Installation

Prerequisites

Node.js: Version 24+ (LTS)
- The engines field in @frontmcp/sdk and frontmcp requires Node 24+. FrontMCP is developed and tested on Node 24.
npm ≥ 10 (pnpm / yarn work too)
TypeScript project (the init command can set this up)

Standard
Nx Monorepo

Option A — Create a new project

Use the built-in project generator. It will create a new folder under your current directory.

npx frontmcp create my-app

pnpm dlx frontmcp create my-app

yarn dlx frontmcp create my-app

The create command is interactive by default:

? Project name: my-app
? Deployment target:
  > Node.js (Docker)
    Vercel (Serverless)
    AWS Lambda
    Cloudflare Workers
? Redis setup: (Docker target only)
  > Docker Compose
    Existing Redis
    None
? Enable GitHub Actions CI/CD? (Y/n)

Use --yes (or -y) to skip prompts and use defaults.

CLI Flags

Flag	Description	Default
`--yes, -y`	Use defaults (non-interactive)	-
`--target <type>`	Deployment: `node`, `vercel`, `lambda`, `cloudflare`	`node`
`--redis <setup>`	Redis: `docker`, `existing`, `none`	`docker`
`--cicd / --no-cicd`	Enable GitHub Actions	`--cicd`
`--pm <manager>`	Package manager: `npm`, `yarn`, `pnpm`	`npm`

Examples:

# Interactive mode (default)
npx frontmcp create my-app

# Non-interactive with defaults
npx frontmcp create my-app --yes

# Vercel target with CI/CD
npx frontmcp create my-app --target vercel

# Use pnpm as package manager
npx frontmcp create my-app --pm pnpm --yes

# Docker without Redis
npx frontmcp create my-app --target node --redis none --no-cicd

This will:

scaffold a FrontMCP project in ./my-app
configure tsconfig.json for decorators and modern ESM
generate a package.json with helpful scripts
create deployment configuration for your target (Dockerfile, vercel.json, etc.)
generate GitHub Actions workflows (if enabled)
install required dev dependencies (e.g. TypeScript, tsx, zod, reflect-metadata)

Option B — Add to an existing project

Install the SDK, CLI, and Node types:

npm i @frontmcp/sdk reflect-metadata
npm i -D frontmcp @types/node@^24

pnpm add @frontmcp/sdk reflect-metadata
pnpm add -D frontmcp @types/node@^24

yarn add @frontmcp/sdk reflect-metadata
yarn add -D frontmcp @types/node@^24

Then initialize FrontMCP in your project root:

npx frontmcp init

init will:

create or update your tsconfig.json with the required decorator settings (experimentalDecorators, emitDecoratorMetadata, target: es2021, module: esnext)

Package scripts

After create, you’ll have these scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "frontmcp dev",
    "build": "frontmcp build",
    "inspect": "frontmcp inspector",
    "doctor": "frontmcp doctor",
    "test": "frontmcp test"
  }
}

What they do

frontmcp dev — run your server in watch mode (tsx)
frontmcp build — bundle your entry for the configured deployment target (outputs to ./dist by default)
frontmcp inspector — launch the MCP Inspector (npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector)
frontmcp doctor — validate Node/npm versions, tsconfig, and project setup
frontmcp test — run E2E tests with the auto-injected Jest configuration

Verify your setup

Run:

npm run doctor

If anything is missing or misconfigured (Node/npm versions, tsconfig.json, scripts), doctor will tell you exactly what to fix.

Option A — New monorepo

Scaffold a complete FrontMCP Nx workspace from scratch:

npx frontmcp create my-workspace --nx

pnpm dlx frontmcp create my-workspace --nx --pm pnpm

npx frontmcp create my-workspace --nx --pm yarn

This creates:

Nx workspace with nx.json configuration
apps/, libs/, servers/ directory structure
@frontmcp/sdk, frontmcp, @frontmcp/nx pre-installed
Sample application (optional)
TypeScript, Jest, ESLint pre-configured

Option B — Existing Nx workspace

Add @frontmcp/nx to an existing Nx workspace:

npm install -D @frontmcp/nx @frontmcp/sdk frontmcp @frontmcp/testing

yarn add -D @frontmcp/nx @frontmcp/sdk frontmcp @frontmcp/testing

pnpm add -D @frontmcp/nx @frontmcp/sdk frontmcp @frontmcp/testing

Ensure your tsconfig.base.json includes decorator support:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "experimentalDecorators": true,
    "emitDecoratorMetadata": true,
    "target": "es2022",
    "module": "esnext",
    "strict": true
  }
}

Verify installation

List available generators to confirm the plugin is installed:

nx list @frontmcp/nx

You should see all generators and executors listed.

Nx commands

After setting up your workspace, use Nx to manage projects:

# Generate a new app
nx g @frontmcp/nx:app my-app

# Generate a shared library
nx g @frontmcp/nx:lib shared-utils

# Generate a tool in an app
nx g @frontmcp/nx:tool my-tool --project my-app

# Start dev server
nx dev my-app

# Build all projects
nx run-many -t build

# Run all tests
nx run-many -t test

See the full Nx Plugin documentation for all 20 generators and 7 executors.

Next steps

Start developing: npm run dev (standard) or nx dev <app> (Nx)
Build for distribution: npm run build (standard) or nx build <project> (Nx)
Explore tools and messages live: npm run inspect (standard) or nx inspector <app> (Nx)

Get Started

Concepts

Build

Deploy

Plugins

Adapters

Extensibility

Testing

React SDK

Guides

Prerequisites

Option A — Create a new project

CLI Flags

Option B — Add to an existing project

Package scripts

Verify your setup

Option A — New monorepo

Option B — Existing Nx workspace

Verify installation

Nx commands

Next steps

​Prerequisites

​Option A — Create a new project

​CLI Flags

​Option B — Add to an existing project

​Package scripts

​Verify your setup

​Option A — New monorepo

​Option B — Existing Nx workspace

​Verify installation

​Nx commands

​Next steps

Prerequisites

Option A — Create a new project

CLI Flags

Option B — Add to an existing project

Package scripts

Verify your setup

Option A — New monorepo

Option B — Existing Nx workspace

Verify installation

Nx commands

Next steps