What is Maven Tools Mcp

maven-tools-mcp is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed for managing Maven dependencies. It integrates with various AI tools such as Claude Desktop and GitHub Copilot to facilitate querying Maven Central for dependency information.

Use cases

Use cases for maven-tools-mcp include querying the latest versions of libraries, checking the existence of specific versions, and comparing current project dependencies with the latest available versions.

How to use

To use maven-tools-mcp, configure your AI tool (like Claude Desktop or VS Code with GitHub Copilot) to connect to the MCP server. Follow the setup instructions provided in the README, which include adding specific configurations to your tool’s settings and ensuring Docker is installed and running.

Key features

Key features of maven-tools-mcp include seamless integration with AI tools, the ability to query Maven Central for the latest versions of dependencies, and support for various commands to check availability and compare versions.

Where to use

maven-tools-mcp is primarily used in software development environments where Maven is utilized for dependency management. It is particularly beneficial for developers using AI-assisted coding tools.

Maven Tools MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Maven dependency management. Works with Claude Desktop, GitHub Copilot, and other MCP-compatible AI tools to query Maven Central.

Quick Start

Ask your AI assistant questions like:

• “What’s the latest version of Spring Boot?”
• “Does version 3.2.0 exist for org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter?”
• “Check if Jackson 2.15.0 is available”
• “Compare my current versions with latest: Spring Boot 3.1.0, Jackson 2.15.0”

Setup for Claude Desktop

Step 1: Locate your Claude Desktop configuration file

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Step 2: Add this configuration (using pre-built Docker image):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=docker",
        "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Prerequisites: Docker installed and running

Setup for VS Code with GitHub Copilot

Option 1: Workspace Configuration - Create .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=docker",
        "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: User Settings - Add to your VS Code settings:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "maven-tools": {
        "type": "stdio",
        "command": "docker",
        "args": [
          "run",
          "-i",
          "--rm",
          "-e",
          "SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=docker",
          "arvindand/maven-tools-mcp:latest"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage: Open Chat view (Ctrl+Alt+I), select Agent mode, then use the Tools button to enable Maven tools.

What it does

• Get latest or stable versions of Maven dependencies
• Check if specific versions exist
• Bulk version checking for multiple dependencies
• Compare versions and get update recommendations

Available Tools

maven_get_latest

Retrieves the latest available version of a Maven dependency from Maven Central for each version type (stable, rc, beta, alpha, milestone).

Parameters:

• dependency (string, required): Maven coordinate in format groupId:artifactId

Example:

{
  "dependency": "org.springframework:spring-core"
}

Response:

{
  "dependency": "org.springframework:spring-core",
  "latest_stable": {
    "version": "6.2.7",
    "type": "stable"
  },
  "latest_milestone": {
    "version": "7.0.0-M5",
    "type": "milestone"
  },
  "total_versions": 100
}

maven_check_exists

Checks if a specific version of a Maven dependency exists in Maven Central with version type information.

Parameters:

• dependency (string, required): Maven coordinate in format groupId:artifactId
• version (string, required): Version to check

Example:

{
  "dependency": "org.springframework:spring-core",
  "version": "6.0.0"
}

Response:

{
  "exists": true,
  "version": "6.0.0",
  "type": "stable"
}

maven_get_stable

Retrieves the latest stable version of a Maven dependency (excludes RCs, alphas, betas, milestones).

Parameters:

• dependency (string, required): Maven coordinate in format groupId:artifactId

Example:

{
  "dependency": "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core"
}

Response:

{
  "version": "2.19.0",
  "type": "stable",
  "total_versions": 100,
  "stable_versions": 82
}

maven_bulk_check_latest

Checks latest versions for multiple dependencies in a single call.

Parameters:

• dependencies (string, required): Comma-separated list of Maven coordinates

Example:

{
  "dependencies": "org.springframework:spring-core,com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core,junit:junit"
}

maven_bulk_check_stable

Checks latest stable versions for multiple dependencies.

Parameters:

• dependencies (string, required): Comma-separated list of Maven coordinates

maven_compare_versions

Compares current dependencies with their latest versions and provides update recommendations.

Parameters:

• currentDependencies (string, required): Comma-separated list of current dependencies with versions

Example:

{
  "currentDependencies": "org.springframework:spring-core:6.0.0,junit:junit:4.12"
}

Response:

{
  "comparison_date": "2025-06-07T22:38:47Z",
  "dependencies": [
    {
      "dependency": "org.springframework:spring-core:6.0.0",
      "current_version": "6.0.0",
      "latest_version": "7.0.0-M5",
      "latest_type": "milestone",
      "update_type": "major",
      "update_available": true,
      "status": "success",
      "error": null
    }
  ],
  "update_summary": {
    "major_updates": 1,
    "minor_updates": 0,
    "patch_updates": 0,
    "no_updates": 0
  }
}

