# tech-debt-mcp

Scans 14 languages for tech debt, from stray console.log calls to Swift force unwraps, and scores the result on the SQALE scale.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 7
- Author: PierreJanineh
- License: MIT · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/PierreJanineh/TechDebtMCP
- Updated: 2026-07-26
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/tech-debt-mcp

## What it does

The server hands your agent 16 tools and 2 resources for code inspection. Checks are grouped by language: JavaScript gets `console.log`, `debugger` and `var`, TypeScript gets `any` and `@ts-ignore`, Python gets bare `except` and `print`, Rust gets `unwrap` and `unsafe`. SwiftUI has its own set covering view nesting, memory leaks, state handling and concurrency.

Debt is scored with SQALE on an A-to-E scale. Dependency manifests are parsed across 10 ecosystems, npm, pip, Cargo, Go Modules and Composer among them. You can add pattern checks of your own through regex in `.techdebtrc.json`, and silence false positives with a `// techdebt-ignore-next-line` comment. Filtering works by severity, category or language.

It runs through `npx`, so Node.js has to be present. Nothing gets built from source: the command pulls the published package. Claude users have a second route, a plugin from the repository marketplace that runs `npx -y tech-debt-mcp@latest` underneath.

## Requirements
- Needs: Node.js (commands run via npx)

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add tech-debt-mcp -- npx -y tech-debt-mcp
```

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add tech-debt-mcp -- npx -y tech-debt-mcp
```

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "tech-debt-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "tech-debt-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "tech-debt-mcp": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "tech-debt-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add tech-debt-mcp npx -y tech-debt-mcp
```

## When to use it
- catch leftover `console.log` and `debugger` calls before a merge
- get a SQALE debt rating for a repository
- check SwiftUI views for leaks and deep nesting
- read dependency manifests across npm, pip and Cargo
- add custom regex checks and suppress false positives

## Example prompts
- Scan the `src` folder for tech debt and list only critical findings
- Compute the SQALE rating for this repository
- Validate `.techdebtrc.json` against the schema

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