MegaLinter MCP Server

Down At The Bottom Of The Mole Hole banner

<!-- mcp-name: io.github.downatthebottomofthemolehole/megalinter-mcp-server -->

Note: This is a community-maintained MCP server. It is not an official Model Context Protocol server, but it is sanctioned by Ox Security as a complement to their official MegaLinter tools.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for running Ox Security MegaLinter through mega-linter-runner. Works with any CI/CD platform (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, CircleCI, Jenkins) or locally.

Overview

This server provides 15 MCP tools in total: 10 core tools and 5 convenience aliases across execution, discovery, and analysis workflows.

• megalinter_quick_action for short, natural requests with sensible defaults.
• megalinter_run to execute MegaLinter with configurable runtime and runner options.
• megalinter_write_config to generate a minimal .mega-linter.yml file.
• megalinter_list_flavors to return common MegaLinter flavors.
• megalinter_get_linters to discover available linters by language, security focus, and auto-fix capability.
• megalinter_get_security_info to group security linters by threat category.
• megalinter_get_reporters to list supported report output formats and CI-targeted reporters.
• megalinter_parse_reports to parse JSON or SARIF report artefacts.
• megalinter_get_issue_summary to aggregate report issues by linter and severity.
• megalinter_get_security_recommendations to generate security-focused remediation guidance.

Quick Start (Short Prompts)

If you prefer short prompts, use megalinter_quick_action first:

• @megalinter quick scan this repository
• @megalinter security scan
• @megalinter summarise errors
• @megalinter list python security linters
• @megalinter write config

Or use ultra-short aliases for minimal typing:

• @megalinter scan — Quick scan with defaults
• @megalinter summary — Summarise last run's errors
• @megalinter parse — Parse JSON report
• @megalinter help_quick — Context-aware help for your project

Platform Compatibility

This MCP server is platform-agnostic and works universally:

• ✅ Locally — Run MegaLinter from your IDE or command line
• ✅ GitHub Actions — Integrate with workflows
• ✅ GitLab CI/CD — Use in GitLab pipelines
• ✅ Azure DevOps — Run in Azure Pipelines
• ✅ CircleCI, Jenkins, Bitbucket Pipelines — Any CI/CD platform with Docker support
• ✅ AI Agents & Copilot — Automated code quality checks via MCP

The only requirement is Docker (or a compatible container runtime like Colima).

Tool Matrix

Tools

megalinter_quick_action

Interactive shortcut that accepts a short request and routes it to the right workflow.

Inputs:

• request (string, optional): Short instruction. Default: quick scan.
• action (string, optional): Explicit quick action (scan, config, flavors, linters, security, reporters, parse, summary, recommendations).
• scanMode (string, optional): Scan preset (quick, full, security, fix).
• target (string, optional): Directory to scan. Default: ..
• workingDirectory (string, optional): Command working directory.
• reportsPath (string, optional): Reports directory. Default: megalinter-reports.
• reportType (string, optional): Parse format (json or sarif).
• severity (string, optional): Summary filter (error, warning, info).
• language (string, optional): Language filter for linter queries. For scans, maps to a flavor hint (python, javascript, terraform, and similar).
• securityOnly (boolean, optional): Return only security linters in linter queries. For scans, forces security flavor.
• autoFixOnly (boolean, optional): Return only auto-fix linters in linter queries.
• timeoutMinutes (number, optional): Timeout for scan actions. Default: 20.
• summaryOnly (boolean, optional): Return concise output for scans. Default: true.
• flavor (string, optional): Optional flavor override for scan actions.
• fix (boolean, optional): Force auto-fixes for scan actions.
• targetPath (string, optional): Config output path for write-config requests.

Examples:

• request: "quick scan" -> Runs ci_light against changed files.
• request: "full scan" -> Runs all flavor.
• request: "security scan" -> Runs security flavor.
• request: "summarise errors" -> Returns issue summary filtered to errors.
• request: "parse sarif report" -> Parses SARIF output.
• action: "summary", severity: "error" -> Deterministic summary with no phrase parsing.
• action: "scan", scanMode: "security" -> Deterministic security scan.

scan (Ultra-short alias)

Run a quick scan with minimal typing. Accepts optional parameters for customization.

Inputs:

• language (string, optional): Target language mapped to flavor (e.g., python, javascript, terraform).
• scanMode (string, optional): Scan preset (quick, full, security, fix). Default: quick.
• summaryOnly (boolean, optional): Return concise output. Default: true.

Example: @megalinter scan runs a quick scan with concise output.

summary (Ultra-short alias)

Summarise errors from the last MegaLinter run with minimal typing.

Inputs:

• severity (string, optional): Filter by severity (error, warning, info).
• linterFilter (string, optional): Filter by linter name.

Example: @megalinter summary shows all error/warning totals.

parse (Ultra-short alias)

Parse MegaLinter report files with minimal typing.

Inputs:

• reportType (string, optional): Report format (json or sarif). Default: json.
• reportsPath (string, optional): Reports directory path.

Example: @megalinter parse parses the JSON report.

megalinter_help_quick

Get context-aware help based on your current repository. Detects languages, frameworks, Docker, Terraform, and security files to suggest relevant commands.

