration in VS Code 1.102+
Roo Code (VS Code) - AI coding assistant with MCP support
Any MCP Client - Compatible with any stdio-based MCP client

Technical Details

Built with @modelcontextprotocol/sdk v1.0+
Uses stdio transport for local integration
Type-safe with Zod schema validation
Comprehensive knowledge base with 100+ features
6 ready-to-use test templates
Works with Claude, Copilot, Roo Code, and other MCP clients

Troubleshooting

Server Not Connecting

Verify path to dist/index.js is absolute and correct
Run npm run build to ensure server is compiled
Check Node.js version: node --version (should be 18+)
Restart your AI assistant / IDE

Tools Not Available

Verify server shows as "Connected" in MCP panel
Check configuration file syntax is valid JSON
Look for error messages in output/console logs
Try asking directly: "List karate categories"

Permission Issues

Make dist/index.js executable: chmod +x dist/index.js
Ensure Node.js has execute permissions
On Windows, use full path: C:/Program Files/nodejs/node.exe

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Areas for improvement:

Additional test examples and templates
More detailed feature explanations
CI/CD integration examples
Video tutorials and demos
Support for more AI assistants

Resources

License

MIT

Author

vspaswin Lead Software Engineer | Test Automation Expert

Acknowledgments

Karate DSL team for the outstanding test automation framework
Anthropic for the Model Context Protocol specification
Microsoft & GitHub for VS Code and Copilot MCP integration
Roo Code team for excellent AI coding assistant
MCP community for tools and examples

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Note: This is an independent community project, not officially affiliated with Karate Labs, Intuit, Microsoft, GitHub, or Anthropic.

Karate MCP Server