JSON MCP Lite

json-mcp-lite

Turn a JSON file into an MCP server in one command, so Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or any stdio MCP client can browse and search your data.

Give it a catalogue, an FAQ, a price list or a docs index, and it creates three read-only tools:

Tool	What it does
<name>_list	List records, with limit / offset paging
<name>_search	Keyword search; every word must match, case-insensitive
<name>_get	One record by its id field

MIT licence. Node.js 20+. Two dependencies: the official @modelcontextprotocol/sdk and zod.

Try it

git clone https://github.com/scoretracker4321/json-mcp-lite
cd json-mcp-lite && npm install
npm start          # serves examples/products.json on stdio
npm test

Use it with Claude Desktop or Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "products": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/abs/path/json-mcp-lite/src/server.js",
        "--file", "/abs/path/products.json",
        "--name", "products",
        "--id", "sku",
        "--search", "title,description"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code:

claude mcp add products -- node /abs/path/json-mcp-lite/src/server.js --file /abs/path/products.json --name products --id sku

Then ask: "Which teas are under ₹400 and in stock?" or "Show me product MUG-001."

Options

Flag	Default	Meaning
--file	(required)	The JSON file
--path	root	Dot path to the array inside the file, e.g. data.items
--name	records	Tool name prefix: products → products_list, …
--id	id	Field used by <name>_get
--search	all fields	Comma-separated fields that <name>_search looks in

Need more than a JSON file?

json-mcp-lite is the free, local, single-file part of MCP Server Kit ($29, one-time). The Kit adds:

• Any REST API → MCP tools from its OpenAPI 3 spec: one typed tool per operation, auth injected from env, read-only filter, include/exclude lists
• Remote hosting over Streamable HTTP (stateless, proxy-friendly), not only stdio
• API-key auth and per-key rate limits, CORS, /health and /tools endpoints
• Several sources in one server, set up in one YAML/JSON config file
• Docker image, an Express router to mount inside your own app, and deploy guides

	json-mcp-lite	MCP Server Kit
JSON file → list/search/get	✅	✅
stdio (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code)	✅	✅
OpenAPI / REST API → tools		✅
Remote HTTP server		✅
API keys + rate limits		✅
Multiple sources, config file		✅
Docker + deploy docs		✅
Email support		✅

Licence

MIT. Built by Brain Grain ([email protected]).