DevUtils MCP Server

DevUtils MCP Server

36 everyday developer tools for any MCP-compatible AI assistant. Hashing, encoding, UUID generation, JWT decoding, JSON formatting, network tools, text utilities, and more — all local, no external APIs.

Think of it as `busybox` for developer tools — small, essential, and always useful.

Also available as a plugin: devutils-cursor-plugin — one-click install for Cursor and Claude Code.

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Why?

Every developer needs to hash strings, encode/decode data, generate UUIDs, decode JWTs, format JSON, calculate CIDR ranges, and convert timestamps every day. DevUtils MCP Server brings all of these tools directly into your AI assistant — works with Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, and any other MCP-compatible client.

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Installation

Prerequisite: Node.js 18+ (Node 22 recommended). Verify with node -v.

One-click / plugin

Use the Add to Cursor / VS Code badges above, or install the plugin:

/plugin marketplace add paladini/devutils-cursor-plugin

/plugin install devutils-mcp@devutils-cursor-plugin

Cursor: Settings → Customize, or add from GitHub paladini/devutils-cursor-plugin.

npx (no install)

npx -y devutils-mcp-server

npm

npm install -g devutils-mcp-server

devutils-mcp-server

Docker

# Published image (when available)

docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/paladini/devutils-mcp-server

Or build locally

docker build -t devutils-mcp-server . docker run -i --rm devutils-mcp-server

Or with Compose

docker compose build docker compose run --rm -i devutils-mcp

Official MCP Registry

Listed as io.github.paladini/devutils-mcp-server. Search for io.github.paladini/devutils.

GitHub Packages

Releases are dual-published to npm and GitHub Packages as @paladini/devutils-mcp-server (see .github/workflows/release.yml). Prefer the public npm package for most installs; use GitHub Packages when you already authenticate against npm.pkg.github.com.

# After authenticating to npm.pkg.github.com for the @paladini scope:

npx -y @paladini/devutils-mcp-server

Smithery

Also available on Smithery.

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Client setup

Cursor

One-click: use the Add to Cursor badge at the top of this README.

Plugin (recommended): Install DevUtils MCP from Cursor Settings → Customize.

Manual: Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "devutils": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "devutils-mcp-server"] } } }

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{

"mcpServers": { "devutils": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "devutils-mcp-server"] } } }

Or with Docker:

{

"mcpServers": { "devutils": { "command": "docker", "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "ghcr.io/paladini/devutils-mcp-server"] } } }

Claude Code

/plugin marketplace add paladini/devutils-cursor-plugin

/plugin install devutils-mcp@devutils-cursor-plugin

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

One-click: use the VS Code badge at the top, or add to .vscode/mcp.json / user settings:

{

"servers": { "devutils": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "devutils-mcp-server"] } } }

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{

"mcpServers": { "devutils": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "devutils-mcp-server"] } } }

Docker MCP Toolkit (Docker Desktop)

If this server is available in the Docker MCP Catalog:

1. Open Docker Desktop → MCP Toolkit
2. Search for DevUtils
3. Click Enable

Local development

npm install

npm run dev

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Available tools (36)

Hash (6)

Encoding (8)

Generators (4)

JWT (2)

Formatters (3)

Converters (5)

Network (2)

Text (6)

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Architecture

src/

├── index.ts # MCP server entry point (stdio transport) └── tools/ ├── hash.ts # Cryptographic hash functions ├── encoding.ts # Encode/decode utilities ├── generators.ts # ID and password generators ├── jwt.ts # JWT decode and validation ├── formatters.ts # JSON formatting and querying ├── converters.ts # Data type and unit converters ├── network.ts # Network calculation utilities └── text.ts # Text analysis and manipulation

Tech stack: TypeScript + Node.js 22 · @modelcontextprotocol/sdk · bcryptjs · nanoid · zod

Zero external API dependencies. All tools run locally with no network calls.

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Docker

The image uses a multi-stage build for minimal size:

1. Build stage: Compiles TypeScript on Node 22 Alpine
2. Runtime stage: Runs compiled JS on Node 22 Alpine as a non-root user

docker build -t devutils-mcp-server .

Smoke-test with an MCP initialize request

echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"1.0.0"}}}' | docker run -i --rm devutils-mcp-server

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FAQ & design philosophy

Why MCP, and not just a library?

Valid criticism: If you're writing Python scripts and need to hash something, hashlib is 2 lines of code. Why run MCP overhead?

Answer: This server is optimized for AI agents in multi-step workflows, not programmers writing code:

1. AI hallucination cost >> MCP overhead — An AI model spending 50ms calling an MCP tool (vs. 1ms library call) is negligible when the alternative is the model *making up a hash* or using the wrong encoding.
2. Reliable tool semantics — MCP enforces strict tool contracts. For example, jwt_decode *always* returns human-readable dates with timezone support.
3. Universally accessible — Any MCP-compatible client can use these tools. A Python library only works if your agent is Python-based.
4. Multi-tenant safety — MCP provides explicit tool whitelisting with input validation.

When to use DevUtils versus alternatives

Use DevUtils if:

• You're using Claude, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, Windsurf, or any MCP-compatible AI assistant
• You want reliable, validated utility operations in AI workflows
• You need 36 tools in one package

Don't use DevUtils if:

• You're writing regular application code (use native libraries)
• You need extreme performance (direct library calls are faster)
• Your AI client does not support MCP

Design philosophy

• Small & focused: 36 utilities, zero external APIs, ~50MB container
• **Security-fi