Installation Guide

Overview

The dacli - Documentation Access enables LLM interaction with AsciiDoc and Markdown documentation projects. This guide covers installation on all supported platforms.

Prerequisites

uv Package Manager

The only prerequisite is uv, which handles Python installation automatically.

Install uv:

Linux/macOS
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
Windows (PowerShell)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Verify installation:

uv --version
Note
 uv will automatically download and manage Python 3.12+ when you run uv sync. You do not need to install Python separately.

Installation

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/docToolchain/dacli.git
cd dacli

Option A: Global Installation (Recommended)

Install dacli and mcp-docs-server as global commands:

uv tool install .

This installs the tools globally, so you can use them directly:

dacli --version
mcp-docs-server --help

To update after pulling new changes:

uv tool install . --force

Option B: Development Mode

For development or if you prefer using uv run:

uv sync

This creates a virtual environment. Run commands with uv run:

uv run dacli --version
uv run dacli-mcp --help

Verify Installation

Check the CLI:

dacli --version
# or: uv run dacli --version

Expected output:

dacli, version 0.1.0

Check the MCP server:

mcp-docs-server --help
# or: uv run dacli-mcp --help

Expected output:

usage: dacli-mcp [-h] [--docs-root DOCS_ROOT]

dacli - Documentation Access

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --docs-root DOCS_ROOT
                        Root directory containing documentation files

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add the server to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

Linux

~/.config/claude-desktop/config.json

macOS

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dacli": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--directory", "/path/to/dacli",
        "dacli-mcp",
        "--docs-root", "/path/to/your/documentation"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Important
 Replace /path/to/dacli with the actual path where you cloned the repository, and /path/to/your/documentation with the path to your documentation project.

Claude Code (CLI)

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (~/.config/claude-code/settings.json or via claude mcp add):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dacli": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--directory", "/path/to/dacli",
        "dacli-mcp",
        "--docs-root", "/path/to/your/documentation"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Amazon Q CLI / Kiro

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dacli": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--directory", "/path/to/dacli",
        "dacli-mcp",
        "--docs-root", "/path/to/documentation"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Running the Server

Standalone Mode

For testing or debugging, run the server directly:

uv run dacli-mcp --docs-root /path/to/your/docs

Using the CLI

For LLMs without MCP support, use the dacli command-line interface:

# Get documentation structure
dacli --docs-root /path/to/docs structure

# Search documentation
dacli --docs-root /path/to/docs search "authentication"

# Read a section
dacli --docs-root /path/to/docs section introduction
Note
 If you used Option B (development mode), prefix commands with uv run.

See the CLI Tutorial for comprehensive examples.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"uv: command not found"

The uv package manager is not installed or not in your PATH.

Solution: Reinstall uv and ensure your shell configuration is reloaded:

# Reinstall
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Reload shell (or open a new terminal)
source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc
"Module not found" errors

Dependencies are not installed.

Solution: Run uv sync in the project directory:

cd /path/to/dacli
uv sync
MCP server not connecting in Claude Desktop

Check:

  1. The paths in your config are absolute paths (not relative)

  2. The --directory path points to the dacli folder

  3. The --docs-root path points to your documentation folder

  4. Both paths exist and are accessible

Debug: Try running the server manually to see error messages:

uv run --directory /path/to/dacli dacli-mcp --docs-root /path/to/docs
"Permission denied" on Linux/macOS

Solution: Ensure the files are readable:

chmod -R u+r /path/to/your/docs

Getting Help

Updating

To update to the latest version:

cd /path/to/dacli
git pull
uv sync

Uninstallation

To remove the server:

# Remove the repository
rm -rf /path/to/dacli

# Remove MCP configuration from Claude Desktop
# (Edit your config.json and remove the "dacli" entry)