Community MCP Server for Adobe Express Add-on Developers

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed for Adobe Express Add-on developers. It provides developer-focused tools to assist with building Adobe Express add-ons and integrating with Adobe Express SDK.

Features

The server provides the following tools:

Developer Tools

1. Scaffold Add-on Project - Create a new Adobe Express add-on project based on sample templates
2. Get Code Examples - Retrieve code examples for common Adobe Express add-on features (dynamically fetched from GitHub when in GitHub mode)
3. Implement Feature - Get implementation guidance for adding specific features to an Adobe Express add-on

Documentation Tools

1. Get Assistant Capabilities - Get information about the assistant's capabilities
2. Set Knowledge Source - Switch between GitHub API and local documentation modes
3. Query Documentation - Search Adobe Express SDK and Spectrum Web Components documentation

Installation

You can install the Adobe Express MCP Server in several ways:

Method 1: Install from NPM

# Install globally
npm install -g community-express-dev-mcp

# Run the VS Code installation script
express-mcp-install

Method 2: Install from GitHub

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/EnventDigital/community-express-dev-mcp.git
cd community-express-dev-mcp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run the VS Code installation script
npm run install-in-vscode

Method 3: Install in a specific VS Code workspace

If you want to use the MCP server in a specific VS Code workspace:

# If installed globally from NPM:
cd /path/to/your/project
express-mcp-workspace

# If installed from GitHub:
cd /path/to/your/project
/path/to/community-express-dev-mcp/scripts/install-to-workspace.js

This will create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project that configures the Adobe Express MCP server for that workspace.

Development

# Build the project
npm run build

# Start the server in development mode
npm run dev

# Start the server
npm start

# Parse documentation repositories for local mode
npm run parse-docs

Documentation Sources

This MCP server can access documentation from two sources:

1. GitHub Mode (Default)

In GitHub mode, the server uses the GitHub API to search and fetch documentation from:

• Adobe Express Add-ons Documentation
• Spectrum Web Components

To use GitHub mode, you need to create a GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) and add it to your .env file:

MCP_GITHUB_PAT=your_github_token_here

2. Local Mode

In local mode, the server uses pre-parsed documentation stored in a local knowledge base file. To generate this file:

1. Clone the documentation repositories:

mkdir -p adobe-docs-repo
git clone https://github.com/AdobeDocs/express-add-ons-docs.git adobe-docs-repo/express-add-ons-docs
git clone https://github.com/adobe/spectrum-web-components.git adobe-docs-repo/spectrum-web-components

2. Build the project and run the parser:

npm run build
npm run parse-docs

3. This creates a dist/knowledge_base.json file with parsed documentation.

You can switch between modes using the "setKnowledgeSource" tool or by setting the KNOWLEDGE_SOURCE_MODE in your .env file.

Usage with Claude for Desktop

To use this MCP server with Claude for Desktop:

1. Build the project using npm run build

2. Open/create Claude for Desktop configuration file:

   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

   You can create/edit this file with VS Code:

   # For Mac
   code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   
   # For Windows
   code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
   

3. Add the server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "adobe-express": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/community-express-dev-mcp/dist/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. Replace /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/ with the actual path to your project. For example:

   "/Users/username/Documents/community-express-dev-mcp/dist/index.js"
   

5. Save the file and restart Claude for Desktop

6. When you open Claude, you should see a hammer icon, indicating that MCP tools are available:

   

7. You can now use prompts like "Help me scaffold a dialog add-on project" or "Show me code examples for the Dialog API" and Claude will use the developer tools

Example Prompts

Here are some example prompts to try with Claude and this MCP server:

Developer Tool Examples

• "Help me scaffold a new dialog add-on project"
• "Show me code examples for importing local images in an Adobe Express add-on"
• "How do I implement drag-and-drop functionality in my add-on?"
• "Give me a code example of using the Dialog API"
• "Help me implement OAuth authentication in my Express add-on"

Documentation Tool Examples

• "What capabilities does this MCP server have?"
• "Search for documentation about Spectrum Web Components buttons"
• "How do I use the Adobe Express SDK in my add-on?"
• "Find documentation about spectrum-tooltip components"
• "Switch to local documentation mode"

Using with VS Code

This MCP server is configured to work with VS Code's GitHub Copilot agent mode. Follow these steps to use it:

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio Code (version 1.99 or newer)
• GitHub Copilot extension
• Node.js environment (v18 or newer recommended)

Setup

Option 1: Using the Installation Scripts

The easiest way to set up the MCP server in VS Code is to use one of the installation methods described in the Installation section above. These scripts will:

1. Create the correct configuration for the MCP server
2. Generate a one-click URL to install in VS Code
3. Automatically prompt for the GitHub PAT when needed

Option 2: Manual Setup

If you prefer to set up manually:

1. Make sure you've built the project: npm run build
2. Configure the server by:
   • Using the global MCP configuration in VS Code settings
   • OR using the workspace-specific .vscode/mcp.json file (already included in this project)
3. In VS Code, ensure the chat.mcp.enabled setting is turned on:
   • Open settings (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,)
   • Search for chat.mcp.enabled
   • Make sure it's checked
4. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)
5. Run MCP: List Servers to see the available servers
6. Start the adobeExpressDev server from the list
7. When prompted, enter your GitHub Personal Access Token for accessing code samples

Usage with Copilot

1. Open the VS Code Chat view (Ctrl+Alt+I or Cmd+I)
2. Select "Agent mode" from the dropdown
3. Click on the "Tools" button to see available tools, including Adobe Express developer tools
4. Ask questions like:
   • "Create a new Adobe Express add-on that uses the dialog API"
   • "Show me code examples for importing images in an Express add-on"
   • "How do I implement OAuth authentication in my add-on?"

The MCP server enhances Copilot with specialized Adobe Express add-on development knowledge and code examples drawn directly from the official samples repository.

NPM Package

The Adobe Express MCP Server is available as an npm package that you can install globally or as a dependency in your project:

# Install globally
npm install -g community-express-dev-mcp

# Or install as a dev dependency in your project
npm install --save-dev community-express-dev-mcp

After installation, you can use the following commands:

# Install globally in VS Code
express-mcp-install

# Install in current workspace
express-mcp-workspace

# Show help
express-mcp-help

Troubleshooting

Error: Tool has no outputSchema but returned structuredContent

If you encounter this error:

Error: MPC -32603: MCP error -32603: Tool queryDocumentation has no outputSchema but returned structuredContent

This indicates that the MCP tool is returning structured content but doesn't have an output schema defined correctly. This has been fixed in version 1.0.1+.

Solution:

1. Make sure you're using the latest version of the MCP server
2. Rebuild the server with npm run build
3. Restart the MCP server in your editor

If you're still experiencing issues:

1. Check that the output schema format follows the MCP schema format (not using Zod's .shape property)
2. Ensure the structuredContent object structure matches the defined output schema
3. Test the server locally with the included test script: npm run test-server

Error: "cb is not a function"

This error typically occurs when the callback format is incorrect in a tool function or when the tool's return value doesn't match the expected format.

Solution:

1. Make sure your tool output is in the correct format: { structuredContent: {...}, content: [...] }
2. Avoid using TypeScript interfaces directly as return values; instead, create a plain object that matches the schema
3. Check that all required fields in the output schema are present in the structuredContent object

Other Common Issues

• GitHub API Rate Limiting: If you're in GitHub mode and don't provide a GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT), you may hit rate limits.
• Knowledge Base Not Loading: If using local mode, ensure the knowledge_base.json file exists in the project root.
• Command Not Found: Ensure you've built the project with npm run build before trying to run the server.

License

MIT