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The MCPJungle CLI reads a YAML configuration file at ~/.mcpjungle.conf on startup. It stores two values: the URL of the MCPJungle server and an access token for authenticated requests. Most users never edit this file by hand — mcpjungle init-server and mcpjungle login write to it automatically.

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Client config file (~/.mcpjungle.conf)

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Location and format

The file lives in your home directory and uses YAML syntax: 
registry_url: http://my-server:9000
access_token: 1YHf2LwE1LXtp5lW_vM-gmdYHlPHdqwnILitBhXE4Aw
Both fields are optional. If either is absent the CLI falls back to its default value or prompts you to supply it via a CLI flag.

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Supported fields

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registry_url
string
default:"http://127.0.0.1:8080"
Base URL of the MCPJungle server the CLI connects to. Set this to avoid passing --registry on every command.
registry_url: http://my-server:9000
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access_token
string
Bearer token sent in the Authorization: Bearer header with every API request. Required when the server runs in enterprise mode. Populated automatically by mcpjungle init-server (admin token) or mcpjungle login (user token).
access_token: 1YHf2LwE1LXtp5lW_vM-gmdYHlPHdqwnILitBhXE4Aw

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Value precedence

When the CLI resolves the registry URL it uses the following order, highest priority first:
  1. --registry flag passed explicitly on the command line
  2. registry_url set in ~/.mcpjungle.conf
  3. Built-in default (http://127.0.0.1:8080)
If you pass --registry manually but registry_url is not yet in your config file, the CLI prints a tip suggesting you add it to avoid repeating the flag.

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Populating the file automatically

1

Enterprise server (admin token)

After starting the server in enterprise mode, run init-server on the machine where you manage MCPJungle. It creates the admin user and writes both registry_url and access_token to ~/.mcpjungle.conf:
mcpjungle init-server
2

User login (user token)

When an admin creates a user account, they share the access token with the new user. The user runs login with the token as a positional argument to store it in their own ~/.mcpjungle.conf:
mcpjungle --registry http://my-server:9000 login <user-token>
3

Manual edit

You can create or edit the file directly in any text editor. Make sure the values are valid YAML strings.

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JSON config file formats

Several mcpjungle commands accept a -c / --conf flag pointing to a JSON file instead of inline CLI flags. This section documents every supported JSON format.

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${VAR_NAME} placeholder substitution

All JSON config files support environment variable placeholders in string fields. Before sending the request to the server, the CLI expands every ${VAR_NAME} occurrence using the current shell environment. Rules:
  • Only ${VAR_NAME} syntax is recognized — not $VAR_NAME.
  • Placeholders can appear anywhere inside a string, including as a substring: "prefix-${VAR}-suffix".
  • Substitution runs in the CLI process, so the variable must be set in the environment where you run the command.
  • Placeholders resolve in all string fields, including nested objects and string arrays.
  • If a referenced variable is not set, the command fails with a descriptive error.
{
  "name": "${MCP_SERVER_NAME}",
  "transport": "streamable_http",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/workspaces/${WORKSPACE_ID}/mcp",
  "bearer_token": "${API_TOKEN}"
}

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Register a Streamable HTTP server

Used with mcpjungle register -c <file>. 
{
  "name": "calculator",
  "transport": "streamable_http",
  "description": "Provides basic math tools",
  "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp",
  "bearer_token": "<optional bearer token>",
  "headers": {
    "<custom-header>": "<value>"
  }
}
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
namestringYesUnique name for this server in MCPJungle.
transportstringYesMust be "streamable_http".
descriptionstringNoHuman-readable description.
urlstringYesFull URL of the MCP server endpoint.
bearer_tokenstringNoIf set, MCPJungle adds Authorization: Bearer <token> to every upstream request.
headersobjectNoAdditional HTTP headers to forward. A "Authorization" entry here overrides bearer_token.

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Register a STDIO server

Used with mcpjungle register -c <file>. 
{
  "name": "filesystem",
  "transport": "stdio",
  "description": "Filesystem MCP server",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "."],
  "env": {
    "KEY": "value"
  },
  "session_mode": "stateless"
}
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
namestringYesUnique name for this server in MCPJungle.
transportstringYesMust be "stdio".
descriptionstringNoHuman-readable description.
commandstringYesExecutable to run the MCP server process (e.g., "npx", "uvx").
argsstring arrayNoArguments passed to command.
envobjectNoEnvironment variables injected into the server process.
session_modestringNoConnection lifecycle: "stateless" (default) creates a new process per call; "stateful" keeps the process alive between calls.

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Create a tool group

Used with mcpjungle create group -c <file>. 
{
  "name": "claude-tools",
  "description": "Tools exposed to Claude Desktop",
  "included_tools": [
    "filesystem__read_file",
    "time__get_current_time"
  ],
  "included_servers": ["deepwiki"],
  "excluded_tools": ["deepwiki__search"]
}
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
namestringYesUnique name for the tool group.
descriptionstringNoHuman-readable description.
included_toolsstring arrayNoExplicit list of tools to include, in <server>__<tool> format.
included_serversstring arrayNoServer names whose entire tool set is included.
excluded_toolsstring arrayNoTools to remove from the final set. Exclusions are always applied last, regardless of how a tool was included.
At least one of included_tools or included_servers should be set, otherwise the group will be empty.

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Create an MCP client

Used with mcpjungle create mcp-client --conf <file> (enterprise mode). 
{
  "name": "cursor-local",
  "allowed_servers": ["calculator", "github"],
  "access_token": "my_secret_token_123",
  "access_token_ref": {
    "file": "/run/secrets/mcpjungle_token",
    "env": "MCPJUNGLE_CLIENT_TOKEN"
  }
}
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
namestringYesUnique name for this MCP client.
allowed_serversstring arrayNoServer names the client may access. Use "*" to allow all servers. Omit to deny all.
access_tokenstringNoInline token value. For testing only.
access_token_ref.filestringNoPath to a plain-text file containing only the token string.
access_token_ref.envstringNoName of an environment variable containing the token string.
When creating a client from a config file, you must supply a token via access_token or access_token_ref. MCPJungle cannot print a generated token back to the console when reading from a file.

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Create a user account

Used with mcpjungle create user --conf <file> (enterprise mode). 
{
  "name": "charlie",
  "access_token": "charlies_secret_token",
  "access_token_ref": {
    "file": "/path/to/token-file.txt",
    "env": "CHARLIE_TOKEN"
  }
}
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
namestringYesUnique username.
access_tokenstringNoInline token value. For testing only.
access_token_ref.filestringNoPath to a plain-text file containing only the token string.
access_token_ref.envstringNoName of an environment variable containing the token string.
The same ${VAR_NAME} placeholder substitution applies to user config files. When using a config file you must supply a token — MCPJungle cannot print a generated one to the console.