Flox MCP

flox-mcp

MCP server exposing flox CLI operations over JSON-RPC stdio transport.

Trit: 0 (ERGODIC) - Coordinator role for environment orchestration

Overview

This skill wraps the flox CLI as an MCP server, enabling AI agents to manage reproducible development environments programmatically. The server communicates via JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio.

MCP Tools

flox_activate

Activate a flox environment.

{
  "name": "flox_activate",
  "description": "Activate a flox environment",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "directory": { "type": "string", "description": "Path to environment directory" },
      "remote": { "type": "string", "description": "Remote environment (user/env)" }
    }
  }
}

flox_search

Search for packages in the flox catalog.

{
  "name": "flox_search",
  "description": "Search for packages",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "query": { "type": "string", "description": "Package search query" }
    },
    "required": ["query"]
  }
}

flox_install

Install a package into the current environment.

{
  "name": "flox_install",
  "description": "Install a package",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "package": { "type": "string", "description": "Package name or pkg-path" }
    },
    "required": ["package"]
  }
}

flox_list

List installed packages in the environment.

{
  "name": "flox_list",
  "description": "List installed packages",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "directory": { "type": "string", "description": "Environment directory" }
    }
  }
}

flox_services

Manage flox services (start/stop/status/restart).

{
  "name": "flox_services",
  "description": "Manage flox services",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "action": { 
        "type": "string", 
        "enum": ["start", "stop", "restart", "status", "logs"],
        "description": "Service action"
      },
      "service": { "type": "string", "description": "Specific service name (optional)" }
    },
    "required": ["action"]
  }
}

flox_envs

List available flox environments.

{
  "name": "flox_envs",
  "description": "List flox environments",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {}
  }
}

flox_push

Push environment to FloxHub.

{
  "name": "flox_push",
  "description": "Push environment to FloxHub",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "force": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Force overwrite remote" }
    }
  }
}

flox_pull

Pull environment from FloxHub.

{
  "name": "flox_pull",
  "description": "Pull environment from FloxHub",
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "remote": { "type": "string", "description": "Remote environment (user/env)" },
      "force": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Force overwrite local" },
      "copy": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Copy without remote link" }
    }
  }
}

Usage

Start the MCP Server

bb flox-mcp-server.bb

Claude Desktop Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "flox": {
      "command": "bb",
      "args": ["<path-to-skills>/flox-mcp/flox-mcp-server.bb"]
    }
  }
}

GF(3) Integration

Trit: 0 (ERGODIC)
Role: Coordinator
Color: #26D826

Triad Formation:
  flox-mcp (0) + generator (+1) + validator (-1) ≡ 0 (mod 3)

The ERGODIC trit reflects flox's role as an infrastructure coordinator - it neither generates nor validates, but orchestrates the environment lifecycle.

Dependencies

• bb (Babashka) - Clojure scripting runtime
• flox - Flox CLI installed and in PATH
• cheshire - JSON parsing (bundled with Babashka)

References

• flox skill - CLI command reference
• MCP Specification
• FloxHub

SDF Interleaving

This skill connects to Software Design for Flexibility (Hanson & Sussman, 2021):

Primary Chapter: 10. Adventure Game Example

Concepts: autonomous agent, game, synthesis

GF(3) Balanced Triad

flox-mcp (+) + SDF.Ch10 (+) + [balancer] (+) = 0

Skill Trit: 1 (PLUS - generation)

Secondary Chapters

• Ch5: Evaluation

Connection Pattern

Adventure games synthesize techniques. This skill integrates multiple patterns.