mcp-span-cli

name	mcp-span-cli
description	Use the released mcp-span-cli binary to inspect configured MCP servers, call their tools, and generate SKILL.md content for those servers.

MCPSpanCLI Skill

Use this skill when you want to turn a configured MCP server into a reusable SKILL.md, inspect the server's tools, or verify a real MCP tool call before generating documentation.

When to use

• You need to generate a SKILL.md from an MCP server that already exists in the local config.
• You want to inspect a configured MCP server before writing a skill.
• You want to validate a real MCP tool call through the installed CLI.

Inputs

Install the CLI first:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mrdear/MCPSpanCLI/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

The tool reads config from ~/.config/mcp-span-cli/config.json by default.

The config should define servers under mcpServers. Older servers config is still readable.

Each URL-based server can use one of these types:

• http
• sse
• streamable_http
• streamable-http

Omitted type, http, streamable_http, and streamable-http use the same HTTP transport. sse uses the legacy MCP SSE handshake. Each CLI command connects, performs the requested operation, then disconnects.

URL-based servers can include headers; the CLI sends them with every HTTP/SSE request.

Stdio servers define command and optional args directly on the server object.

Workflow

1. Inspect the configured server list in ~/.config/mcp-span-cli/config.json.
2. Run list-tools first when the server's available tools are unknown.
3. Run call if you need to validate a specific MCP tool or understand its output.
4. Run gen-skill to produce markdown and redirect it to the target file.

Commands

List tools:

mcp-span-cli list-tools --server <SERVER_NAME>

Call a tool:

mcp-span-cli call --server <SERVER_NAME> --tool <TOOL_NAME> --args '<JSON_ARGS>'

Generate a full skill:

mcp-span-cli gen-skill --server <SERVER_NAME> > SKILL.md

Generate a filtered skill:

mcp-span-cli gen-skill --server <SERVER_NAME> --tool <TOOL_NAME> > SKILL.md

Generate a filtered skill with multiple tools:

mcp-span-cli gen-skill --server <SERVER_NAME> --tool <TOOL_A> --tool <TOOL_B> > SKILL.md

Output expectations

gen-skill writes markdown to standard output. The markdown includes:

• skill frontmatter
• current server information
• selected tool sections
• one-line call examples
• input parameter descriptions

Required parameters are listed before optional parameters.

Good practice

• Prefer list-tools before gen-skill when the server is new.
• Prefer validating at least one real call for unfamiliar servers before trusting the generated skill blindly.
• Use --tool to keep generated skills focused when the server exposes many tools.