Setup Strapi MCP

Setup Strapi MCP Server

Configure @bschauer/strapi-mcp-server for the local Strapi instance so Agent can read schemas and write content via MCP tools.

Prerequisites

Before starting, verify:

• Strapi is running locally at http://localhost:1337
• User has access to Strapi admin panel

Steps

1. Check if Strapi is running

First check if port 1337 is already in use:

lsof -ti:1337

If a process is listening, verify Strapi responds:

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://localhost:1337/api/health

• If 200: Strapi is running, proceed.
• If health check fails, optionally check http://localhost:1337/admin as a secondary signal.
• If no process on port 1337 or connection refused: ask the user to start Strapi in a separate terminal and wait for confirmation. Never run pnpm dev in the background.

2. Check if already configured

Check if .mcp.json exists at project root and already has a strapi-local entry. If so, ask user if they want to reconfigure or skip.

3. Get API token from user

Ask the user to create an API token with least privilege first, and fall back to full access only if required by their setup.

Recommended minimum access for this workflow:

• Read content types/components.
• Read/write target content entries.
• Upload media.

If role-scoped permissions are too complex in the local setup, full access is acceptable for local development.

Create a Strapi API token:

1. Go to http://localhost:1337/admin
2. Navigate to Settings → API Tokens
3. Click Create new API Token
4. Name: Agent MCP (or any name)
5. Token type: least-privilege if possible, otherwise Full access for local-only usage
6. Click Save and copy the token

Paste the token here.

Wait for the user to provide the token.

Security handling:

• Never echo the token value back in chat.
• Confirm receipt without printing the secret.

4. Create MCP server config

Create ~/.mcp/strapi-mcp-server.config.json:

{
  "local": {
    "api_url": "http://localhost:1337",
    "api_key": "<USER_PROVIDED_TOKEN>",
    "version": "5.*"
  }
}

• Create the ~/.mcp/ directory if it doesn't exist.
• If the config file already exists, read and merge. Preserve all existing top-level keys and only upsert the local key.

5. Register MCP server in project config

Create or update .mcp.json at the project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "strapi-local": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@bschauer/strapi-mcp-server@2.6.0"]
    }
  }
}

• If .mcp.json already exists, merge strapi-local into existing mcpServers without deleting other servers.
• Keep @bschauer/strapi-mcp-server@2.6.0 as the default known-good version.
• If upgrading version, verify MCP tool compatibility before changing defaults.
• Do NOT commit this file during this task.

6. Add permissions to .claude/settings.local.json

If .claude/settings.local.json does not exist, create it with a minimal valid structure:

{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": []
  }
}

Then add these MCP permissions to permissions.allow (skip duplicates):

"mcp__strapi-local__strapi_rest"
"mcp__strapi-local__strapi_upload_media"
"mcp__strapi-local__strapi_get_content_types"
"mcp__strapi-local__strapi_get_components"
"mcp__strapi-local__strapi_list_servers"

7. Verify connection

Tell the user:

MCP server configured! To activate it:

1. Restart Agent Code (exit and re-enter this session)
2. Run /setup-strapi-mcp again — I'll verify the connection

Or if the MCP server is already loaded, I'll verify now.

If Strapi MCP tools are available, verify by calling:

1. strapi_list_servers() — confirm the local instance is listed
2. strapi_get_content_types() — list available content types

Report success with available content types, or include the exact failure.

Report what files were created/updated and whether MCP tools are reachable.

Files Modified

Troubleshooting

• Connection refused: Strapi isn't running. Start with pnpm dev.
• 401 Unauthorized: API token is invalid or expired. Create a new one in Strapi admin.
• MCP tools not available after config: Restart Agent Code session to pick up new MCP servers.
• /api/health fails but admin opens: Strapi may still be booting or route registration failed. Retry after startup and inspect Strapi logs.

See Also

• .agents/skills/seed-content/SKILL.md — natural next step after MCP setup, for seeding content into Strapi
• .agents/skills/create-content-component/SKILL.md — creating Strapi schemas that MCP can then write to