modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps/add-app-to-server

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This skill should be used when the user asks to "add an app to my MCP server", "add UI to my MCP server", "add a view to my MCP tool", "enrich MCP tools with UI", "add interactive UI to existing server", "add MCP Apps to my server", or needs to add interactive UI capabilities to an existing MCP server that already has tools. Provides guidance for analyzing existing tools and adding MCP Apps UI resources.

Install

npx vskill@latest install modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps/add-app-to-server

SKILL.md

Add UI to MCP Server

Enrich an existing MCP server's tools with interactive UIs using the MCP Apps SDK (@modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps).

How It Works

Existing tools get paired with HTML resources that render inline in the host's conversation. The tool continues to work for text-only clients — UI is an enhancement, not a replacement. Each tool that benefits from UI gets linked to a resource via _meta.ui.resourceUri, and the host renders that resource in a sandboxed iframe when the tool is called.

Getting Reference Code

Clone the SDK repository for working examples and API documentation:

bash
git clone --branch "v$(npm view @modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps version)" --depth 1 https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps.git /tmp/mcp-ext-apps
API Reference (Source Files)

Read JSDoc documentation directly from /tmp/mcp-ext-apps/src/:

FileContents
src/app.tsApp class, handlers (ontoolinput, ontoolresult, onhostcontextchanged, onteardown), lifecycle
src/server/index.tsregisterAppTool, registerAppResource, getUiCapability, tool visibility options
src/spec.types.tsAll type definitions: McpUiHostContext, CSS variable keys, display modes
src/styles.tsapplyDocumentTheme, applyHostStyleVariables, applyHostFonts
src/react/useApp.tsxuseApp hook for React apps
src/react/useHostStyles.tsuseHostStyles, useHostStyleVariables, useHostFonts hooks
Key Examples (Mixed Tool Patterns)

These examples demonstrate servers with both App-enhanced and plain tools — the exact pattern you're adding:

ExamplePattern
examples/map-server/show-map (App tool) + geocode (plain tool)
examples/pdf-server/display_pdf (App tool) + list_pdfs (plain tool) + read_pdf_bytes (app-only tool)
examples/system-monitor-server/get-system-info (App tool) + poll-system-stats (app-only polling tool)
Framework Templates

Learn and adapt from /tmp/mcp-ext-apps/examples/basic-server-{framework}/:

TemplateKey Files
basic-server-vanillajs/server.ts, src/mcp-app.ts, mcp-app.html
basic-server-react/server.ts, src/mcp-app.tsx (uses useApp hook)
basic-server-vue/server.ts, src/App.vue
basic-server-svelte/server.ts, src/App.svelte
basic-server-preact/server.ts, src/mcp-app.tsx
basic-server-solid/server.ts, src/mcp-app.tsx

Step 1: Analyze Existing Tools

Before writing any code, analyze the server's existing tools and determine which ones benefit from UI.

  1. Read the server source and list all registered tools
  2. For each tool, assess whether it would benefit from UI (returns data that could be visualized, involves user interaction, etc.) vs. is fine as text-only (simple lookups, utility functions)
  3. Identify tools that could become app-only helpers (data the UI needs to poll/fetch but the model doesn't need to call directly)
  4. Present the analysis to the user and confirm which tools to enhance
Decision Framework
Tool output typeUI benefitExample
Structured data / lists / tablesHigh — interactive table, search, filteringList of items, search results
Metrics / numbers over timeHigh — charts, gauges, dashboardsSystem stats, analytics
Media / rich contentHigh — viewer, player, rendererMaps, PDFs, images, video
Simple text / confirmationsLow — text is fine"File created", "Setting updated"
Data for other toolsConsider app-onlyPolling endpoints, chunk loaders

Step 2: Add Dependencies

bash
npm install @modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps @modelcontextprotocol/client@^2.0.0 @modelcontextprotocol/server@^2.0.0 zod@^4.2.0
npm install -D vite vite-plugin-singlefile

Plus framework-specific dependencies if needed (e.g., react, react-dom, @vitejs/plugin-react for React), and @modelcontextprotocol/node / @modelcontextprotocol/express if the server uses HTTP transports.

ext-apps 2.x requires the split base MCP SDK packages at ^2.0.0 (@modelcontextprotocol/core comes in transitively). Existing servers that still import @modelcontextprotocol/sdk v1 must migrate those imports and handler schemas before adding the App integration:

SDK v1 (@modelcontextprotocol/sdk)SDK v2
sdk/server/mcp.js (McpServer)@modelcontextprotocol/server
sdk/server/streamableHttp.js (StreamableHTTPServerTransport)NodeStreamableHTTPServerTransport from @modelcontextprotocol/node
Express wiring by handcreateMcpExpressApp from @modelcontextprotocol/express
sdk/server/stdio.js@modelcontextprotocol/server/stdio
sdk/types.js types (CallToolResult, …)@modelcontextprotocol/client or @modelcontextprotocol/server
sdk/types.js zod schemas (CallToolResultSchema, …)@modelcontextprotocol/core
Raw zod shapes: inputSchema: { q: z.string() }inputSchema: z.object({ q: z.string() })
extra.signal in tool callbacksextra.mcpReq.signal
setRequestHandler(SomeRequestSchema, handler)setRequestHandler("some/method", { params: ParamsSchema }, handler) (the 2-arg form is only for spec methods such as "tools/call")

Step 3: Set Up the Build Pipeline

Vite Configuration

Create vite.config.ts with vite-plugin-singlefile to bundle the UI into a single HTML file:

typescript
import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import { viteSingleFile } from "vite-plugin-singlefile";
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [viteSingleFile()],
build: {
outDir: "dist",
rollupOptions: {
input: "mcp-app.html", // one per UI, or one shared entry
},
},
});
HTML Entry Point

Create mcp-app.html (or one per distinct UI if tools need different views):

html
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
<title>MCP App</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="root"></div>
<script type="module" src="./src/mcp-app.ts"></script>
</body>
</html>
Build Scripts

Add build scripts to package.json. The UI must be built before the server code bundles it:

json
{
"scripts": {
"build:ui": "vite build",
"build:server": "tsc",
"build": "npm run build:ui && npm run build:server",
"serve": "tsx server.ts"
}
}

Step 4: Convert Tools to App Tools

Transform plain MCP tools into App tools with UI.

