MCP-RTFM

"RTFM!" they say, but what if there's no FM to R? 🤔 Enter MCP-RTFM: an MCP server that helps you create the F*ing Manual everyone keeps telling people to read! Using advanced content analysis, metadata generation, and intelligent search capabilities, it transforms your non-existent or unreadable docs into an interconnected knowledge base that actually answers those "basic questions" before they're asked.

Plot twist: Instead of just telling people to RTFM, now you can actually give them an FM worth R-ing! Because the best response to "read the f*ing manual" is having a manual that's actually worth reading. 📚✨

📚 Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Features
• Example Workflows
• Installation
• Advanced Features
• Development
• Debugging

🚀 Quick Start

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the server
npm run build

# Add to your MCP settings and start using
await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "analyze_project_with_metadata", // Enhanced initialization
  args: { projectPath: "/path/to/project" }
});

// This will:
// 1. Create documentation structure
// 2. Analyze content with unified/remark
// 3. Generate intelligent metadata
// 4. Build search index with minisearch
// 5. Add structured front matter
// 6. Make your docs actually readable!

✨ Features

Documentation Management Tools

• analyze_existing_docs - Analyze and enhance existing documentation with content analysis and metadata
• analyze_project_with_metadata - Initialize documentation structure with enhanced content analysis and metadata generation
• analyze_project - Basic initialization of documentation structure
• read_doc - Read a documentation file (required before updating)
• update_doc - Update documentation using diff-based changes
• get_doc_content - Get current content of a documentation file
• get_project_info - Get project structure and documentation status
• search_docs - Search across documentation files with highlighted results
• update_metadata - Update documentation metadata
• get_related_docs - Find related documentation based on metadata and content links
• customize_template - Create or update documentation templates

Default Documentation Files

The server automatically creates and manages these core documentation files:

• techStack.md - Detailed inventory of tools, libraries, and configurations
• codebaseDetails.md - Low-level explanations of code structure and logic
• workflowDetails.md - Step-by-step workflows for key processes
• integrationGuides.md - Instructions for external system connections
• errorHandling.md - Troubleshooting strategies and practices
• handoff_notes.md - Summary of key themes and next steps

Documentation Templates

Built-in templates for different documentation types:

• Standard Documentation Template
• API Documentation Template
• Workflow Documentation Template

Custom templates can be created using the customize_template tool.

📝 Example Workflows

1. Analyzing Existing Documentation

// Enhance existing documentation with advanced analysis
await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "analyze_existing_docs",
  args: { projectPath: "/path/to/project" }
});

// This will:
// - Find all markdown files in .handoff_docs
// - Analyze content structure with unified/remark
// - Generate intelligent metadata
// - Build search index
// - Add front matter if not present
// - Establish document relationships
// - Preserve existing content

// The results include:
// - Enhanced metadata for all docs
// - Search index population
// - Content relationship mapping
// - Git context if available

2. Enhanced Project Documentation Setup

// Initialize documentation with advanced content analysis
await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "analyze_project_with_metadata",
  args: { projectPath: "/path/to/project" }
});

// Results include:
// - Initialized documentation files
// - Generated metadata from content analysis
// - Established document relationships
// - Populated search index
// - Added structured front matter
// - Git repository context

// Get enhanced project information
const projectInfo = await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "get_project_info",
  args: { projectPath: "/path/to/project" }
});

// Search across documentation with intelligent results
const searchResults = await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "search_docs",
  args: {
    projectPath: "/path/to/project",
    query: "authentication"
  }
});

// Results include:
// - Weighted matches (title matches prioritized)
// - Fuzzy search results
// - Full content context
// - Related document suggestions

3. Updating Documentation with Content Links

// First read the document
await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "read_doc",
  args: {
    projectPath: "/path/to/project",
    docFile: "techStack.md"
  }
});

// Update with content that links to other docs
await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "update_doc",
  args: {
    projectPath: "/path/to/project",
    docFile: "techStack.md",
    searchContent: "[Why this domain is critical to the project]",
    replaceContent: "The tech stack documentation provides essential context for development. See [[workflowDetails]] for implementation steps.",
    continueToNext: true // Automatically move to next document
  }
});

4. Managing Documentation Metadata

// Update metadata for better organization
await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "update_metadata",
  args: {
    projectPath: "/path/to/project",
    docFile: "techStack.md",
    metadata: {
      title: "Technology Stack Overview",
      category: "architecture",
      tags: ["infrastructure", "dependencies", "configuration"]
    }
  }
});

// Find related documentation
const related = await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "get_related_docs",
  args: {
    projectPath: "/path/to/project",
    docFile: "techStack.md"
  }
});

5. Searching Documentation with Context

// Search with highlighted results
const results = await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "search_docs",
  args: {
    projectPath: "/path/to/project",
    query: "authentication"
  }
});

// Results include:
// - File name
// - Line numbers
// - Highlighted matches
// - Context around matches

6. Creating Custom Templates

// Create a custom template for architecture decisions
await use_mcp_tool({
  server: "mcp-rtfm",
  tool: "customize_template",
  args: {
    templateName: "architecture-decision",
    content: `# {title}

## Context
[Background and context for the decision]

## Decision
[The architecture decision made]

## Consequences
[Impact and trade-offs of the decision]

## Related Decisions
[Links to related architecture decisions]`,
    metadata: {
      category: "architecture",
      tags: ["decision-record", "design"]
    }
  }
});

🔧 Installation

VSCode (Roo Cline)

Add to settings file at: Add to settings file at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json
• MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-rtfm": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<path-to-mcp-rtfm>/build/index.js"],
      "disabled": false,
      "alwaysAllow": []
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to config file at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-rtfm": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<path-to-mcp-rtfm>/build/index.js"],
      "disabled": false,
      "alwaysAllow": []
    }
  }
}

🎯 Advanced Features

Content Linking

Use [[document-name]] syntax to create links between documents. The server automatically tracks these relationships and includes them when finding related documentation.

Metadata-Driven Organization

Documents are organized using:

• Categories (e.g., "architecture", "api", "workflow")
• Tags for flexible grouping
• Automatic relationship discovery based on shared metadata
• Content link analysis

Enhanced Content Analysis

The server uses advanced libraries for better documentation management:

• unified/remark for Markdown processing:

  • AST-based content analysis
  • Accurate heading structure detection
  • Code block and link extraction
  • Proper Markdown parsing and manipulation

• minisearch for powerful search capabilities:

  • Fast fuzzy searching across all documentation
  • Field-weighted search (titles given higher priority)
  • Full content and metadata indexing
  • Efficient caching with TTL management
  • Real-time search index updates

Intelligent Metadata Generation

• Automatic content analysis for categorization
• Smart tag generation based on content patterns
• Structured front matter in documents
• AST-based title and section detection
• Code snippet identification and tagging
• Context-aware result presentation

Template System

• Built-in templates for common documentation types
• Custom template support with metadata defaults
• Template inheritance and override capabilities
• Placeholder system for consistent formatting

🛠️ Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the server
npm run build

# Development with auto-rebuild
npm run watch

🐛 Debugging

Since MCP servers communicate over stdio, debugging can be challenging. Use the MCP Inspector:

npm run inspector

The Inspector will provide a URL to access debugging tools in your browser.

📄 License

MIT © Model Context Protocol