MCP Server

BoardUI ships an MCP server, so AI agents can do the installing for you. Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex, and any MCP client can browse the registry, read component source and real usage examples, set up a fresh project, and write component files straight into it. No terminal round-trips, you just describe what you want built.

The server runs locally over stdio via npx, nothing is hosted. Free components work with zero configuration; BoardUI Pro unlocks in the same chat once your agent activates your license key.

One rule for every client below: MCP tools bind when a session starts. If you register the server mid-session, restart the client or open a fresh chat, or it will show as connected with no tools available.

Setup

Pick your client. Cursor and VS Code install with one click; Claude Code and Codex take one command.

Claude Code

Cursor

VS Code

Codex

Other clients

One command in your project directory. Add --scope user to enable it for every project, and restart Claude Code (or open a new session) afterwards so the tools bind.

claude mcp add boardui -- npx -y boardui@latest mcp

Try asking your agent

Once connected, talk to your agent in plain language. A few starters:

“Set up BoardUI in this project and add the button, select, and date picker.”
“I bought BoardUI Pro. Here's my license key: XXXX. Activate it and install the AI chat template.”
“Build a sign-in page with BoardUI's auth card and social buttons.”
“What props does the BoardUI button take? Show me the icon variants.”
“Add BoardUI's data table and wire it to my /api/orders endpoint.”
“Show me BoardUI's theme tokens, then restyle the primary button to match my brand.”
“Build a revenue dashboard with BoardUI stat cards, an area chart, and a bar list.”

Tools

What the server exposes to your agent:

Tool	What it does
get_started	Overview of BoardUI, the typical flow, and the Pro licensing rules.
list_components	Every installable item with exact names, free and Pro, grouped by type.
get_component	Description, dependencies, usage example, and full source for one item.
get_usage_examples	Working code snippets from the item's docs page, Pro items included.
install_components	Writes component source into the project and installs missing npm deps.
init_boardui	One-time setup: Tailwind v4, runtime deps, theme and global styles, utils.
install_rules	Writes the always-on design rules into AGENTS.md and .cursor/rules/.
get_skill	Explains the agent skill: live SKILL.md, bundled files, install options per client.
install_skill	Installs the BoardUI agent skill (catalog, theming, patterns) into .claude/skills/.
get_theme	The theme tokens, type scale, and global stylesheet for restyling work.
activate_license	Activates a BoardUI Pro license key on the machine and stores it.
license_status	Whether a Pro license is active, with the key shown masked.
deactivate_license	Releases the machine's Pro seat and removes the stored key.

Always-on design rules

MCP tools are on demand: an agent only sees your theme when it thinks to ask, and a model that never asks invents its own spacing, colors, and type. So init_boardui (and npx boardui init) also installs the design foundations as always-on instruction files that agents load every session: a fenced section in AGENTS.md and a Cursor rule at .cursor/rules/boardui.mdc. They pin the semantic color tokens, the composite type scale, spacing and radius conventions, dark mode, and cx(), and re-runs refresh the section in place without touching the rest of your file.

Initialized your project before this existed? Ask your agent to run install_rules.

Want deeper always-loaded knowledge, with the full catalog, theming, and page patterns? Install the BoardUI agent skill alongside MCP (install_skill, or npx boardui skill).

BoardUI Pro over MCP

Pro components and templates appear in list_components for every user. Without a license, your agent gets the description, a public usage example, and purchase instructions instead of source. After you buy Pro, paste the license key from your Lemon Squeezy receipt into the chat; the agent activates it with activate_license (one seat, released any time with deactivate_license), and from then on Pro items install exactly like free ones. The key is validated server-side on every Pro download.

Already logged in with boardui login? The MCP server uses the same stored license, nothing to redo.

Anonymous telemetry

Successful installs report the same anonymous events as the CLI (component names, package manager, version), tagged as MCP-driven. No project paths, prompts, or source code. Disable with BOARDUI_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1 or DO_NOT_TRACK=1in the server's environment.

Using shadcn's MCP instead

The BoardUI registry speaks the shadcn schema, so if your agent already runs the shadcn MCP server you can reach BoardUI through it: add the namespace to components.json and ask for @boardui/button. The BoardUI server above remains the richer path, with usage examples, project setup, and Pro licensing.

{ "registries": { "@boardui": "https://www.boardui.com/r/{name}.json" }}

Under the hood

npx boardui@latest mcp starts the same engine the CLI uses, speaking MCP over stdio. It fetches the public registry from boardui.com, resolves component dependencies transitively, and writes files with the exact layout the docs show. You can also run it manually to check the setup:

npx boardui@latest mcp