devutils-mcp-server

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<p align="center"> <img src="assets/logo.svg" alt="DevUtils MCP Server logo" width="96"> </p>

DevUtils MCP Server

36 everyday developer tools for any MCP-compatible AI assistant. Hashing, encoding, UUID generation, JWT decoding, JSON formatting, network tools, text utilities, and more — all local, no external APIs.

Think of it as busybox for developer tools — small, essential, and always useful.

<p align="center"> <a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT"><img alt="License: MIT" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg"></a> <a href="https://modelcontextprotocol.io"><img alt="MCP" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP-compatible-green"></a> <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/devutils-mcp-server"><img alt="npm" src="https://img.shields.io/npm/v/devutils-mcp-server.svg"></a> <a href="https://github.com/paladini/devutils-mcp-server/blob/main/Dockerfile"><img alt="Docker" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Docker-ready-blue"></a> <a href="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/paladini/devutils-mcp-server"><img alt="Glama" src="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/paladini/devutils-mcp-server/badges/score.svg"></a> <a href="https://smithery.ai/server/devutils-mcp-server"><img alt="Smithery" src="https://smithery.ai/badge/devutils-mcp-server"></a> <a href="https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io"><img alt="MCP Registry" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP_Registry-io.github.paladini%2Fdevutils--mcp--server-blue"></a> <a href="https://github.com/paladini/devutils-mcp-server/stargazers"><img alt="GitHub stars" src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/paladini/devutils-mcp-server?style=social"></a> </p>

Also available as a plugin: devutils-cursor-plugin — one-click install for Cursor and Claude Code.

<p align="center"> <a href="https://cursor.com/install-mcp?name=devutils&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsImRldnV0aWxzLW1jcC1zZXJ2ZXIiXX0="> <img src="https://cursor.com/deeplink/mcp-install-dark.svg" alt="Add DevUtils to Cursor" height="32"> </a> &nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="vscode:mcp/install?%7B%22name%22%3A%22devutils%22%2C%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22devutils-mcp-server%22%5D%7D"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/VS_Code-Install_MCP-007ACC?style=for-the-badge&logo=visualstudiocode" alt="Install DevUtils in VS Code" height="32"> </a> </p>

<p align="center"> <img src="assets/demo.gif" alt="DevUtils MCP Server demo — UUID generation, JWT decode, JSON validation" width="720"> </p>

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Why?

Every developer needs to hash strings, encode/decode data, generate UUIDs, decode JWTs, format JSON, calculate CIDR ranges, and convert timestamps every day. DevUtils MCP Server brings all of these tools directly into your AI assistant — works with Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and any other MCP-compatible client.

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Installation

Prerequisite: Node.js 18+ (Node 22 recommended). Verify with node -v.

One-click / plugin

Use the Add to Cursor / VS Code badges above, or install the plugin:

/plugin marketplace add paladini/devutils-cursor-plugin
/plugin install devutils-mcp@devutils-cursor-plugin

Cursor: Settings → Customize, or add from GitHub paladini/devutils-cursor-plugin.

npx (no install)

npx -y devutils-mcp-server

npm

npm install -g devutils-mcp-server
devutils-mcp-server

Docker

# Published image (when available)
docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/paladini/devutils-mcp-server

# Or build locally
docker build -t devutils-mcp-server .
docker run -i --rm devutils-mcp-server

# Or with Compose
docker compose build
docker compose run --rm -i devutils-mcp

Official MCP Registry

Listed as io.github.paladini/devutils-mcp-server. Search for io.github.paladini/devutils.

GitHub Packages

Releases are dual-published to npm and GitHub Packages as @paladini/devutils-mcp-server (see .github/workflows/release.yml). Prefer the public npm package for most installs; use GitHub Packages when you already authenticate against npm.pkg.github.com.

# After authenticating to npm.pkg.github.com for the @paladini scope:
npx -y @paladini/devutils-mcp-server

Smithery

Also available on Smithery.

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Client setup

Cursor

One-click: use the Add to Cursor badge at the top of this README.

Plugin (recommended): Install DevUtils MCP from Cursor Settings → Customize.

Manual: Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

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

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

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

Or with Docker:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devutils": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "ghcr.io/paladini/devutils-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

/plugin marketplace add paladini/devutils-cursor-plugin
/plugin install devutils-mcp@devutils-cursor-plugin

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

One-click: use the VS Code badge at the top, or add to .vscode/mcp.json / user settings:

{
  "servers": {
    "devutils": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "devutils-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

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

Docker MCP Toolkit (Docker Desktop)

If this server is available in the Docker MCP Catalog:

1. Open Docker Desktop → MCP Toolkit
2. Search for DevUtils
3. Click Enable

Local development

npm install
npm run dev

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Available tools (36)

Hash (6)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | hash_md5 | Generate MD5 hash | | hash_sha1 | Generate SHA-1 hash | | hash_sha256 | Generate SHA-256 hash | | hash_sha512 | Generate SHA-512 hash | | hash_bcrypt | Generate bcrypt hash (configurable rounds) | | hash_bcrypt_verify | Verify string against bcrypt hash |

