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Overview

The aguara discover command scans well-known paths for MCP (Model Context Protocol) client configurations across 17 supported applications. It identifies installed clients and lists their configured servers.

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Usage

aguara discover [flags]

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Examples

# Discover MCP clients (tree view)
aguara discover

# JSON output for automation
aguara discover --format json

# Markdown output for documentation
aguara discover --format markdown

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Flags

The discover command accepts no arguments and uses only global flags:
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--format
string
default:"terminal"
Output format.Valid values:
  • terminal - Tree-style view with client details
  • json - Structured JSON for parsing
  • markdown (or md) - Markdown tables
aguara discover --format json

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Output Formats

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Terminal (default)

Tree-style view showing discovered clients and their configured servers: 
$ aguara discover

Discovered 3 MCP clients with 5 total servers:

├─ Claude Desktop (macOS)
│  ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json
│  ├─ filesystem
│  └─ memory
│
├─ Cline (VS Code)
│  ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
│  ├─ github
│  ├─ puppeteer
│  └─ brave-search
│
└─ Continue (VS Code)
   ~/.continue/config.json
   └─ fetch

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JSON

Structured output for automation and integration: 
$ aguara discover --format json

{
  "clients": [
    {
      "name": "Claude Desktop (macOS)",
      "path": "/Users/username/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json",
      "servers": [
        {
          "name": "filesystem",
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem"]
        },
        {
          "name": "memory",
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "Cline (VS Code)",
      "path": "/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json",
      "servers": [
        {
          "name": "github",
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "total_clients": 2,
  "total_servers": 3
}

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Markdown

Markdown tables for documentation: 
$ aguara discover --format markdown

## MCP Client Discovery

Found 2 clients with 3 total servers.

### Claude Desktop (macOS)

**Config:** `~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

| Server | Command | Args |
|--------|---------|------|
| filesystem | npx | -y, @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem |
| memory | npx | -y, @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory |

### Cline (VS Code)

**Config:** `~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json`

| Server | Command | Args |
|--------|---------|------|
| github | npx | -y, @modelcontextprotocol/server-github |

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Supported Clients

Aguara discovers configurations for 17 MCP-compatible clients:

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Desktop Applications

  • Claude Desktop (macOS)
  • Claude Desktop (Windows)
  • Zed Editor

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VS Code Extensions

  • Cline (formerly Roo-Cline)
  • Continue
  • Sourcegraph Cody
  • GitHub Copilot Chat
  • Aide

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JetBrains IDEs

  • IntelliJ IDEA
  • PyCharm
  • WebStorm
  • GoLand

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Other Editors

  • Emacs
  • Neovim
  • Jupyter

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CLI Tools

  • mcp (official CLI client)

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Discovery Paths

Aguara scans well-known configuration locations based on your operating system:

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macOS

~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/
~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/
~/.config/zed/
~/.emacs.d/
~/.config/nvim/

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Linux

~/.config/claude/
~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/
~/.config/JetBrains/
~/.config/zed/
~/.emacs.d/
~/.config/nvim/

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Windows

%APPDATA%\Claude\
%APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\
%APPDATA%\JetBrains\
%APPDATA%\Zed\

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Use Cases

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Inventory MCP installations

Discover what MCP clients and servers are installed on your machine: 
aguara discover

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Auto-scan all discovered configs

Combine with aguara scan --auto to scan all discovered configurations: 
# First, see what will be scanned
aguara discover

# Then scan all discovered configs
aguara scan --auto

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Export for documentation

Generate markdown documentation of your MCP setup: 
aguara discover --format markdown > mcp-inventory.md

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Automation and CI

Use JSON output in scripts and CI pipelines: 
# Count total MCP servers
aguara discover --format json | jq '.total_servers'

# List all server names
aguara discover --format json | jq -r '.clients[].servers[].name'

# Find configs using npx (potential security risk)
aguara discover --format json | jq -r '.clients[].servers[] | select(.command == "npx") | .name'

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No Clients Found

If no MCP clients are discovered: 
$ aguara discover

No MCP configurations found.
This means:
  • No supported MCP clients are installed
  • Clients are installed in non-standard locations
  • Configuration files don’t exist yet

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Security Scanning

After discovering MCP configurations, scan them for vulnerabilities: 
# Scan all discovered configs automatically
aguara scan --auto

# Or scan specific discovered config
aguara scan ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json
See aguara scan for scanning options.

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Exit Codes

CodeMeaning
0Discovery completed successfully (even if no clients found)
1Error during discovery process

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