Automate Context Management for AI Tools

MCP Context Provider

Status: beta - feature-complete, API stabilizing. See CHANGELOG.md for the latest release.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d9c6c325-00f1-44d9-a805-b1d6588c0acf

Persistent context and learned instincts for Claude Desktop and Claude Code - surviving across sessions.

A TypeScript MCP server that gives Claude persistent Contexts (static tool rules) and Instincts (learned, confidence-scored rules distilled from sessions). No more re-establishing context in every new chat.

Architecture

Two core concepts:

Four subsystems:

• Engine - loads, matches, and merges contexts + instincts into injection payloads
• MCP Server (src/server/index.ts) - stdio + HTTP transport, 10 MCP tools
• CLI (mcp-cp) - approval registry for instinct lifecycle management
• Memory Bridge - optional sync of instincts to mcp-memory-service

Quick Start

git clone https://codeberg.org/doobidoo/MCP-Context-Provider.git
cd MCP-Context-Provider
npm install
npm run build

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context-provider": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-context-provider/dist/server/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "CONTEXTS_PATH": "/path/to/mcp-context-provider/contexts",
        "INSTINCTS_PATH": "/path/to/mcp-context-provider/instincts"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (global)

Add to ~/.mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context-provider": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-context-provider/dist/server/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "CONTEXTS_PATH": "/path/to/mcp-context-provider/contexts",
        "INSTINCTS_PATH": "/path/to/mcp-context-provider/instincts"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Use absolute paths for both args and env values. Claude Code does not support the cwd field in MCP server configs - relative paths will resolve from the wrong directory and the server will fail to connect.

Claude Code Plugin (Marketplace)

Install directly from the marketplace:

/plugin marketplace add codeberg/doobidoo/MCP-Context-Provider
/plugin install context-provider

This auto-configures the MCP server with correct paths - no manual .mcp.json editing needed.

/instill Skill (Claude Code)

Install the skill globally (stays current with git pull):

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/instill
ln -s /path/to/mcp-context-provider/.claude/skills/instill.md ~/.claude/skills/instill/SKILL.md

Then use /instill at the end of productive sessions to distill learned patterns into instinct candidates.

Auto-Trigger Hook (Optional)

The instill-trigger hook automatically detects mistakes during a session and nudges Claude to suggest /instill when a threshold is reached. It monitors:

• User corrections (UserPromptSubmit) - "no not that", "that's wrong", "still broken", etc.
• Tool failures (PostToolUse) - non-zero exit codes, tracebacks, permission errors

Install the hook:

cp hooks/instill-trigger.js ~/.claude/hooks/core/instill-trigger.js

Register in ~/.claude/settings.json under both UserPromptSubmit and PostToolUse:

{
  "type": "command",
  "command": "node --no-warnings \"~/.claude/hooks/core/instill-trigger.js\"",
  "timeout": 3
}

Scoring: Corrections weighted 1.5x, tool failures 0.5x. Combined threshold: 3.0. Max 1 nudge per session. All tunable via CONFIG object in the hook file.

MCP Tools

Environment Variables

Store Location

The instincts store never depends on the directory the MCP host happened to launch
the server from. It resolves in this order:

1. INSTINCTS_PATH - explicit override, always wins
2. ./instincts - only when the working directory is an mcp-context-provider
   checkout (the development case)
3. $XDG_DATA_HOME/mcp-context-provider/instincts - when XDG_DATA_HOME is set
4. ~/.local/share/mcp-context-provider/instincts - the default

Contexts resolve the same way, except the fallback is the contexts/ directory
shipped with the package: contexts are authored and versioned with the code,
instincts are learned user data.

To see which store is active:

mcp-cp path                     # prints the resolved directory
node dist/server/index.js       # logs both paths to stderr at startup

The resolved path is also part of the list_instincts response (store.path,
store.resolved_from) and of the /health payload in HTTP mode.

If the resolved store sits inside a git working tree that is not this
repository's checkout, the server warns at startup - that is the signal it
picked up a working directory by accident and that learned instincts are about
to be committed somewhere they do not belong.

Merging a store from elsewhere:

mcp-cp import /path/to/learned.instincts.yaml --dry-run   # preview
mcp-cp import /path/to/learned.instincts.yaml             # merge

The merge always targets the canonical learned.instincts.yaml.

Existing ids are never overwritten - a merge only adds. Legacy file shapes
(top-level array, or instincts: as a list) are normalized on read.

Context Files

Contexts are JSON files in contexts/*_context.json. Each file matches one or more tools via glob patterns and injects static rules.

{
  "tool_category": "git",
  "description": "Git workflow rules",
  "auto_convert": false,
  "metadata": {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "applies_to_tools": ["git:*", "Bash"],
    "priority": "high"
  },
  "syntax_rules": { ... },
  "auto_corrections": {
    "fix-1": { "pattern": "...", "replacement": "..." }
  }
}

Add a new context by dropping a *_context.json file in contexts/ and restarting the server.

Instincts

Instincts live in exactly one file, learned.instincts.yaml, inside the
resolved store (see Store Location). They are distilled from
sessions via /instill and require human approval.

Any other *.instincts.yaml in that directory is not read. It is reported
by name at startup and by mcp-cp list, together with the mcp-cp import
command that merges it - so a second file can never drift into the store
unnoticed, and no instinct is ever loaded from a file you did not intend.

version: "1.0"

instincts:
  my-rule:
    id: my-rule
    rule: "Compact, actionable rule (20–80 tokens)."
    domain: git
    tags: [git, workflow]
    trigger_patterns:
      - "git commit"
    confidence: 0.75
    min_confidence: 0.5
    approved_by: human
    active: true
    created_at: "2026-03-10T00:00:00Z"
    outcome_log: []

Manage instincts with the CLI:

mcp-cp list
mcp-cp show <id>
mcp-cp approve <id>
mcp-cp reject <id>
mcp-cp tune <id> --confidence 0.8
mcp-cp outcome <id> + "worked well"
mcp-cp path
mcp-cp import <file> [--dry-run]

Development

npm run build     # Compile TypeScript
npm run dev       # Watch mode
npm run lint      # Type-check only
npm test          # Run tests (vitest)
npm start         # stdio transport
npm run start:http  # HTTP transport on port 3100

FAQ

Can I use /instill in Claude Desktop?

No. /instill is a Claude Code skill (.claude/skills/instill.md) and only works in the Claude Code CLI. Claude Desktop does not have a skill system.

However, you can achieve the same result in Claude Desktop:

1. MCP tools work in both - The list_instincts and build_injection tools are available in Claude Desktop via the MCP server.
2. For the instill workflow, create a Claude Desktop Project and paste the instill instructions as Custom Instructions. Claude Desktop can then use desktop-commander or similar MCP servers to write YAML files.

The reason /instill is not exposed as an MCP tool: it is an interactive, multi-step workflow (analyze conversation, present candidates, await user decision, write YAML). MCP tools return a single response and cannot drive multi-turn interactions.

Do learned.instincts.yaml files contain sensitive data?

Potentially yes. Instincts distilled from work sessions may contain internal hostnames, customer names, infrastructure details, or operational procedures.

This is why the default store is a user-level directory outside any repository
(~/.local/share/mcp-context-provider/instincts) and why the server warns when
the resolved store sits inside an unrelated git working tree. If you do point
INSTINCTS_PATH at a checkout, add instincts/learned.instincts.yaml to that
repository's .gitignore and review its contents before pushing.

What is the difference between Contexts and Instincts?