Before (plain MCP tool):

typescript
server.registerTool(
"my-tool",
{ inputSchema: z.object({ param: z.string() }) },
async ({ param }) => {
const data = await fetchData(param);
return { content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(data) }] };
},
);

After (App tool with UI):

typescript
import { registerAppTool, registerAppResource, RESOURCE_MIME_TYPE } from "@modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps/server";
const resourceUri = "ui://my-tool/mcp-app.html";
registerAppTool(
server,
"my-tool",
{
description: "Shows data with an interactive UI",
inputSchema: z.object({ param: z.string() }),
_meta: { ui: { resourceUri } },
},
async ({ param }) => {
const data = await fetchData(param);
return {
content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(data) }], // text fallback for non-UI hosts
structuredContent: { data }, // structured data for the UI
};
},
);

Key guidance:

  • Always keep the `content` array with a text fallback for text-only clients
  • Add structuredContent for data the UI needs to render
  • Link the tool to its resource via _meta.ui.resourceUri
  • Leave tools that don't benefit from UI unchanged — they stay as plain tools

Step 5: Register Resources

Register the HTML resource so the host can fetch it:

typescript
import fs from "node:fs/promises";
import path from "node:path";
const resourceUri = "ui://my-tool/mcp-app.html";
registerAppResource(
server,
"My Tool UI",
resourceUri,
{},
async () => {
const html = await fs.readFile(
path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, "dist", "mcp-app.html"),
"utf-8",
);
return {
contents: [{ uri: resourceUri, mimeType: RESOURCE_MIME_TYPE, text: html }],
};
},
);

If multiple tools share the same UI, they can reference the same resourceUri and the same resource registration.

Step 6: Build the UI

Handler Registration

Register ALL handlers BEFORE calling app.connect():

typescript
import { App, PostMessageTransport, applyDocumentTheme, applyHostStyleVariables, applyHostFonts } from "@modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps";
const app = new App({ name: "My App", version: "1.0.0" });
app.ontoolinput = (params) => {
// Render the UI using params.arguments and/or params.structuredContent
};
app.ontoolresult = (result) => {
// Update UI with final tool result
};
app.onhostcontextchanged = (ctx) => {
if (ctx.theme) applyDocumentTheme(ctx.theme);
if (ctx.styles?.variables) applyHostStyleVariables(ctx.styles.variables);
if (ctx.styles?.css?.fonts) applyHostFonts(ctx.styles.css.fonts);
if (ctx.safeAreaInsets) {
const { top, right, bottom, left } = ctx.safeAreaInsets;
document.body.style.padding = `${top}px ${right}px ${bottom}px ${left}px`;
}
};
app.onteardown = async () => {
return {};
};
await app.connect(new PostMessageTransport());
Host Styling

Use host CSS variables for theme integration:

css
.container {
background: var(--color-background-secondary);
color: var(--color-text-primary);
font-family: var(--font-sans);
border-radius: var(--border-radius-md);
}

Key variable groups: --color-background-*, --color-text-*, --color-border-*, --font-sans, --font-mono, --font-text-*-size, --font-heading-*-size, --border-radius-*. See src/spec.types.ts for the full list.

For React apps, use the useApp and useHostStyles hooks instead — see basic-server-react/ for the pattern.

Optional Enhancements

App-Only Helper Tools

Tools the UI calls but the model doesn't need to invoke directly (polling, pagination, chunk loading):

typescript
registerAppTool(server, "poll-data", {
description: "Polls latest data for the UI",
_meta: { ui: { resourceUri, visibility: ["app"] } },
}, async () => {
const data = await getLatestData();
return { content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(data) }] };
});

The UI calls these via app.callServerTool({ name: "poll-data", arguments: {} }).

CSP Configuration

If the UI needs to load external resources (fonts, APIs, CDNs), declare the domains:

typescript
registerAppResource(server, "My Tool UI", resourceUri, {}, async () => ({
contents: [
{
uri: resourceUri,
mimeType: RESOURCE_MIME_TYPE,
text: html,
_meta: {
ui: {
csp: {
connectDomains: ["https://api.example.com"], // fetch/XHR targets
resourceDomains: ["https://cdn.example.com"], // scripts, styles, images
frameDomains: ["https://embed.example.com"], // nested iframes
},
},
},
},
],
}));
Streaming Partial Input

For large tool inputs, show progress during LLM generation:

typescript
app.ontoolinputpartial = (params) => {
const args = params.arguments; // Healed partial JSON - always valid
// Render preview with partial data
};
app.ontoolinput = (params) => {
// Final complete input - switch to full render
};
Graceful Degradation with getUiCapability()

Conditionally register App tools only when the client supports UI, falling back to text-only tools:

typescript
import { getUiCapability, registerAppTool, RESOURCE_MIME_TYPE } from "@modelcontextprotocol/ext-apps/server";

This is the start of the file. Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub.

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Source

Popularity

Repository stars
1,973
Repository forks
244
Repository npm downloads, 7 days
780,792
7-day trend score
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Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Downloads are for the repository's npm package. Refreshed 3 Apr 2026, 6 months ago.

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