Analyze JVM Dependencies and Versions

Maven Tools MCP Server

Maven Tools MCP Server gives MCP-capable clients a practical way to inspect JVM dependencies using live Maven Central data.

It is built for developers and agents that need more than a plain version lookup: stability filtering, upgrade comparisons, dependency health signals, license data, CVE checks, and optional documentation lookups through Context7.

What It Helps With

• Version checks: find stable releases and compare upgrades with major/minor/patch context.
• Dependency audits: inspect age, release cadence, known vulnerabilities, and license data.
• POM analysis: resolve declared dependency versions through parents and BOMs without building the project.
• Upgrade planning: get structured edits an agent can validate and apply, with major upgrades, conflicts, and overrides flagged for review.
• Documentation: look up library docs through the optional Context7 tools.

Coordinate-based tools work with Maven, Gradle, SBT, and Mill projects. The POM analysis and upgrade-planning tools take Maven pom.xml files.

Quick Start

Prerequisite: Docker installed and running. No local Java installation is required. For a Docker-free setup, see building and running the JAR.

Claude Desktop

Add the maven-tools entry to your Claude Desktop config (see config file locations):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code + GitHub Copilot

Add the following server to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"]
    }
  }
}

Image Variants

CONTEXT7_API_KEY is optional. Most setups can start without it. If your environment requires Context7 auth, or you want to avoid anonymous limits, pass it through Docker with -e CONTEXT7_API_KEY.

For fuller setup guidance, including JAR and native-container usage, Docker Compose, and environment notes, see docs/setup.md.

Available Tools

The default image exposes 11 MCP tools; -noc7 exposes the 9 core tools.

Maven intelligence tools

Context7 documentation tools

For parameters, examples, and tool-by-tool notes, see docs/tools.md.

POM-aware dependency analysis

Both POM tools use Apache Maven Model Builder for parent inheritance, properties, and dependency management, including imported BOMs. They accept raw POM XML and an optional sideloadedPoms bundle for unreleased parents or sibling modules.

• analyze_pom_dependencies returns effective versions, classifies declarations as EXPLICIT, MANAGED, or EXPLICIT_OVERRIDE, and identifies managing BOMs and conflicts.
• recommend_pom_upgrades returns deterministicActions for mechanical edits and needsAttention for major upgrades, BOM conflicts, and explicit overrides. Actions identify the version field or property to edit in the input POM.

Recommendations cover editable parent/BOM versions, explicit dependencies, root dependency-management entries, and direct build/plugin dependencies. Declarations without an unambiguous edit location in the input POM are skipped. The server returns recommendations; the client or agent validates and applies them.

Analysis covers declared dependencies, not the full transitive dependency graph. Profile activation is limited to active-by-default profiles. See POM analysis details and limits.

Example

A common prompt in Copilot or Claude is:

Check all latest versions of the dependencies in my pom.xml and call out anything risky.

The client can combine tool results to report:

• current version vs latest version
• whether the upgrade is major, minor, or patch
• whether the newest release is stable
• whether the dependency looks fresh, aging, or stale
• whether there are known CVEs or license concerns worth noticing

For broader questions like "which library should I choose?", combine Maven metadata with Context7 documentation and client-side web search for ecosystem context.

See more prompt examples or the maven-tools agent skill for guidance on choosing and combining tools.

Dogfooding

This repository uses its own tools in a weekly dependency-update workflow. A Python agent sends the POM to recommend_pom_upgrades, validates and applies minor/patch actions, and opens a PR for review. Its XML editor checks current versions and preserves formatting. Manual major-upgrade reviews use the GitHub Copilot SDK; routine updates do not require an LLM.

See the dogfooding guide for the agent, GitHub Actions workflow, credentials, and manual triggers.

FAQ

• Does this replace Renovate or Dependabot? The server provides dependency analysis and upgrade recommendations. File edits, testing, scheduling, and PR creation require a separate agent or workflow. The included agent demonstrates this for Maven POM updates.
• Does it work offline? Not fully. Uncached metadata queries need access to Maven Central or your configured repository. Vulnerability checks and Context7 documentation also use external services.
• Does it parse Gradle, SBT, or Mill build files? No. Use their dependencies' Maven coordinates with the coordinate-based tools; whole-file analysis accepts Maven POM XML.

For a few more usage notes, see the FAQ section in docs/examples.md.

More Docs

• docs/setup.md - installation, client configuration, image variants, build-from-source options
• docs/tools.md - full tool catalog, parameters, and response behavior
• docs/examples.md - practical prompts, advanced use cases, reusable commands, and FAQ notes
• docs/dogfooding.md - weekly self-update workflow and agent integration
• docs/troubleshooting.md - common environment issues and fixes
• docs/architecture.md - design principles, transport/runtime options, and technical notes
• CORPORATE-CERTIFICATES.md - custom CA certificate support for locked-down networks

Further Reading

• How I Connected Claude to Maven Central (and Why You Should Too)
• Guided Delegation: Adding Context7 Documentation to My Maven Tools MCP Server

Author

Arvind Menon

• GitHub: @arvindand