# Grounded Docs MCP server

> Scrape any library's documentation into a local index and search it by version from your AI assistant.

- Listing: https://mcp.tc/i/grounded-docs
- Connect: this is a local (stdio) server; install it on your machine (see Install). The listing link is a page, not an MCP endpoint.
- Type: local (stdio)
- Auth: no API key needed
- Category: [Docs & Knowledge](https://mcp.tc/c/docs-knowledge)
- Vendor: arabold
- Homepage: <https://grounded.tools>
- Repository: <https://github.com/arabold/docs-mcp-server>
- Package: npm `@arabold/docs-mcp-server`

## About

Grounded Docs builds a local documentation index for your AI coding assistant. It fetches docs from websites, GitHub, npm, PyPI, local folders and zip archives, then lets the assistant search the version of a library you actually use. It handles HTML, Markdown, PDF, Office files, Jupyter Notebooks and many source code languages.

It runs on your machine through npx (Node.js 22+) or Docker, with a web UI on port 6280 for adding documentation and an SSE endpoint for MCP clients. No sign-in is needed. An embeddings provider key such as OPENAI\_API\_KEY is optional and enables semantic search; Ollama, Gemini and Azure are also supported.

## What it can do

- Scrape documentation from websites, GitHub, npm, PyPI and local files
- Search indexed docs for a specific library version
- Fetch a single page as Markdown
- Index PDF, Office, Markdown, notebooks and source code
- Manage the index through a web UI or CLI
- Optional semantic search with an embeddings provider

## Example prompts

- "Scrape the React docs and then explain useEffect cleanup using them."
- "Search my indexed docs for how to configure routing in version 6."
- "Index the documentation in my local docs folder so you can answer questions about it."
- "Fetch this documentation page as Markdown and summarize it."

## Install

### Claude Code

1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport stdio grounded-docs -- npx @arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest
```

2. Start Claude Code and type `/mcp`. **grounded-docs** should show as connected.

Add `--scope user` to make it available in every project.

### Claude Desktop

1. Open **Settings → Developer → Edit Config**. It opens `claude_desktop_config.json`. Add:

`claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grounded-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

2. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Needs Node.js on your computer. The file lives in `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/` on macOS and `%APPDATA%\Claude\` on Windows.

### Cursor

[Add to Cursor](<https://cursor.com/install-mcp?name=grounded-docs&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyJAYXJhYm9sZC9kb2NzLW1jcC1zZXJ2ZXJAbGF0ZXN0Il19>) (opens Cursor)

Or add it by hand to `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (all projects) or `.cursor/mcp.json` (this project):

`mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grounded-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

Needs Node.js on your computer.

### VS Code

[Install in VS Code](<https://vscode.dev/redirect/mcp/install?name=grounded-docs&config=%7B%22type%22%3A%22stdio%22%2C%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22%40arabold%2Fdocs-mcp-server%40latest%22%5D%7D>) (opens VS Code)

Or from a terminal:

```bash
code --add-mcp '{"name":"grounded-docs","type":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["@arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest"]}'
```

Or commit it to the repo in `.vscode/mcp.json`:

`.vscode/mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "grounded-docs": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

Needs Node.js on your computer.

### Devin Desktop

1. Add it to `~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json` (macOS and Linux) or `%APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json` (Windows):

`mcp_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grounded-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

2. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add grounded-docs -- npx @arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest
```

Or edit `~/.codex/config.toml` directly:

`config.toml`:

```toml
[mcp_servers.grounded-docs]
command = "npx"
args = ["@arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest"]
```

Needs Node.js on your computer.

### Gemini CLI

```bash
gemini mcp add grounded-docs npx @arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest
```

This adds it to the current project. Add `-s user` to use it everywhere.

### Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grounded-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@arabold/docs-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

Zed puts servers under `context_servers` in its settings, with the same `command`, `args` and `env` fields.

Needs Node.js on your computer.

## Details

- Server version: 3.2.1
- Last checked: 2026-10-03
- Listed: 2026-10-03
- Updated: 2026-10-03

---
Source: https://mcp.tc/i/grounded-docs (mcp.tc is an independent directory, not affiliated with this server's publisher). Corrections: https://mcp.tc/report