MCPBolt docs

MCPBolt is a free, open-source tool that installs, syncs, and manages Model Context Protocol servers across every AI coding tool on your machine. You paste a config once — MCPBolt translates it into the correct format and writes it to every app you choose.

Start here

Three pages cover everything you need to go from zero to wired:

What's in these docs

• Getting started — Install, Quickstart. Start here if you're new.
• CLI — CLI reference and every supported input format (JSON, TOML, YAML, shell commands, bare URLs).
• Menu bar app — Tour of MCPBoltBar's four tabs, the Projects tab for per-repo configs, and the always-on health status system.
• Reference — Supported apps with config paths, troubleshooting common issues, FAQ, and security model.

What MCPBolt is not

Being precise about scope saves confusion:

• Not a paid SaaS. MCPBolt is MIT-licensed and runs entirely on your machine. There is no account, no subscription, and no cloud backend.
• Not a registry of MCP servers. MCPBolt doesn't ship a catalog of servers you can browse and install. You bring the config (from a server's README, from a vendor's docs) and MCPBolt handles the translation and writing.
• Not a host or runtime. MCPBolt does not run your MCP servers. It edits the config files that tell your AI tools how to launch and connect to servers. The tools themselves are responsible for starting, stopping, and communicating with servers.
• Not opinionated about which servers you run. MCPBolt works with any MCP server — local stdio processes, remote HTTP/SSE endpoints, Docker containers. It reads what you paste and writes it faithfully.