io.github.Dave-London/cargo MCP Server
io.github.Dave-London/cargo
Structured Rust cargo operations (build, test, clippy) as typed JSON for AI agents.
What is the io.github.Dave-London/cargo MCP server?
The cargo MCP server wraps Rust's cargo tool and returns clean, schema-validated JSON instead of raw terminal output. It provides typed data for build, test, and lint operations, eliminating fragile string parsing and reducing token usage by up to 68%.
This server exposes Rust cargo commands (build, test, clippy, check, and more) as MCP tools that return structured JSON. Instead of parsing ANSI-colored terminal output, agents get consistent, typed responses with build status, test results, and diagnostics—regardless of platform or tool version.
How to install io.github.Dave-London/cargo
Copy-paste configuration for popular MCP clients.
Tools & capabilities
Tools this server exposes to the agent.
cargo build— Build a Rust project and return structured compilation resultscargo test— Run tests and return structured test results with pass/fail statuscargo clippy— Run Clippy linter and return structured lint warnings and suggestionscargo check— Check code without building and return diagnosticscargo run— Run a Rust binary and return execution output
Use cases
- Compile Rust projects and parse build errors/warnings as structured data
- Run test suites and extract pass/fail counts and failure details without parsing terminal output
- Execute clippy lints and retrieve code quality suggestions in JSON format
- Check code for errors before committing without full compilation overhead
- Automate Rust workflows in CI/CD by consuming typed JSON responses instead of regex-parsing logs
io.github.Dave-London/cargo MCP server FAQ
The cargo server wraps Rust's cargo tool and returns structured JSON for build, test, clippy, and check operations. Instead of parsing terminal output, agents get typed, schema-validated data ready for direct processing.
Yes, the cargo server is open-source under the MIT license and available on npm as @paretools/cargo.
Install via npx: `npx @paretools/cargo`. For Cursor/Claude Desktop, add it to your MCP config file (typically ~/.cursor/mcp.json or ~/.claude/mcp.json) with the command `npx -y @paretools/cargo`. See the setup guides in the Pare repository for client-specific instructions.
No, the cargo server runs locally and requires only a Rust toolchain (cargo) installed on your system. No external authentication is needed.
Cargo operations see 46–68% token reduction compared to raw terminal output. For example, `cargo build` with errors reduces from ~436 tokens to ~138 tokens (68% savings).
Yes, use the `PARE_CARGO_TOOLS` environment variable to filter tools. For example, `PARE_CARGO_TOOLS=build,test` registers only build and test commands.
README (reference)
Source of truth, from the repository.
Reliable, structured CLI output for AI agents — no more parsing fragile terminal text.
Pare provides MCP servers that wrap common developer tools (git, npm, docker, test runners, etc.) and return clean, schema-validated JSON instead of raw terminal text. Agents get typed data they can act on directly, without brittle string parsing.
The Problem
Parsing CLI output is fragile. Raw terminal text includes ANSI escape codes, decorative headers, progress bars, locale-specific formatting, and platform differences that break agent workflows in subtle ways. An agent that works fine with git status on macOS may fail on Windows because the output format changed. A test runner's summary line might shift between versions, silently breaking a regex.
Pare eliminates this entire class of errors by returning schema-validated JSON with consistent field names, regardless of platform, tool version, or locale. As a bonus, structured output is significantly smaller — agents use fewer tokens per tool call:
| Tool Command | Raw Tokens | Pare Tokens | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
docker build (multi-stage, 11 steps) | 373 | 20 | 95% |
git log --stat (5 commits, verbose) | 4,992 | 382 | 92% |
npm install (487 packages, warnings) | 241 | 41 | 83% |
vitest run (28 tests, all pass) | 196 | 39 | 80% |
cargo build (2 errors, help text) | 436 | 138 | 68% |
pip install (9 packages, progress bars) | 288 | 101 | 65% |
cargo test (12 tests, 2 failures) | 351 | 190 | 46% |
npm audit (4 vulnerabilities) | 287 | 185 | 36% |
Token estimates use ~4 chars/token. The biggest savings appear on verbose commands (builds, installs, tests). For simpler tools like
eslintortsc, the main advantage is reliable structured data — agents can use typed JSON directly rather than parsing strings.
How It Works
Each Pare tool returns two outputs:
content— human-readable text, for MCP clients that display itstructuredContent— typed, schema-validated JSON, ready for agents to process
This uses MCP's structuredContent and outputSchema features to provide type-safe, validated data that agents can rely on without custom parsing.
