About Modal MCP Server
Modal MCP Server lets Cursor users manage Modal volumes and deploy Modal applications. Its MCP tools cover volume file operations as well as app deployment.
Key features
- 01List volumes and their contents
- 02Copy, remove, upload, and download files
- 03Deploy a Modal application
Use cases
- 01Inspect files stored in a Modal volume
- 02Transfer or clean up volume files
- 03Deploy an app from a project using uv
MCP support
Exposes Modal volume operations and application deployment as tools to MCP clients, including Cursor.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEModal MCP Server
An MCP server implementation for interacting with Modal volumes and deploying Modal applications from within Cursor.
Installation
- Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/smehmood/modal-mcp-server.git
cd modal-mcp-server
- Install dependencies using
uv:
uv sync
Configuration
To use this MCP server in Cursor, add the following configuration to your ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"modal-mcp-server": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--project", "/path/to/modal-mcp-server",
"run", "/path/to/modal-mcp-server/src/modal_mcp/server.py"
]
}
}
}
Replace /path/to/modal-mcp-server with the absolute path to your cloned repository.
Requirements
- Python 3.11 or higher
uvpackage manager- Modal CLI configured with valid credentials
- For Modal deploy support:
- Project being deployed must use
uvfor dependency management - Modal must be installed in the project's virtual environment
- Project being deployed must use
Supported Tools
Modal Volume Operations
-
List Modal Volumes (
list_modal_volumes)- Lists all Modal volumes in your environment
- Returns JSON-formatted volume information
- Parameters: None
-
List Volume Contents (
list_modal_volume_contents)- Lists files and directories in a Modal volume
- Parameters:
volume_name: Name of the Modal volumepath: Path within volume (default: "/")
-
Copy Files (
copy_modal_volume_files)- Copies files within a Modal volume
- Parameters:
volume_name: Name of the Modal volumepaths: List of paths where last path is destination
- Example:
["source.txt", "dest.txt"]or["file1.txt", "file2.txt", "dest_dir/"]
-
Remove Files (
remove_modal_volume_file)- Deletes a file or directory from a Modal volume
- Parameters:
volume_name: Name of the Modal volumeremote_path: Path to file/directory to deleterecursive: Boolean flag for recursive deletion (default: false)
-
Upload Files (
put_modal_volume_file)- Uploads a file or directory to a Modal volume
- Parameters:
volume_name: Name of the Modal volumelocal_path: Path to local file/directory to uploadremote_path: Path in volume to upload to (default: "/")force: Boolean flag to overwrite existing files (default: false)
-
Download Files (
get_modal_volume_file)- Downloads files from a Modal volume
- Parameters:
volume_name: Name of the Modal volumeremote_path: Path to file/directory in volume to downloadlocal_destination: Local path to save downloaded files (default: current directory)force: Boolean flag to overwrite existing files (default: false)
- Note: Use "-" as
local_destinationto write file contents to stdout
Modal Deployment
- Deploy Modal App (
deploy_modal_app)- Deploys a Modal application
- Parameters:
absolute_path_to_app: Absolute path to the Modal application file
- Note: The project containing the Modal app must:
- Use
uvfor dependency management - Have the
modalCLI installed in its virtual environment
- Use
Response Format
All tools return responses in a standardized format, with slight variations depending on the operation type:
# JSON operations (list volumes, list contents):
{
"success": True,
"data": {...} # JSON data from Modal CLI
}
# File operations (put, get, copy, remove):
{
"success": True,
"message": "Operation successful message",
"command": "executed command string",
"stdout": "command output", # if any
"stderr": "error output" # if any
}
# Error case (all operations):
{
"success": False,
"error": "Error message describing what went wrong",
"command": "executed command string", # for file operations
"stdout": "command output", # if available
"stderr": "error output" # if available
}
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
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