Apple Developer Docs MCP Server

Overview

Apple Developer Docs MCP Server exposes Apple’s official developer documentation through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It lets MCP-compatible AI assistants (Claude, Cursor, VS Code MCP, Zed, etc.) query Apple’s documentation using natural language and receive precise context snippets: API references, code examples (Swift/Objective‑C), framework hierarchies, and WWDC session transcripts. The server acts as a local bridge to Apple’s JSON doc corpus, optimized for on‑demand retrieval by code assistants.

For developers, this means you can ask an AI assistant targeted questions like “How do I present a sheet in SwiftUI with iOS 17 compatibility?” or “Show me the Objective‑C API for AVPlayer” and receive immediate, citation‑anchored results from the official docs. The MCP server is designed to integrate into your assistant config with minimal setup and supports platform/SDK filtering, related‑API discovery, and indexed WWDC content.

GitHub: https://github.com/kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp

Features

• Smart natural‑language search across Apple Developer Documentation (Swift, Objective‑C, framework guides, and WWDC)
• Access to Apple’s JSON documentation corpus: API references, sample code, and guides
• Hierarchical framework index and technology catalog (SwiftUI, UIKit, Foundation, Metal, Core ML, ARKit, Vision, etc.)
• WWDC session database with timestamps, transcripts, and code excerpts
• Related API discovery and compatibility metadata (platform and SDK version info)
• Fast, local MCP server with optimized request/response for editors and chat assistants
• UserAgent rotation and retry logic to improve stability and reduce request failures
• Support for MCP hosts: Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Zed, Windsurf, Cline, and others

Installation / Configuration

The server is distributed via npm and is typically invoked with npx. Examples below show common MCP host configurations.

Quick start (recommended for Claude Desktop)

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

JSON config snippet:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Force latest:

"args": ["-y", "@kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp@latest"]

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add apple-docs -- npx -y @kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp@latest

Cursor

• Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new global MCP server Or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-docs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code MCP Add to your settings or MCP config:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "apple-docs": {
        "type": "stdio",
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows (cmd wrapper)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-docs": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

After adding the server, restart your assistant/editor to pick up the new MCP entry.

Available Resources

• Framework index: hierarchical view of iOS/macOS/watchOS/tvOS/visionOS frameworks and symbols
• API references: typed entries (methods, properties, initializers) with platform availability
• Sample code library: Swift and Objective‑C snippets extracted from official docs and WWDC demos
• WWDC video library: session list, timestamps, transcripts, and linked sample code
• Technology overviews and migration notes (beta APIs, deprecations, platform compatibility)

Platform compatibility snapshot:

Use Cases

• AI‑assisted code generation: Ask an assistant to produce SwiftUI view examples that use a specific API and receive doc‑backed snippets.
• Quick API lookups inside editors: While coding in VS Code or Zed, query the MCP server to fetch canonical method signatures and availability.
• WWDC research: Ask for sessions about App Intents, Swift concurrency, or VisionKit and get transcripts and code snippets with links.
• Code review / PR automation: Integrate doc lookups into CI or bots to validate API usage and compatibility across SDK versions.
• Onboarding and learning: New engineers can query for platform guides (e.g., “How does Combine work with async/await?”) and get concise doc summaries plus examples.

Tips & Troubleshooting

• If you see stale behavior, append @latest to the npm package in your args to force an update.
• The server uses a rotating UserAgent pool to avoid request throttling; transient failures are retried automatically.
• If your host requires a different command/arg format (Windows shells, custom runtimes), wrap the npx invocation accordingly.

For full source, issues, and contribution guidelines, see the repository: https://github.com/kimsungwhee/apple-docs-mcp