No inputs required.

Example: @megalinter help_quick returns tailored suggestions for your project.

megalinter_run

Use this tool when you need full argument-level control. For short prompts, prefer megalinter_quick_action.

Runs mega-linter-runner via npx.

Inputs:

• workingDirectory (string, optional): Command working directory. Defaults to current process directory.
• path (string, optional): Directory path to lint.
• flavor (string, optional): MegaLinter flavor. Default: all.
• release (string, optional): MegaLinter image tag. Default: v9.
• image (string, optional): Full Docker image override.
• env (string, optional): Environment variable string passed to --env.
• fix (boolean, optional): Apply auto-fixes.
• help (boolean, optional): Show mega-linter-runner help.
• install (boolean, optional): Generate MegaLinter starter config.
• containerName (string, optional): Docker container name override.
• removeContainer (boolean, optional): Remove container after run.
• configFile (string, optional): Path to .mega-linter.yml.
• reportsPath (string, optional): Reports directory. Default: megalinter-reports.
• disableLinters (string, optional): Comma-separated list of linters to disable.
• lintChangedFilesOnly (boolean, optional): Sets VALIDATE_ALL_CODEBASE=false when true.
• runnerVersion (string, optional): npm version for mega-linter-runner (for example latest).
• timeoutSeconds (number, optional): Timeout in seconds. Default: 3600.
• summaryOnly (boolean, optional): Return concise logs. Default: false.
• extraArgs (string[], optional): Additional CLI arguments.

megalinter_write_config

Writes a minimal MegaLinter configuration.

Inputs:

• targetPath (string, optional): Output file path. Default: .mega-linter.yml.
• applyFixes (string, optional): Value for APPLY_FIXES. Default: none.
• showElapsedTime (boolean, optional): Value for SHOW_ELAPSED_TIME. Default: true.
• flavorSuggestions (boolean, optional): Value for FLAVOR_SUGGESTIONS. Default: false.
• disableLinters (string[], optional): Values for DISABLE_LINTERS.

megalinter_list_flavors

Returns the built-in list of common flavors (all, javascript, python, terraform, and others).

megalinter_get_linters

Returns linter metadata from the built-in catalogue and supports targeted filtering.

Inputs:

• language (string, optional): Filter by language (for example python, javascript, terraform).
• securityOnly (boolean, optional): Return only security-focused linters.
• autoFixOnly (boolean, optional): Return only linters with automatic fix capability.

megalinter_get_security_info

Returns security linters grouped into categories such as SAST, secrets, supply chain, container, and infrastructure.

Inputs:

• None.

megalinter_get_reporters

Returns available MegaLinter reporters, including CI-targeted formats.

Inputs:

• None.

megalinter_parse_reports

Parses MegaLinter report files from the reports directory.

Inputs:

• reportsPath (string, optional): Report directory path. Default: megalinter-reports.
• reportType (string, optional): Report type (json or sarif). Default: json.

megalinter_get_issue_summary

Summarises issues from megalinter-report.json and can apply severity/linter filters.

Inputs:

• reportsPath (string, optional): Report directory path. Default: megalinter-reports.
• severityFilter (string, optional): Filter results by severity (error, warning, info).
• linterFilter (string, optional): Filter results by linter name.

megalinter_get_security_recommendations

Generates security recommendations based on active linters in the parsed report data.

Inputs:

• reportsPath (string, optional): Report directory path. Default: megalinter-reports.

Prompt Cookbook

Use these copy/paste prompts in Copilot Chat with @megalinter. CLI tools default to the current workspace root when no path is given. If you add a file or folder as Copilot context (#file or #folder), reference it in your prompt and the tool will target that path.

Quick Actions (megalinter_quick_action)

@megalinter quick scan
@megalinter full scan
@megalinter security scan
@megalinter summarise errors
@megalinter parse sarif report
@megalinter write config

Expected output: Routes each short request to the correct tool with sensible defaults.

Deterministic alternatives using explicit action fields:

@megalinter run quick action with action summary and severity error
@megalinter run quick action with action parse and reportType sarif
@megalinter run quick action with action scan and scanMode security

Run MegaLinter (megalinter_run)

@megalinter run megalinter with flavor all on . with reports in megalinter-reports

Expected output: Executes linters and reports issues found across all languages. Creates megalinter-reports/ with JSON, SARIF, and text reports.

Create Config (megalinter_write_config)

@megalinter create a MegaLinter config at .mega-linter.yml

Expected output: Creates .mega-linter.yml with specified settings ready for customization.

List Flavors (megalinter_list_flavors)

@megalinter list all available MegaLinter flavors

Expected output: Table of flavors (all, python, javascript, go, etc.) with descriptions and use cases.

Query Linters (megalinter_get_linters)

@megalinter list python security linters with autofix support

Expected output: Filtered list of Python-related and multi-language security linters from the current catalog that support autofix (if any match the query).

Security Categories (megalinter_get_security_info)

@megalinter show MegaLinter security linter categories

Expected output: Security categories (for example, sast, secrets, supply-chain, container, infrastructure) with associated linters (gitleaks, trivy, etc.).

