| name | acquia-source-navigation-menus |
| description | Acquia Source only. Create and edit Drupal menus in the CMS via Source MCP. Do not use for non-Source sites; production nav should still be authored in Drupal, not only in component code. |
| metadata | {"mcp-server":"user-source-mcp"} |
Acquia Source — Navigation menus via Source MCP
Principle: Menus belong in the CMS (Drupal menu entities and menu
links). That is the correct, maintainable model for production. This skill
automates the same data you would create under Structure → Menus on an
Acquia Source site. It does not replace the CMS with hardcoded link
lists in components for real site delivery.
When this applies
Use this skill when all of the following hold:
- The target is an Acquia Source Drupal site (see
AGENTS.md — e.g. .cms.acquia.site or
CANVAS_SITE_URL for that environment).
- You are authoring or changing menus or menu links for that remote
site.
- You will use Source MCP (read each tool schema; server id is often
user-source-mcp).
Do not use this skill
- Not an Acquia Source / Source-MCP target (other hosting, local-only
Workbench, or a Canvas site where you are not using the Source MCP server for
that environment). For those, use the Drupal admin (or the project’s
normal operations) to create menus; do not route that work through this
document.
- Treating static
FALLBACK_LINKS in code as a substitute for a real Drupal
menu on a site that should be editor-driven. Keep fallbacks for empty/preview
only; on Source, still create the menu in the CMS (MCP or UI).
If Source MCP is unavailable on a Source site, still create the same
menus in the Drupal admin (Structure → Menus) — that is the right place;
only the automation path is missing, not the model. See
canvas-navigation-components.
Relationship to Canvas components
- CMS first: Authors and this skill work on Drupal; components only
read
menu_items by machine name. Keep menuName in component.yml
/ props in sync with the menu you created in the CMS (see
canvas-data-fetching
and
canvas-navigation-components).
- This skill does not push React code — only menu entities on the server.
Use
canvas-component-push when
component source still needs uploading.
Discover existing menus
Before creating duplicates, list menus:
- MCP resource:
drupal://menus (JSON list; entries may include links to
per-menu item trees — see your server’s resource templates).
Use the same server id as for tools (<source-mcp-id>).
MCP tools (read schemas before each call)
Always read each tool’s JSON schema in your MCP filesystem for the Source
server before invoking tools. Typical menu-related tools:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|
create_menu | New custom menu: machine id, label, optional description. |
update_menu | Change label / description for an existing menu id. |
create_menu_item | Add a link: menu_name, title, link, optional parent, weight, enabled, expanded, description. |
update_menu_item | Patch by menu link content id (integer): title, link, parent, weight, enabled, expanded, description. |
delete_menu_item | Remove by id; optional delete_children. |
Link URIs (link field)
Use the formats your tool schema documents (commonly):
- Internal path:
internal:/path (e.g. internal:/about,
internal:/node/1)
- External:
https://example.com
- Entity shortcut:
entity:node/1
- Route:
route:<Drupal route name>
Match paths to real aliases or nodes on the site so links resolve after publish.
Hierarchy (nested items)
- Create parents before children.
parent is usually a menu link plugin id string (for example
menu_link_content:<uuid>) — take the value from create_menu_item
responses or from the menu tree resource for the parent item, per your MCP
tool output.weight: lower values tend to sort first; use for ordering within a
level.
Ordering and cleanup
- Use
update_menu_item with weight (and link / title) to
reorder or fix mistakes without deleting.
- Use
delete_menu_item when removing entries; confirm
delete_children behavior if the item has descendants.
Suggested workflow
- Fetch
drupal://menus → note existing main, footer, etc.
- If you need a new menu (new machine name), call
create_menu → then
add items with menu_name set to that id.
- Otherwise
create_menu_item against main / footer / etc.,
using link URIs that match deployed Canvas pages or nodes (coordinate
with acquia-source-canvas-pages
for routes).
- Verify in the Drupal UI or via JSON:API
menu_items from the component’s
menuName as in canvas-data-fetching.
Related skills
