fonto-docs-mcp

An MCP server that makes the Fonto XML documentation accessible to AI tools like Claude Code, Cursor, and Claude Desktop. Live at fonto-docs.elliat.nl.

The Fonto docs are rendered by a JavaScript SPA, which makes them impossible for AI to read directly. This server fetches the underlying XML and converts it to clean, readable Markdown on demand.

What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way to give AI assistants access to external tools. Once you connect this server to your AI tool, it gains access to these tools and resources:

You can then ask things like "How does addDocumentChangeCallback work?" and the AI will look it up in the live Fonto docs.

Connect to your AI tool

The server is already running at https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp — you just need to point your tool at it.

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add --transport http fonto-docs https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project (or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fonto-docs": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop / claude.ai

Add it as a custom connector: go to Customize → Connectors, click + → Add custom connector, and paste https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp. No OAuth settings are needed. Connectors added this way are available in both Claude Desktop and claude.ai. See Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP.

(claude_desktop_config.json only launches local stdio servers, so it can't be used for this server.)

Mistral AI / Vibe

The easiest way is through the Connectors page in the Mistral console:

1. Go to the Connectors page and click + Add Connector.
2. Open the Custom MCP Connector tab.
3. Enter a name (e.g. fonto-docs) and the server URL https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp, then click Connect.

No authentication is needed. Vibe automatically discovers connectors registered this way, so the tools are available in every Vibe session where you're signed in with your Mistral account — no local configuration required.

Alternatively, add the server to your local Vibe configuration by editing ~/.vibe/config.toml:

[[mcp_servers]]
name = "fonto-docs"
transport = "streamable-http"
url = "https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp"

No auth block is needed — the server requires no authentication.

See the MCP Connectors documentation for more details.

Usage examples

Once connected, ask your AI assistant:

• "Search the Fonto docs for documentsManager"
• "Get the Fonto docs page for clearundostackfordocument-f0187fade723"
• "How does addDocumentChangeCallback work according to the Fonto docs?"
• "List all pages in the configure section"
• "What upgrade guides are available?"

HTTP API

The server also exposes a plain HTTP API if you want to use it without MCP:

• GET /search?q={query} — search pages by keyword
• GET /page/{slug} — fetch a page as Markdown
• GET /api/{name} — fetch the page for an API symbol by exact name, as Markdown (404 with suggestions if none)
• GET /catalog — full page catalog grouped by section; add ?section={keyword} to filter

How it works

The Fonto documentation site stores its content as XML at predictable URLs under /static/xml/. This server fetches those XML files directly and converts them to Markdown, bypassing the JavaScript rendering. Page content is cached in-process for 10 minutes to absorb repeated lookups in the same session; after that, get_fonto_page fetches it live from documentation.fontoxml.com again. The page catalog (used by list_pages and fonto://catalog) is fetched once from the Fonto search index on first use and held in memory for the lifetime of the process.

Self-hosting

npm install
npm start        # runs on port 8080 by default
PORT=3000 npm start

Contributing

PRs welcome. The XML-to-Markdown conversion in src/fonto.js handles two formats:

• DITA guide pages — <topic>, <body>, <section> structure
• API reference pages — custom <type>, <members>, <description> structure

If you find pages that don't convert well, open an issue with the slug.

License

MIT