Basic Usage Tutorial

Basic Usage Tutorial

This tutorial walks you through the essential operations of MCP Shell, from installation to running your first commands.

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, you should have:

• Basic command line knowledge
• A supported operating system (Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD)
• 5-10 minutes of time

Step 1: Installation

First, install MCP Shell using your preferred method:

# Using Nix (recommended)
nix profile install github:rafa-dot-el/mcp-shell

# Or download binary from releases
wget https://github.com/rafa-dot-el/mcp-shell/releases/latest/download/mcp-shell-linux-amd64
chmod +x mcp-shell-linux-amd64
sudo mv mcp-shell-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/mcp-shell

Step 2: Verify Installation

Check that MCP Shell is installed correctly:

mcp-shell version

You should see version information displayed.

Step 3: View Help

Explore available commands:

mcp-shell --help

This shows all available commands and options.

Step 4: Basic Configuration

Create a basic configuration file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/mcp-shell
cat > ~/.config/mcp-shell/config.yaml <<EOF
log_level: info
output_format: text
EOF

Step 5: Run Your First Command

Try running a basic command:

mcp-shell version

Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics:

• Explore Advanced Configuration
• Read the Configuration Documentation
• Check out Development Guide

Troubleshooting

Command not found?

• Ensure the binary is in your PATH
• Try using the full path to the binary

Permission denied?

• Make sure the binary is executable: chmod +x mcp-shell
• On Linux/macOS, you may need sudo for system-wide installation