fix: add mcp command with setup guidance (MemPalace#315)

* fix: add mcp command with setup guidance

* fix: include --palace guidance in mcp command output

* fix: make mcp guidance commands copy-pastable

---------

Co-authored-by: Milla J <millaj1217@gmail.com>

Author: kpulik

README.md

@@ -585,6 +585,9 @@ mempalace compress --wing myapp                   # AAAK compress
 
 # Status
 mempalace status                                  # palace overview
+
+# MCP
+mempalace mcp                                     # show MCP setup command
 ```
 
 All commands accept `--palace <path>` to override the default location.

mempalace/cli.py

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     mempalace mine <dir>                  Mine project files (default)
     mempalace mine <dir> --mode convos    Mine conversation exports
     mempalace search "query"              Find anything, exact words
+    mempalace mcp                         Show MCP setup command
     mempalace wake-up                     Show L0 + L1 wake-up context
     mempalace wake-up --wing my_app       Wake-up for a specific project
     mempalace status                      Show what's been filed
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@
 
 import os
 import sys
+import shlex
 import argparse
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -241,6 +243,27 @@ def cmd_instructions(args):
     run_instructions(name=args.name)
 
 
+def cmd_mcp(args):
+    """Show how to wire MemPalace into MCP-capable hosts."""
+    base_server_cmd = "python -m mempalace.mcp_server"
+
+    if args.palace:
+        resolved_palace = str(Path(args.palace).expanduser())
+        server_cmd = f"{base_server_cmd} --palace {shlex.quote(resolved_palace)}"
+    else:
+        server_cmd = base_server_cmd
+
+    print("MemPalace MCP quick setup:")
+    print(f"  claude mcp add mempalace -- {server_cmd}")
+    print("\nRun the server directly:")
+    print(f"  {server_cmd}")
+
+    if not args.palace:
+        print("\nOptional custom palace:")
+        print(f"  claude mcp add mempalace -- {base_server_cmd} --palace /path/to/palace")
+        print(f"  {base_server_cmd} --palace /path/to/palace")
+
+
 def cmd_compress(args):
     """Compress drawers in a wing using AAAK Dialect."""
     import chromadb
@@ -501,6 +524,12 @@ def main():
         help="Rebuild palace vector index from stored data (fixes segfaults after corruption)",
     )
 
+    # mcp
+    sub.add_parser(
+        "mcp",
+        help="Show MCP setup command for connecting MemPalace to your AI client",
+    )
+
     # status
     sub.add_parser("status", help="Show what's been filed")
 
@@ -532,6 +561,7 @@ def main():
         "mine": cmd_mine,
         "split": cmd_split,
         "search": cmd_search,
+        "mcp": cmd_mcp,
         "compress": cmd_compress,
         "wake-up": cmd_wakeup,
         "repair": cmd_repair,

mempalace/instructions/help.md

@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ AI memory system. Store everything, find anything. Local, free, no API key.
     mempalace compress                    Compress palace storage
     mempalace status                      Show palace status
     mempalace repair                      Rebuild vector index
+    mempalace mcp                         Show MCP setup command
     mempalace hook run                    Run hook logic (for harness integration)
     mempalace instructions <name>         Output skill instructions
 

tests/test_cli.py

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import argparse
 import sys
+from pathlib import Path
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import pytest
@@ -326,6 +327,35 @@ def test_main_split_dispatches():
         mock_cmd.assert_called_once()
 
 
+def test_mcp_command_prints_setup_guidance(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sys, "argv", ["mempalace", "mcp"])
+
+    main()
+
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert "MemPalace MCP quick setup:" in captured.out
+    assert "claude mcp add mempalace -- python -m mempalace.mcp_server" in captured.out
+    assert "\nOptional custom palace:\n" in captured.out
+    assert "python -m mempalace.mcp_server --palace /path/to/palace" in captured.out
+    assert "[--palace /path/to/palace]" not in captured.out
+    assert captured.err == ""
+
+
+def test_mcp_command_uses_custom_palace_path_when_provided(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sys, "argv", ["mempalace", "--palace", "~/tmp/my palace", "mcp"])
+
+    main()
+
+    captured = capsys.readouterr()
+    expanded = str(Path("~/tmp/my palace").expanduser())
+
+    assert "python -m mempalace.mcp_server --palace" in captured.out
+    assert expanded in captured.out
+    assert "Optional custom palace:" not in captured.out
+    assert "[--palace /path/to/palace]" not in captured.out
+    assert captured.err == ""
+
+
 def test_main_hook_no_subcommand_prints_help(capsys):
     with patch("sys.argv", ["mempalace", "hook"]):
         main()