AUTOMATIONSWITCH

CircleCI MCP Server

by CircleCI

Official CircleCI-Public MCP server for build-failure triage, flaky-test detection, and pipeline operations. 17-tool surface, npm + Docker distribution, self-hosted remote MCP option for on-prem CircleCI. Two open Claude Code bugs at time of review (#109, #110) flagged in weaknesses.

84·8 tools·Released MAR 2025·Apache-2.0
npx -y @circleci/mcp-server-circleci@latest
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The official CircleCI-Public MCP server. 17-tool surface for build-failure triage, flaky-test detection, and pipeline operations. Active development (10 commits on main in the last 30 days) and two open bugs that affect Claude Code specifically: tool-name slash bug (#109) breaks Claude Code, and Anthropic tool-name regex mismatch (#110) blocks tool registration. Both still in queue at time of review. Recommended for shops using CircleCI as the primary CI, with awareness that Claude Code support is current-state-buggy. The 17-tool surface is purpose-built for CI workflows: get build failure logs, find flaky tests, find underused resource classes (cost optimisation), trigger reruns, run pipelines, run rollback pipelines.

Reviewed by M. Nouriel · MAY 2026

INSTALL THIS SERVER

Requires authenticationCircleCI Personal API token via CIRCLECI_TOKEN. Prefer service-account-style tokens with project-level scope. CIRCLECI_BASE_URL supports on-prem CircleCI.
{ "mcpServers": { "circleci": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@circleci/mcp-server-circleci@latest" ], "env": { "CIRCLECI_TOKEN": "<your-circleci-personal-api-token>", "CIRCLECI_BASE_URL": "https://circleci.com", "MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_LENGTH": "50000" } } } }
PrereqRequires Node.js 18+ and a CircleCI Personal API token (Settings > User Settings > Personal API Tokens). Set CIRCLECI_BASE_URL for on-prem CircleCI. NPM package: `@circleci/mcp-server-circleci`. Two open Claude Code bugs (#109, #110) at review time; running on Cursor or VS Code avoids those issues today. Path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).
{ "mcpServers": { "circleci": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@circleci/mcp-server-circleci@latest" ], "env": { "CIRCLECI_TOKEN": "<your-circleci-personal-api-token>", "CIRCLECI_BASE_URL": "https://circleci.com", "MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_LENGTH": "50000" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "circleci": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@circleci/mcp-server-circleci@latest" ], "env": { "CIRCLECI_TOKEN": "<your-circleci-personal-api-token>", "CIRCLECI_BASE_URL": "https://circleci.com", "MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_LENGTH": "50000" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "circleci": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@circleci/mcp-server-circleci@latest" ], "env": { "CIRCLECI_TOKEN": "<your-circleci-personal-api-token>", "CIRCLECI_BASE_URL": "https://circleci.com", "MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_LENGTH": "50000" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "circleci": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@circleci/mcp-server-circleci@latest" ], "env": { "CIRCLECI_TOKEN": "<your-circleci-personal-api-token>", "CIRCLECI_BASE_URL": "https://circleci.com", "MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_LENGTH": "50000" } } } }

8 TOOLS AVAILABLE

get_build_failure_logs
Detailed failure logs from CircleCI builds
Read
find_flaky_tests
Identify flaky tests by execution history
Read
get_latest_pipeline_status
Branch-level pipeline status
Read
rerun_workflow
Rerun a workflow from start or from failed job
Write
run_pipeline
Trigger a pipeline
Write
run_rollback_pipeline
Trigger rollback for a project
Write

OUR ASSESSMENT

Strengths
  • Official CircleCI-Public org publication with vendor governance and roadmap alignment.
  • Compact 17-tool surface designed around specific developer-loop tasks.
  • Active maintenance: 10 commits on main in the last 30 days.
  • Apache-2.0 licence (LICENSE file confirms).
  • Strong CI-cycle utility: find_flaky_tests, find_underused_resource_classes, download_usage_api_data (rare in CI MCP servers).
  • NPM and Docker distribution, plus self-hosted remote MCP option for on-prem.
  • MAX_MCP_OUTPUT_LENGTH setting prevents agent context blowup on large logs.
  • Strong fork-to-star ratio (57 forks on 84 stars) signals active integration work.
Weaknesses
  • Two open Claude Code bugs at time of review: #109 (slash in tool name breaks Claude Code) and #110 (Anthropic regex mismatch on tool name pattern). Both still in queue.
  • 84 stars; modest community traction so far.
  • Zero tagged GitHub releases; versioning lives on npm only.
  • Parameter parsing error reported in pre-release tooling (#126).
  • Cursor Marketplace listing pending (PR #149 active).
Security Notes

Uses a CircleCI Personal API token via CIRCLECI_TOKEN. Prefer a service-account-style token with project-level scope over a user-level token; rotate on schedule. CIRCLECI_BASE_URL supports on-prem CircleCI. The self-hosted remote-MCP-server pattern is recommended for shared team usage so individual operator tokens stay on the operator host.

Best For

Engineering teams using CircleCI as primary CI who want AI assistants to investigate failed builds, cost optimisation workflows (right-sizing resource classes), and teams comfortable with the current Claude Code bugs (or running primarily on Cursor or VS Code).

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Language
typescript
Transport
stdio
Clients
Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorVS CodeWindsurf
License
Apache-2.0
npm
@circleci/mcp-server-circleci
Last Release
main (no tagged releases)MAY 1, 2026
First Released
MAR 26, 2025

ADOPTION METRICS

// GitHub Stars
84

// Reading this84 stars; the editorial weight is the official CircleCI-Public org publication and the active commit cadence on main.

// Popularity Rank
#25
Globally · #8 in Infrastructure

// Reading thisEighth-ranked in infrastructure. Pair with GitHub Actions runs for full CI-MCP coverage; revisit when bugs #109 and #110 land.

SOURCES & VERIFICATION

We don't take any single directory's word for it. Before scoring, we cross-reference 5 public MCP sources, install the server ourselves against the clients we cover, and record when we last re-verified.

01
Discovered
Manual submission
First indexed MAY 1, 2026
02
Cross-referenced
5 directories
PulseMCP, MCP.so, Glama, Smithery, Official MCP Registry
03
Verified against
Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop
Installed and tested across clients
04
Last re-checked
MAY 1, 2026
Weekly re-verification
// How other directories see it

The same server, 5 different lenses. We reconcile these signals into our editorial score, which is why our number sometimes diverges from a directory-aggregate star count.

SourceTheir ratingTheir star countTheir downloadsLast synced
AutomationSwitch This page3.7editorial84MAY 1, 2026
PulseMCP— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 1, 2026
MCP.so— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 1, 2026
Glama— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 1, 2026
Smithery— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 1, 2026
Official MCP Registry— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 1, 2026

// Counts are directory-reported; we don't adjust them. Discrepancies usually come from different snapshot times or star-caching.

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