Encoding (8)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | base64_encode | Encode string to Base64 | | base64_decode | Decode Base64 to string | | url_encode | URL-encode (percent-encoding) | | url_decode | Decode URL-encoded string | | html_encode | Encode HTML entities | | html_decode | Decode HTML entities | | hex_encode | Encode string to hex | | hex_decode | Decode hex to string |

Generators (4)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | generate_uuid | Cryptographic UUID v4 (batch support) | | generate_nanoid | Compact URL-friendly ID (configurable length) | | generate_password | Secure password (configurable complexity) | | generate_random_hex | Random hex string (configurable length) |

JWT (2)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | jwt_decode | Decode JWT header & payload (with human-readable dates) | | jwt_validate | Validate JWT structure & expiration |

Formatters (3)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | json_format | Pretty-print or minify JSON | | json_validate | Validate JSON with error location | | json_path_query | Extract values using dot-notation path |

Converters (5)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | timestamp_to_date | Unix timestamp → human date (timezone support) | | date_to_timestamp | Date string → Unix timestamp | | number_base_convert | Convert between bases (bin/oct/dec/hex/any) | | color_convert | Convert colors (HEX ↔ RGB ↔ HSL) | | byte_convert | Convert byte units (B/KB/MB/GB/TB/PB) |

Network (2)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | cidr_calculate | CIDR → network, broadcast, mask, host range, host count | | ip_validate | Validate & classify IPv4/IPv6 address |

Text (6)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | text_stats | Character/word/line/sentence count, reading time | | lorem_ipsum | Generate placeholder text | | case_convert | Convert between camelCase, snake_case, PascalCase, etc. | | slugify | Convert string to URL-friendly slug | | regex_test | Test regex pattern against input | | text_diff | Line-by-line diff between two texts |

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Architecture

src/
├── index.ts          # MCP server entry point (stdio transport)
└── tools/
    ├── hash.ts       # Cryptographic hash functions
    ├── encoding.ts   # Encode/decode utilities
    ├── generators.ts # ID and password generators
    ├── jwt.ts        # JWT decode and validation
    ├── formatters.ts # JSON formatting and querying
    ├── converters.ts # Data type and unit converters
    ├── network.ts    # Network calculation utilities
    └── text.ts       # Text analysis and manipulation

Tech stack: TypeScript + Node.js 22 · @modelcontextprotocol/sdk · bcryptjs · nanoid · zod

Zero external API dependencies. All tools run locally with no network calls.

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Docker

The image uses a multi-stage build for minimal size:

1. Build stage: Compiles TypeScript on Node 22 Alpine
2. Runtime stage: Runs compiled JS on Node 22 Alpine as a non-root user

docker build -t devutils-mcp-server .

# Smoke-test with an MCP initialize request
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"1.0.0"}}}' | docker run -i --rm devutils-mcp-server

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FAQ & design philosophy

Why MCP, and not just a library?

Valid criticism: If you're writing Python scripts and need to hash something, hashlib is 2 lines of code. Why run MCP overhead?

Answer: This server is optimized for AI agents in multi-step workflows, not programmers writing code:

1. AI hallucination cost >> MCP overhead — An AI model spending 50ms calling an MCP tool (vs. 1ms library call) is negligible when the alternative is the model making up a hash or using the wrong encoding.
2. Reliable tool semantics — MCP enforces strict tool contracts. For example, jwt_decode always returns human-readable dates with timezone support.
3. Universally accessible — Any MCP-compatible client can use these tools. A Python library only works if your agent is Python-based.
4. Multi-tenant safety — MCP provides explicit tool whitelisting with input validation.

When to use DevUtils versus alternatives

Use DevUtils if:

• You're using Claude, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, Windsurf, or any MCP-compatible AI assistant
• You want reliable, validated utility operations in AI workflows
• You need 36 tools in one package

Don't use DevUtils if:

• You're writing regular application code (use native libraries)
• You need extreme performance (direct library calls are faster)
• Your AI client does not support MCP

Design philosophy

• Small & focused: 36 utilities, zero external APIs, ~50MB container
• Security-first: Non-root user, Alpine Linux, minimal attack surface
• AI-friendly: Consistent naming (<domain>_<operation>), strict schemas, human-readable outputs
• Client-agnostic: Works with any MCP-compatible client via stdio transport

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Available on

| Channel | Link | | --- | --- | | Official MCP Registry | io.github.paladini/devutils-mcp-server — registry.modelcontextprotocol.io | | npm | devutils-mcp-server | | GitHub Packages | @paladini/devutils-mcp-server (dual-publish on release tags) | | GHCR (Docker) | ghcr.io/paladini/devutils-mcp-server | | Glama | glama.ai/mcp/servers/paladini/devutils-mcp-server | | Smithery | smithery.ai/server/devutils-mcp-server | | Cursor / Claude plugin | devutils-cursor-plugin |

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Contributing

Questions and ideas: GitHub Discussions

Security reports: see SECURITY.md.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feat/amazing-tool)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'feat: add amazing tool')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feat/amazing-tool)
5. Open a Pull Request

See CHANGELOG.md.

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License

MIT © Fernando Paladini