Configuration

kb-mcp is configured via a collections.ron file that defines what markdown directories to index.

Config File

(
    // Optional: override cache directory (default: ~/.cache/kb-mcp)
    // cache_dir: "~/.cache/kb-mcp",
    collections: [
        (
            name: "docs",
            path: "docs",
            description: "Project documentation",
            writable: false,
            sections: [
                (prefix: "guides", description: "How-to guides"),
                (prefix: "reference", description: "API reference"),
            ],
        ),
        (
            name: "notes",
            path: "notes",
            description: "Working notes",
            writable: true,
            sections: [],
        ),
    ],
)

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`cache_dir`	String	No	Cache directory for index files (default: `~/.cache/kb-mcp`)
`collections`	List	Yes	One or more collection definitions

Collection Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`name`	String	Yes	Unique identifier for the collection
`path`	String	Yes	Directory path (relative to config file)
`description`	String	Yes	Human-readable description
`writable`	Bool	No	Allow `kb_write` to create files (default: `false`)
`sections`	List	No	Section definitions for this collection

Section Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`prefix`	String	Yes	Directory prefix that identifies this section
`description`	String	Yes	Human-readable description

Resolution Order

kb-mcp searches for configuration in this order:

--config <path> CLI flag (explicit)
KB_MCP_CONFIG environment variable
./collections.ron (current working directory)
~/.config/kb-mcp/collections.ron (user default)

Collection paths resolve relative to the config file’s parent directory.

Cross-Project Use

Install kb-mcp globally, then point other projects at a specific config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kb": {
      "command": "kb-mcp",
      "env": {
        "KB_MCP_CONFIG": "/path/to/project/collections.ron"
      },
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

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