mcp

Query the Pipecat Context Hub from the CLI, and register it as an MCP server for your coding agent

Run the Pipecat Context Hub through the Pipecat CLI. pipecat mcp install registers the hub as an MCP server with your coding agent and builds the local index; the query commands print the same JSON the MCP tools return, for one-shot lookups from a shell.

Installation

pipecat mcp comes from the pipecat-ai-context-hub package, which you co-install with the CLI:

uv tool install "pipecat-ai[cli]" --with pipecat-ai-context-hub

Without it, pipecat mcp still lists in pipecat --help and prints how to enable it when run. The hub also runs standalone, without the Pipecat CLI — see the Context Hub reference for that path, the tool list, and custom sources.

Not to be confused with MCPClient and the pipecat-ai[mcp] extra, which let a bot connect to MCP servers at runtime. pipecat mcp is a developer tool for your own coding agent.

mcp install

Register the MCP server with a coding agent and build the index. Configures every detected client CLI (Claude Code, Codex) unless --client is given, then runs the first refresh.

Clients that ship their own CLI are configured through it, so they own the edit to their config file. For clients configured by hand (Cursor, VS Code, Zed) the command prints the JSON and where it goes rather than writing a file it doesn’t own.

Usage:

pipecat mcp install [OPTIONS]

Options:

--client · string

Client to configure: claude-code, codex, cursor, vscode, or zed. Repeatable. Defaults to every detected client CLI.

--no-refresh · flag

Skip building the index. Run pipecat mcp refresh before your first query.

--print-config · flag

Only print the MCP config and the server command; change nothing.

MCP servers load when your coding tool starts a session, so run this before opening the session you want to use it in.

mcp refresh

Rebuild the index, skipping unchanged sources when possible. The first run downloads local embedding models and indexes every source, so allow several minutes.

Usage:

pipecat mcp refresh [OPTIONS]

Options:

--force · flag

Force a full refresh, ignoring cached state.

--reset-index · flag

Delete local index state before rebuilding. Use this when the persisted index is unhealthy.

--framework-version · string

Pin the framework repo to a specific git tag, e.g. v0.0.96. Source chunks come from that version instead of HEAD, so results match an older project. Also settable with PIPECAT_HUB_FRAMEWORK_VERSION.

mcp status

Report index health: freshness, record counts, the pipecat version the index was built from, and reranker state. Prints JSON.

Usage:

pipecat mcp status

mcp serve

Start the MCP server over stdio. pipecat mcp start is an alias. You rarely run this by hand — your coding tool starts it, using the config pipecat mcp install wrote.

Exits 2 if the index is empty or cannot be opened, rather than starting against an index that would answer every query with nothing.

Usage:

pipecat mcp serve

mcp search-docs

Semantic search over the indexed Pipecat docs.

Usage:

pipecat mcp search-docs [OPTIONS] QUERY

Arguments:

QUERY · string · required

What to search for. Use + or & to search several concepts at once, e.g. "TTS + STT" — each is searched separately and the results interleaved.

Options:

--area · string

Docs path prefix, e.g. guides or server/services.

--limit · integer · default: "10"

Maximum hits to return (1-50).

mcp search-api

Search framework internals: classes, signatures, frames, inheritance.

Usage:

pipecat mcp search-api [OPTIONS] QUERY

Arguments:

QUERY · string · required

What to search for.

Options:

--module · string

Module path prefix, e.g. pipecat.services.

--class-name · string

Class name prefix, e.g. DailyTransport.

--chunk-type · string

One of module_overview, class_overview, method, function, type_definition.

--is-dataclass · flag

Only dataclass types.

--yields · string

Methods yielding a frame type.

--calls · string

Methods calling a specific method.

--pipecat-version · string

Score results for compatibility with this pipecat-ai version.

--compatible-only · flag

Exclude results requiring a newer version. Needs --pipecat-version.

--limit · integer · default: "10"

Maximum hits to return (1-50).

mcp search-examples

Find working Pipecat examples for a capability.

Usage:

pipecat mcp search-examples [OPTIONS] QUERY

Arguments:

QUERY · string · required

The capability to find examples for.

Options:

--repo · string

Filter by repo slug, e.g. pipecat-ai/pipecat-examples.

--language · string

python or typescript — the only parsed languages.

--domain · string

backend (Python bot/pipeline code), frontend (JS/TS client), config, or infra.

--tag · string

Capability tag. Repeatable.

--execution-mode · string

local or cloud, inferred from capability tags.

--pipecat-version · string

Score results for compatibility with this pipecat-ai version.

--compatible-only · flag

Exclude results requiring a newer version. Needs --pipecat-version.

--limit · integer · default: "10"

Maximum hits to return (1-50).

--foundational-class · string

Legacy filter, deprecated. Only pre-reorg examples carry it, so filtering on it silently excludes new-layout examples. Prefer --domain and --tag.

mcp get-doc

Fetch a full docs page, or one section of it, by ID or path. Use after search-docs.

Usage:

pipecat mcp get-doc [OPTIONS]

Options:

--doc-id · string

Chunk ID from a search-docs hit.

--path · string

Docs path, e.g. /guides/telephony/overview.

--section · string

Return only this section heading.

mcp get-example

Fetch the full source files of an example. Use after search-examples.

Usage:

pipecat mcp get-example [OPTIONS] EXAMPLE_ID

Arguments:

EXAMPLE_ID · string · required

Example ID from a search-examples hit.

Options:

--no-readme · flag

Skip the example’s README content.

mcp get-code-snippet

Get a targeted code snippet by symbol, by intent, or by path and line range.

Usage:

pipecat mcp get-code-snippet [OPTIONS]

Options:

--symbol · string

Symbol name, e.g. DailyTransport.send_dtmf.

--intent · string

Intent description; searches example code.

--path · string

File path. Combine with --line-start for a range lookup.

--line-start · integer

First line of the range.

--line-end · integer

Last line of the range.

--module · string

Module path prefix filter, in symbol mode.

--class-name · string

Class name prefix filter, in symbol mode.

--content-type · string

source for framework code, code for examples.

--pipecat-version · string

Score results for compatibility with this pipecat-ai version.

--max-lines · integer · default: "100"

Maximum lines to return (1-500).

mcp check-deprecation

Check whether a module path, class, or method is deprecated. The fastest way to catch a symbol that moved or was replaced.

Usage:

pipecat mcp check-deprecation [OPTIONS] SYMBOL

Arguments:

SYMBOL · string · required

Module path, class, or method, e.g. PipelineTask or pipecat.services.grok.llm.

Options:

--at-version · string

Evaluate the symbol’s lifecycle at this version, e.g. 2.0.0. A symbol can be current, deprecated, or removed at different versions. Defaults to the version the index was built from.

Examples

# Set the hub up for your coding agent, then keep it current
pipecat mcp install
pipecat mcp refresh

# Is this symbol still the right one?
pipecat mcp check-deprecation PipelineTask

# Find a working example, then read it
pipecat mcp search-examples "twilio bot" --domain backend
pipecat mcp get-example <example-id>

# Look up an exact signature
pipecat mcp search-api "WebsocketServerParams" --limit 3

# Index health, including the pipecat version it was built from
pipecat mcp status

Next Steps

Pipecat Context Hub

What the hub indexes, the MCP tool list, custom sources, and setup without the Pipecat CLI