List Reporters (megalinter_get_reporters)

@megalinter list available MegaLinter reporters

Expected output: List of reporters (console, json, sarif, github-comment, etc.) with activation methods.

Parse Reports (megalinter_parse_reports)

@megalinter parse the json report from megalinter-reports

Expected output: Parsed MegaLinter JSON or SARIF report content as structured data (raw report payload).

Issue Summary (megalinter_get_issue_summary)

@megalinter summarise issues from megalinter-reports with severity error

Expected output: Summary of issues filtered by severity and linter inputs, aggregated by linter with totals and run counts.

Security Recommendations (megalinter_get_security_recommendations)

@megalinter generate security recommendations using megalinter-reports

Expected output: Actionable security recommendations prioritized by severity with linter names, rule IDs, and suggested next steps.

Dependencies

System Dependencies

• Node.js >=24.0.0
• npm (bundled with Node.js)
• Docker Engine or Docker Desktop (must be running for megalinter_run)
• Optional local container runtime wrapper such as Colima

npm Dependencies

Runtime:

• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk (MCP server SDK)

Development:

• typescript (build/compile)
• tsx (development runner)
• @types/node (Node.js typings)

Runtime note:

• mega-linter-runner is executed via npx at runtime and can be pinned with the runnerVersion tool input.

Installation

npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Usage with VS Code Copilot Chat

This workspace is preconfigured in .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "megalinter": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["./dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Reload VS Code (Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window) after changing MCP configuration.

Then query the server from Copilot Chat with @megalinter, for example:

@megalinter list available flavors
@megalinter list security linters for javascript

Usage with Other MCP Clients

Use a stdio server configuration that runs the compiled entrypoint:

{
  "name": "megalinter-mcp-server",
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "node",
  "args": ["/absolute/path/to/megalinter-mcp/dist/index.js"]
}

Build first with npm run build, then start your MCP client.

Running

npm start

Development mode:

npm run dev

Debugging

Use .vscode/launch.json:

• Debug MCP Server (runs npm run dev)
• Debug MCP Server (Built) (runs dist/index.js after build)

Set breakpoints in src/index.ts, then press F5.

Testing

See docs/TESTING.md for Copilot Chat scenarios, manual JSON-RPC checks, and troubleshooting guidance.

Quick validation prompt in Copilot Chat:

@megalinter list available flavors

Interactive VS Code Workflows

1. Shift-Left Security Triage

1. Ask Copilot to run a scan:

@megalinter run megalinter on this repository with reports enabled

1. Parse the generated report:

@megalinter parse the json report in megalinter-reports

1. Summarise and prioritise:

@megalinter summarise error-level issues and top failing linters

1. Request security guidance:

@megalinter generate security recommendations from the current report

2. Language-Specific Linter Onboarding

1. Discover linters for your stack:

@megalinter list python security linters with autofix support

1. Generate starter config:

@megalinter create a megalinter config file with apply fixes set to none

1. Disable unsuitable linters and iterate.

3. CI/CD Reporter Selection

1. List reporters:

@megalinter list available reporters

1. Select formats for your pipeline (for example SARIF for security tooling, Markdown for human-readable summaries).

Best Practices

• Start with megalinter_write_config, then tighten rules in small steps.
• Use lintChangedFilesOnly during fast feedback loops, and full scans in CI.
• Keep reportsPath stable so downstream analysis tools always read from a known location.
• Prefer megalinter_get_issue_summary for triage before requesting full report dumps.
• Run megalinter_get_security_recommendations regularly to maintain shift-left coverage.

Additional Use Cases

• Pre-merge quality gates: Run megalinter_run in PR checks and publish SARIF output.
• Repo onboarding packs: Use megalinter_get_linters and megalinter_list_flavors to choose a baseline quickly.
• Security baseline reporting: Combine megalinter_parse_reports and megalinter_get_issue_summary for recurring snapshots.
• Compliance evidence: Store generated reports and summaries as CI artefacts for audit trails.
• Developer self-service: Let contributors query available linters/reporters directly through Copilot Chat.

Related Projects

Official MegaLinter Resources

• MegaLinter website — Comprehensive documentation and configuration guide
• MegaLinter repository — Source code and issue tracking
• mega-linter-runner — npm package used by this server

CI/CD Integrations

• MegaLinter Azure DevOps Extension — ADO task by the same author (also sanctioned by Ox Security)
• GitHub Actions: Use MegaLinter's official GitHub Action
• GitLab CI/CD: See MegaLinter GitLab integration docs
• Jenkins, CircleCI, and others: Run MegaLinter via Docker in any CI/CD pipeline

Model Context Protocol

• MCP official documentation
• MCP TypeScript SDK
• MCP servers registry

Community and Contributing

• Contributing Guide
• Code of Conduct
• Security Policy
• Testing Guide
• Maintainer Guide

Attribution and License

Maintained by Carl Dawson under the Down At The Bottom Of The Mole Hole organization.

Licensed under the MIT License. MegaLinter is managed by Ox Security.