What is Fess Mcp Server

Fess MCP Server is a middleware server designed to interface with the Fess search engine, allowing clients to retrieve information seamlessly.

Use cases

Use cases include enhancing search functionalities in desktop applications, providing search services in enterprise environments, and integrating with other software systems to facilitate information access.

How to use

To use Fess MCP Server, register it in the settings of MCP clients like Claude for Desktop. You can set it up using Docker or without Docker by following the provided installation steps.

Key features

Key features include integration with the Fess search engine, support for Docker deployment, and customizable connection settings for both Fess and MCP clients.

Where to use

Fess MCP Server can be used in various fields such as information retrieval, enterprise search solutions, and applications requiring full-text search capabilities.

Fess MCP Server

Fess MCP Server is a middleware server that integrates with the Fess search engine.
By registering it in the settings of MCP clients such as Claude for Desktop, it enables agents to obtain information using Fess. Fess is an open-source full-text search server provided under the Apache License. Commercial support is also available. For more details, please refer to the official website.
https://fess.codelibs.org/ja/

Setup

Fess Setup

For the setup procedure of the Fess server itself, please refer to the official Fess documentation.
https://qiita.com/g_fukurowl/items/a00dbbad737d3e775108

The following article may also be helpful:
https://qiita.com/g_fukurowl/items/a00dbbad737d3e775108

Fess MCP Server Setup

Using Docker

Start the server with the following command:

docker-compose up -d

Without Docker

Here we show the setup procedure using uv.
uv is a fast Python package manager. While not required, we recommend using it.

# Install uv
irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex

# Activate virtual environment
.\.venv\Scripts\activate.bat

# Install dependencies
uv pip install -e .

# Start MCP server
uv run .\fess_mcp_server.py

Configuration

Fess Server Connection Settings

The URL of the Fess server that Fess MCP Server accesses is set as the environment variable Fess_API_BASE.
Please modify this variable according to your environment before starting Fess MCP Server.
If running as a Docker container, edit docker-compose.yaml and change the relevant settings.

Claude for Desktop Connection Settings

Fess MCP Server starts on port 8000 by default.
If Fess MCP Server is running on localhost on port 8000, edit claude_desktop_config.json as follows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fess-search-sse": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "http://localhost:8000/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Testing

Without Docker

Here we show the testing procedure using uv.

# Install development dependencies:
uv pip install -e ".[test]"

# Run unit tests:
uv run pytest -v tests/unit/ -s

# Run integration tests (requires communication with Fess server):
uv run pytest -v tests/integration/ -s

# Generate coverage report:
uv run pytest --cov=fess_mcp_server --cov-report=html

Running Tests in Docker Container

# Build test Docker image:
docker build -t fess-mcp-server-test -f Dockerfile.test .

# Run unit tests:
docker run --rm fess-mcp-server-test pytest -v tests/unit/ -s

# Run integration tests (requires communication with Fess server):
docker run --rm --network host fess-mcp-server-test pytest -v tests/integration/ -s

# Generate coverage report:
docker run --rm -v ${PWD}/coverage:/app/coverage fess-mcp-server-test pytest --cov=fess_mcp_server --cov-report=html

Test Execution Options

• -v: Show verbose output
• -s: Show standard output
• --cov: Generate coverage report
• --cov-report=html: Generate HTML coverage report

License

MIT License