Chassis — Claude Code MCP server: Express 5 + TypeScript scaffold
Turns one agent request into a working Express 5 and TypeScript backend, with a database, auth and an optional Next.js front end. Saves you from memorising CLI flags.
claude mcp add chassis-mcp -- npx -y chassis-mcpWhat Chassis does
Three tools are exposed. list_chassis_options returns the presets, databases, auth providers and add-ons available, and you call it first while the stack is still open. create_chassis_project lays a project down in a fresh or empty folder, then hands back the layout, the API root and what to run next. chassis_conventions describes how code should be written once the scaffold exists: controllers, responses, errors, validation.
Option values come from create-chassis rather than being copied into the server, so a bad value is refused with the valid list before the CLI ever starts. The documented example — Postgres, JWT, Next.js — produces a workspaces monorepo holding apps/api and apps/web, auth on both sides, and only the modules you asked for; rejected ones are stripped from the source and from package.json.
A target directory with anything in it is refused outright. install sits at false because installing is slow, so run npm install yourself or pass install: true. Scaffolding pulls the template from GitHub, which means the machine needs network access. Note this is not the MCP server shipped inside a generated project (npm run mcp) — that one exposes the project's own API as tools.
What it helps with
- scaffold an Express 5 and TypeScript backend without picking CLI flags by hand
- set up a monorepo with an API and a Next.js front end
- wire Postgres and auth into both apps at once
- start from a project that already passes types, lint and tests
- drop modules you declined from the template
Example prompts for the agent
- Show me which presets and databases Chassis offers
- Read
./shop/AGENTS.mdand write an orders controller following those rules
How to install Chassis
Platform CLI
claude mcp add chassis-mcp -- npx -y chassis-mcpPlatform CLI
codex mcp add mcp-server -- npx -y chassis-mcpConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"chassis-mcp"
]
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"chassis-mcp"
]
}
}
}Platform CLI
gemini mcp add mcp-server npx -y chassis-mcpStep by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about Chassis
How do I install Chassis in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add chassis-mcp -- npx -y chassis-mcp. Nothing needs to be installed globally; the server starts through npx.
What does Chassis do?
It scaffolds a Chassis backend on Express 5 and TypeScript, with a database, an auth provider and an optional Next.js front end. The agent picks the CLI parameters for you.
How is it different from npm run mcp inside a generated project?
That server exposes the API of a project you already have. Chassis creates projects instead of working with them.
