Skip to main content

Configure shaft-mcp manually

Use this page when the automatic installer cannot update your MCP client. You need Java 25, Maven 3.9+, the selected client, and absolute paths for both the Java executable and the JAR.

Download the newest JAR​

Open io.github.shafthq:shaft-mcp on Maven Central, select the newest published version, and download its executable JAR. Store it in a stable per-user application-data directory, not in a project checkout or temporary directory.

Find the absolute Java 25 executable path:

(Get-Command java).Source
command -v java

In the examples below, replace /absolute/path/to/java and /absolute/path/to/shaft-mcp.jar with those absolute paths.

Codex CLI, App, and IDE extension​

Codex surfaces share ~/.codex/config.toml. Follow the official Codex MCP documentation and add:

[mcp_servers.shaft-mcp]
command = "/absolute/path/to/java"
args = ["-jar", "/absolute/path/to/shaft-mcp.jar"]

Start a new Codex App session after changing the file.

Claude Code​

Follow the official Claude Code MCP documentation and create the user-scope entry:

claude mcp remove shaft-mcp -s user
claude mcp add -s user shaft-mcp -- "/absolute/path/to/java" -jar "/absolute/path/to/shaft-mcp.jar"

The remove command can report that the server does not exist during first-time setup.

Claude Desktop​

Claude Desktop supports local MCP servers on Windows and macOS. Follow Anthropic's local MCP server guide and add this entry to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shaft-mcp": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/java",
      "args": ["-jar", "/absolute/path/to/shaft-mcp.jar"]
    }
  }
}

The file is under %APPDATA%\Claude on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/Claude on macOS. Merge the shaft-mcp member into any existing mcpServers object, then restart Claude Desktop.

GitHub Copilot CLI​

Follow the official Copilot CLI MCP documentation and add this entry to ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shaft-mcp": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/java",
      "args": ["-jar", "/absolute/path/to/shaft-mcp.jar"],
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot in VS Code​

Run MCP: Open User Configuration so the server is available across workspaces. Follow the official VS Code MCP documentation and add:

{
  "servers": {
    "shaft-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/java",
      "args": ["-jar", "/absolute/path/to/shaft-mcp.jar"]
    }
  }
}

Verify and recover​

Start a new client session and confirm that shaft-mcp exposes its tools. If a manual edit fails, restore the configuration backup before trying again. Never keep both project-level and per-user entries named shaft-mcp; the project entry can override the installed user configuration.