Core Features

Overview of Arch MCP capabilities

Arch MCP Server provides three types of capabilities that work together to enable intelligent interaction with the Arch Linux ecosystem.

🔍 Resources

URI-based access to Arch ecosystem data - read documentation, package info, and system state.

Resources Reference

23+ URI schemes for accessing Arch Wiki, AUR packages, official repos, system data, logs, news, configuration, and mirrors

Direct access to Arch Wiki documentation through URI schemes

What you can do:

• Access Arch Wiki pages in Markdown format
• Fetch PKGBUILD files with safety annotations
• Query AUR package metadata
• Look up official repository packages
• List installed packages (Arch only)

🛠️ Tools

Executable functions for search, security analysis, and package installation.

Tools Reference

41 tools organized into 9 categories: discovery, lifecycle, maintenance, organization, security, monitoring, history, mirrors, and configuration

Security analysis tools providing comprehensive package safety checks

What you can do:

• Search Arch Wiki and AUR packages
• Analyze PKGBUILD files for security risks
• Evaluate package trustworthiness
• Check for system updates safely
• Install packages with automated security checks

📋 Prompts

Guided multi-step workflows that combine resources and tools for complex tasks.

Prompts Reference

8 intelligent workflows for troubleshooting, security audits, dependency analysis, system updates, cleanup, and health checks

Intelligent workflows that combine multiple tools for complex tasks

What you can do:

• Diagnose system issues with Wiki-guided solutions
• Audit AUR packages before installation
• Plan installations by analyzing dependencies

Feature Comparison

Quick reference to understand what each capability type offers:

Capability	Count	Access Method	Use When	Example
Resources	23+	URI schemes	Need raw data or documentation	archwiki://Systemd
Tools	41	Function calls	Need to perform operations	search_aur query="vim"
Prompts	8	Workflow triggers	Need guided multi-step process	audit_aur_package

Best Practice: Combine all three types for powerful workflows! Resources provide data, Tools perform operations, and Prompts orchestrate complex tasks.

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How They Work Together

See how Resources, Tools, and Prompts combine to solve real problems.

Interactive Workflow Example

1. User asks a security question

   User Query:

   I want to install neofetch from AUR, but I'm concerned about security
   

   The AI assistant automatically determines the best workflow for this request.

2. Resource: Fetch PKGBUILD

   Resource Access:

   aur://neofetch/pkgbuild
   

   The system uses the PKGBUILD resource to fetch the raw build script for inspection.

   Resources provide read-only access to data without executing anything.

3. Tool: Analyze PKGBUILD Safety

   Tool Execution:

   analyze_pkgbuild_safety package="neofetch"
   

   Scans for security threats:

   • ✅ Dangerous commands (rm -rf /, dd, etc.)
   • ✅ Suspicious downloads (curl|sh, wget|bash)
   • ✅ Obfuscated code (base64, eval)
   • ✅ Privilege escalation attempts

   This tool uses pattern matching - always manually review PKGBUILDs too!

4. Resource: Get Package Metadata

   Resource Access:

   aur://neofetch/info
   

   Provides community trust indicators:

   • Popularity votes (2,500+)
   • Maintainer information
   • Last update date
   • Package age and history
5. Tool: Evaluate Trust Score

   Tool Execution:

   analyze_package_metadata_risk package="neofetch"
   

   Evaluates:

   • Is the maintainer trustworthy?
   • How popular is this package?
   • Is it actively maintained?
   • Any red flags in metadata?

   Trust score: 85/100 - High community trust

6. Tool: Secure Installation

   Tool Execution:

   install_package_secure package="neofetch" aur=true
   

   If security checks pass:

   • Presents comprehensive security report
   • Asks for final confirmation
   • Handles installation with AUR helper
   • Logs transaction for audit trail

   Use install_package_secure instead of manual installation for built-in safety!

Result: You get a secure, well-informed AUR package installation with full understanding of what’s being installed and why it’s safe.

Automation: The entire workflow above can be triggered with a single prompt: audit_aur_package package="neofetch"

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Workflow Visualization

Pro Tip: You don’t need to know all this! Just ask in natural language, and the AI figures out the optimal workflow.

Capability Statistics

23 Resources

URI-based data access for Wiki pages, PKGBUILDs, package info, and system data

41 Tools

Executable functions across 9 categories for all Arch Linux operations

8 Prompts

Guided workflows for troubleshooting, auditing, system updates, cleanup, and health checks

Tools by Category

Category	Tool Count	Permission	Common Uses
🔍 Discovery & Information	6	Read	Search Wiki/AUR, get news
📦 Package Lifecycle	4	Write	Install, update, remove packages
🔧 Package Maintenance	7	Mixed	Verify, mark, clean orphans
📁 File Organization	5	Read	Find owners, list files, search
🔒 Security Analysis	2	Read	PKGBUILD/metadata scanning
📊 System Monitoring	5	Read	Disk space, services, logs
📜 Transaction History	4	Read	Audit package operations
🌐 Mirror Management	4	Read	Test speed, suggest mirrors
⚙️ Configuration	4	Read	Parse pacman/makepkg configs

Platform Support:

• 17 tools work on any platform (use remote APIs)
• 24 tools require Arch Linux (use local system)
• All resources work on any platform

Learn More

Security Features

PKGBUILD analysis and safety mechanisms

Examples

Practical usage scenarios

Architecture

Design and implementation details