MCP

Kide includes a local stdio MCP server for AI-assisted, schema-aware content editing. Agents can inspect collections, manage drafts and translations, and update asset metadata without using the admin UI.

Start the MCP server

pnpm cms:mcp

Most clients start it for you. Configure them to run this command from the Kide project root.

Codex

From the project root:

codex mcp add kide -- pnpm cms:mcp

For a project-scoped setup, create .codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.kide]
command = "pnpm"
args = ["cms:mcp"]
cwd = "/path/to/your-kide-project"

[mcp_servers.kide.env]
KIDE_MCP_USER_ROLE = "editor"
KIDE_MCP_USER_EMAIL = "[email protected]"

The env table is optional — it runs the server as an editor-like actor instead of the defaults listed under Access rules actor.

Claude Code

From the project root:

claude mcp add --transport stdio kide -- pnpm cms:mcp

Open Claude Code and use /mcp to confirm that kide is connected.

Generic client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kide": {
      "command": "pnpm",
      "args": ["cms:mcp"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your-kide-project"
    }
  }
}

What it exposes

Collection introspection; document list, count, get, create, and update; explicit publishing and scheduling; translations; and asset metadata and folders. The full content model is also available at kide://model.

Safety defaults

Create and update tools accept only declared schema fields; system fields are ignored, and publishing is always explicit. Draft-enabled collections create drafts by default, so publish only after review.

Auth collections, such as users, are blocked for MCP mutations by default. Enable them only when you intentionally want agent access:

KIDE_MCP_ALLOW_AUTH_COLLECTIONS=true pnpm cms:mcp

Access rules actor

MCP calls include an actor, so collection access rules still receive context.user. Defaults:

Variable	Default
KIDE_MCP_USER_ID	mcp-local
KIDE_MCP_USER_ROLE	admin
KIDE_MCP_USER_EMAIL	mcp@local

To run as an editor-like actor:

claude mcp add --transport stdio \
  --env KIDE_MCP_USER_ROLE=editor \
  --env [email protected] \
  kide -- pnpm cms:mcp

Content workflow

The server uses the same local database as your Kide app (data/cms.db on Node unless CMS_DATABASE_URL is set). For production edits, work against local or staging content, review drafts and previews, then apply only approved changes. Do not routinely replace a production database with an AI-edited copy.