pubdev_context

A Model Context Protocol server that exposes pub.dev as a structured intelligence layer for AI assistants.

Built on the official dart_mcp framework.

Status: experimental

Installation

dart pub global activate pubdev_context

MCP client configuration

Claude Desktop / Claude Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pubdev_context": { "command": "pubdev_context" }
  }
}

Cursor / VS Code (with options):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pubdev_context": {
      "command": "pubdev_context",
      "env": {
        "pubdev_context_LOG_LEVEL": "debug"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

Tools are grouped by workflow stage. Within each stage, they chain naturally in the order listed.

Package discovery

Tool	Description
search_packages	Search pub.dev by keyword, SDK, platform, and sort order
get_package	Full metadata for one package — scores, SDK constraints, deps, README excerpt
get_changelog	Recent version history with computed breaking flags per entry
compare_packages	Side-by-side comparison matrix for 2–5 packages

API exploration

Tool	Description
browse_api_symbols	Search the dartdoc symbol index by name or keyword — use only when the symbol name is unknown
get_symbol_documentation	Full signature and doc comment for a known symbol; pass the short or qualified name directly
get_method_body	Exact source text of a method, constructor, accessor, or top-level function — AST-precise

Source inspection

Tool	Description
list_package_source_files	File paths in a package tarball with optional directory and extension filters
get_package_source_file	Raw content of a single source file from the pub.dev tarball

Recommended agent workflows

# Package selection
search_packages → compare_packages → get_package → pub://package/{name}/readme

# Dependency upgrade
get_changelog(from_version=<current>) → inspect breaking flags → rewrite affected code

# API exploration (symbol name known)
get_symbol_documentation → get_method_body (if body needed)

# API exploration (symbol name unknown)
browse_api_symbols → get_symbol_documentation → get_method_body (if body needed)

# Deep source inspection
get_symbol_documentation → get_package_source_file
                         → list_package_source_files (if path is unknown)

Resources

URI	Description
pub://meta/resources	Resource manifest — lists all available URIs (start here)
pub://meta/scoring	pub.dev 160-point scoring system reference
pub://meta/sdk-versions	Current stable Dart and Flutter SDK versions as JSON
pub://package/{name}/readme	Full package README as text/markdown
pub://package/{name}/example	Package example code as text/markdown
pub://package/{name}/api	dartdoc symbol index as application/json
pub://package/{name}/changelog	Full changelog as text/markdown

Prompts

Prompt	Description
add-and-setup-package	Guides through reading a README, writing boilerplate, and native setup steps
analyze-upgrade-impact	Retrieves changelog entries, identifies breaking changes, and rewrites affected code
evaluate-alternatives	Searches packages, compares top results, and produces a recommendation matrix

Configuration

Flag	Env var	Default	Description
--log-level	pubdev_context_LOG_LEVEL	warning	error|warning|info|debug
--cache-dir	pubdev_context_CACHE_DIR	none	Enable file-based cache
--version	—	—	Print version and exit
--help	—	—	Print usage and exit

MCP Inspector (interactive browser UI)

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector pubdev_context

Opens a browser UI where you can call tools, inspect schemas, and see raw JSON-RPC responses.

dart_mcp compatibility

pubdev_context	dart_mcp
0.4.x	^0.5.1
0.3.x	^0.5.1
0.2.x	^0.5.1
0.1.x	^0.5.1

License

MIT