Usage Examples

Getting Started Examples

Beginner:

• “What’s the latest version of Jackson?”
• “Is Spring Boot 3.5.0 available?”
• “Find the current stable version of JUnit”

Intermediate:

• “Compare my current Spring dependencies with latest stable versions”
• “What’s the latest version of each: Spring Boot, Jackson, Hibernate?”
• “Check if org.springframework:spring-core:6.0.0 should be updated”

Advanced:

• “Analyze these dependencies for updates: Spring Boot 3.1.0, Jackson 2.15.0, JUnit 4.13.2”
• “Show me version comparison with update recommendations for my project dependencies”

Common Workflow Examples

Updating a Spring Boot project:

• “What’s the latest Spring Boot version and compatible Spring Framework version?”
• “Help me upgrade from Spring Boot 3.1.0 to the latest stable version”
• “I’m using Spring Boot 3.2.0 - what’s the latest version I can safely upgrade to?”

Checking project health:

• “Compare these current versions with latest: Spring Boot 3.1.5, Jackson 2.15.2, JUnit 5.9.3”
• “What major/minor/patch updates are available for my dependencies?”
• “Show me update recommendations for my current dependency versions”

Troubleshooting Examples

Version conflicts:

• “Why can’t I find Spring Boot 3.5.1?”
• “Is there a Spring Boot 3.6.0 version available yet?”
• “What’s the difference between Spring Boot 3.5.0 and 3.5.0-RC1?”

Version validation:

• “Does Spring Boot 3.5.0 exist?”
• “Is JUnit 4.13.2 available on Maven Central?”
• “Check if these versions exist: org.springframework:spring-core:6.1.14, junit:junit:4.13.2”

Features

• Version lookup (latest, stable, or specific versions)
• Version type classification (stable, RC, beta, alpha, milestone)
• Bulk operations for multiple dependencies
• Version comparison tools
• Caching for better performance
• Works with MCP-compatible AI assistants

Note: Snapshot versions are not supported. This is because the Maven Central API does not index or provide access to snapshot artifacts. Only released versions (stable, rc, beta, alpha, milestone) are available.

Performance Notes

• Cache effectiveness: ~90% of repeated requests served from cache
• Recommended batch sizes: 10-20 dependencies for bulk operations
• First requests: Build cache (normal), subsequent requests much faster
• Cache duration: 24 hours

Alternative Setup Methods

Using Docker Compose

Alternative Claude Desktop configuration (if you prefer compose):

Download docker-compose.yml and configure:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "compose",
        "-f",
        "/absolute/path/to/docker-compose.yml",
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "maven-tools-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For development/testing only:

docker compose up -d  # Runs server in background for testing

Build from Source (for contributors)

Prerequisites:

• Java 24
• Maven 3.9+

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/arvindand/maven-tools-mcp.git
cd maven-tools-mcp

# Quick build (CI-friendly - unit tests only)
./mvnw clean package -Pci

# Full build with all tests (requires network access)
./mvnw clean package -Pfull

# Run the JAR
java -jar target/maven-tools-mcp-0.1.3-SNAPSHOT.jar

Claude Desktop configuration for JAR:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "maven-tools": {
      "command": "java",
      "args": [
        "-jar",
        "/absolute/path/to/maven-tools-mcp-0.1.3-SNAPSHOT.jar"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Build Scripts

For easier builds, use the provided scripts in the build/ folder:

# Linux/macOS - Complete build helper
./build/build.sh

# Windows - Complete build helper
.\build\build-windows.cmd

Enterprise & Custom Clients

This server implements MCP Protocol 2024-11-05 with stdio transport, making it compatible with any MCP-compliant client.

Configuration

The server can be configured via application.yaml:

# Cache configuration
spring:
  cache:
    type: caffeine
    caffeine:
      spec: maximumSize=2000,expireAfterWrite=3600s

# Maven Central API settings
maven:
  central:
    base-url: https://search.maven.org/solrsearch/select
    timeout: 10s
    max-results: 100

# Logging (minimal for MCP stdio transport)
logging:
  level:
    root: ERROR

Technical Details

• Framework: Spring Boot 3.5.0 with Spring AI MCP
• MCP Protocol: 2024-11-05
• Java Version: 24
• Transport: stdio
• HTTP Client: Spring Web RestClient
• Cache: Caffeine (24-hour TTL, 2000 entries max)
• API: Maven Central Search API

References & Resources

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

• Official Website: modelcontextprotocol.io
• GitHub Repository: modelcontextprotocol/specification
• Protocol Documentation: MCP Specification

Spring AI MCP

• Documentation: Spring AI MCP Reference
• GitHub: spring-projects/spring-ai

Maven Central API

• Search API: search.maven.org
• REST API Guide: Using the REST API

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Arvind Menon

• GitHub: @arvindand
• Version: 0.1.3-SNAPSHOT