ManualWorks

This MCP server enables keyword search over ManualWorks documents by combining document lists and contents, making it easy to locate relevant information quickly. You can run it locally and connect an MCP client or Claude Desktop to perform fast, keyword-driven searches across the ManualWorks documentation corpus.

How to use

You will run the MCP server locally and connect your MCP client to it. Use the provided environment variables to point the server at your ManualWorks instance and API key. Then issue the search_documents tool to find documents matching your keywords. The tool returns matching document titles, chapter titles, URLs, and content snippets.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installation include Python and a shell that can run commands, or you can use the uv tool for a quicker bootstrap.

git clone https://github.com/plainday/manual-works-mcp.git
cd manual-works-mcp

uv usage (recommended)

uv venv
uv pip install -e .

pip usage

python -m venv .venv

Activate the virtual environment and install the package:

# Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate

# macOS / Linux
source .venv/bin/activate

pip install -e .

Additional configuration and runtime options

Two MCP runtime configurations are demonstrated for running the server locally with different tooling options. Each configuration exposes the same environment variables you must provide. Use the one that matches your preferred workflow.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manual-works": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/manual-works-mcp", "run", "-m", "manual_works_mcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "MANUALWORKS_BASE_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:1975",
        "MANUALWORKS_API_UUID": "your-api-uuid"
      }
    }
  }
}

Additional configuration for Windows paths

If you are using the pip-based approach on Windows, specify the Python executable inside your virtual environment and run the server module directly.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manual-works": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\manual-works-mcp\\.venv\\Scripts\\python.exe",
      "args": ["-m", "manual_works_mcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "MANUALWORKS_BASE_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:1975",
        "MANUALWORKS_API_UUID": "your-api-uuid"
      }
    }
  }
}

Runtime configuration for macOS / Linux with pip

Similarly, for macOS or Linux, point to the Python executable inside your virtual environment and run the server module.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manual-works": {
      "command": "/path/to/manual-works-mcp/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["-m", "manual_works_mcp.server"],
      "env": {
        "MANUALWORKS_BASE_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:1975",
        "MANUALWORKS_API_UUID": "your-api-uuid"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

The server exposes a search_documents tool to perform keyword-based searches across ManualWorks documents.

Tool: search_documents
Parameters: keyword (string) - the search term
Behavior: retrieves all chapters of documents and returns those whose content matches the keyword, including the document title, chapter title, URL, and a content snippet.

Security and usage notes

Keep your API UUID secret and grant access only to trusted clients. Use TLS wherever possible when exposing the http endpoint and restrict network access to the MCP server.

Available tools

search_documents

Searches ManualWorks documents by a keyword, returning matched document titles, chapter titles, URLs, and content snippets.