Example: git status
Raw git output (~118 tokens):
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
(use "git push" to publish your local commits)
Changes to be committed:
(use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
modified: src/index.ts
new file: src/utils.ts
Changes not staged for commit:
(use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
(use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
modified: README.md
Untracked files:
(use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
temp.log
Pare structured output (~59 tokens):
{
"branch": "main",
"upstream": "origin/main",
"ahead": 2,
"staged": [
{ "file": "src/index.ts", "status": "modified" },
{ "file": "src/utils.ts", "status": "added" }
],
"modified": ["README.md"],
"deleted": [],
"untracked": ["temp.log"],
"conflicts": [],
"clean": false
}
50% fewer tokens. Zero information lost. Fully typed. Savings scale with output verbosity — test runners and build logs see 80–92% reduction.
Available Servers (28 packages, 240 tools)
Install only the servers relevant to your stack — most projects need just 2–4. The full catalog covers a wide range of ecosystems so Pare works wherever you do.
| Category | Servers | Tools | Wraps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Version Control | git, github | 55 | git, gh |
| Languages & Packages | npm, python, cargo, go, deno, bun, nix, dotnet, ruby, swift, jvm | 101 | npm, pip, cargo, go, deno, bun, nix, dotnet, gem, swift, gradle, maven |
| Build, Lint & Test | build, lint, test, cmake, bazel | 23 | tsc, esbuild, vite, webpack, eslint, prettier, biome, vitest, pytest, jest |
| Infrastructure | docker, k8s, infra, security, remote | 40 | docker, kubectl, helm, terraform, ansible, trivy, ssh |
| Utilities | search, http, make, process, db | 21 | ripgrep, fd, curl, make, just, psql, mysql, redis, mongosh |
Tool Schemas — detailed response examples and field descriptions for every tool. See also Tool Response Examples for quick JSON samples.
Quick Setup
# 1. Configure MCP servers (non-interactive)
npx @paretools/init --client claude-code --preset web
# 2. Add agent rules to your project
# (append to existing CLAUDE.md, or copy if new)
cat node_modules/@paretools/init/rules/CLAUDE.md >> CLAUDE.md
# 3. Restart your client session
# 4. Validate
npx @paretools/init doctor
Available presets: web, python, rust, go, jvm, dotnet, ruby, swift, mobile, devops, full
Setup Guides by Client
| Claude Code | Claude Desktop | Cursor |
| VS Code / Copilot | Windsurf | Cline / Roo Code |
| OpenAI Codex | Gemini CLI | Zed |
| Continue.dev |
Full Quickstart Guide — presets, ecosystem mapping, validation
Manual Configuration — config paths and formats for all clients
Agent Integration Guide — rule files, hooks, CLI-to-MCP mapping
Configuration
Tool Selection
By default, every Pare server registers all of its tools. If a server exposes tools you don't need — or you want to limit which tools are available to an agent — you can filter them with environment variables.
Per-server filter — restrict a single server's tools:
# Only register status and log in the git server
PARE_GIT_TOOLS=status,log npx @paretools/git
Universal filter — restrict tools across all servers:
# Only register these specific tools across any server
PARE_TOOLS=git:status,git:log,npm:install npx @paretools/git
Disable all tools — set the env var to an empty string:
PARE_GIT_TOOLS= npx @paretools/git # no tools registered
| Env Var | Scope | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
PARE_TOOLS | All servers | server:tool,... | git:status,npm:install |
PARE_{SERVER}_TOOLS | One server | tool,... | status,log,diff |
Rules:
- No env var = all tools enabled (default)
PARE_TOOLS(universal) takes precedence over per-server vars- Server names use uppercase with hyphens replaced by underscores (e.g.,
PARE_MY_SERVER_TOOLS) - Whitespace around commas is ignored
Common patterns:
# Read-only git (no push, commit, add, checkout)
PARE_GIT_TOOLS=status,log,diff,branch,show
# Minimal npm
PARE_NPM_TOOLS=install,test,run
# Only specific tools across all servers
PARE_TOOLS=git:status,git:diff,npm:install,test:run
In JSON MCP config, set via the env key:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pare-git": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@paretools/git"],
"env": {
"PARE_GIT_TOOLS": "status,log,diff,show"
}
}
}
}
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
npx not found / ENOENT on Windows | Use cmd /c npx wrapper (see your client's setup guide) |
| Slow first start | Run npx -y @paretools/git once to cache, or install globally: npm i -g @paretools/git |
| Node.js version error | Pare requires Node.js >= 20 |
| NVM/fnm PATH issues | Use absolute path to npx: e.g., ~/.nvm/versions/node/v22/bin/npx |
| MCP connection timeout | Set MCP_TIMEOUT=30000 for Claude Code, or increase initTimeout in client config |
| Too many tools filling context | Use tool selection env vars to limit tools, or only install the servers you need |
Contributing
Each server is a self-contained package. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.
License
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