Optics MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the Optics Design System, enabling LLMs to understand and work with design tokens, components, and documentation from https://docs.optics.rolemodel.design.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Understanding Optics

If you're an AI agent, read SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md FIRST!

Optics uses a sophisticated HSL-based color system that's different from typical design systems. The system overview explains:

• Why there's no --color-primary token (use --op-color-primary-base instead)
• The three-layer token architecture (HSL base → Scale → On tokens)
• How to find and use the correct tokens
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Key insight: Optics has 500+ color tokens organized as a predictable scale system, not simple name-value pairs.

Overview

This MCP server provides 14 tools and resources for working with the Optics design system:

• 83 Design Tokens: Real HSL-based colors, calc-based spacing, typography, borders, and shadows
• 24 Components: All Optics components with accurate token dependencies extracted from SCSS
• 7 Core Tools: Query tokens, components, and documentation
• 7 Advanced Tools: Theme generation, validation, accessibility checking, code scaffolding, and style guide generation
• 5 MCP Prompts: Pre-configured workflows for common design system tasks
• Documentation: Design system guidelines and best practices

Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph "MCP Client (AI/LLM)"
        CLIENT[AI Agent/LLM]
    end

    subgraph "Optics MCP Server"
        SERVER[MCP Server<br/>stdio transport]

        subgraph "Resources (13)"
            SYSTEM[optics://system-overview]
            DOC_INTRO[optics://documentation/introduction]
            DOC_START[optics://documentation/getting-started]
            DOC_TOKENS[optics://documentation/design-tokens]
            DOC_COLOR[optics://documentation/color-system]
            DOC_SPACING[optics://documentation/spacing]
            DOC_TYPO[optics://documentation/typography]
            DOC_COMP[optics://documentation/components]
            DOC_A11Y[optics://documentation/accessibility]
            TOK_ALL[optics://tokens/all]
            TOK_COLOR[optics://tokens/color]
            TOK_SPACING[optics://tokens/spacing]
            TOK_TYPO[optics://tokens/typography]
            COMP_ALL[optics://components/all]
        end

        subgraph "Core Tools (7)"
            T1[get_token]
            T2[search_tokens]
            T3[get_token_usage_stats]
            T4[get_component_info]
            T5[list_components]
            T6[get_component_tokens]
            T7[search_documentation]
        end

        subgraph "Advanced Tools (7)"
            T8[generate_theme]
            T9[validate_token_usage]
            T10[replace_hard_coded_values]
            T11[check_contrast]
            T12[suggest_token_migration]
            T13[generate_component_scaffold]
            T14[generate_sticker_sheet]
        end

        subgraph "Prompts (5)"
            P1[start-here]
            P2[get-token-reference]
            P3[component-guide]
            P4[theme-customization]
            P5[migration-guide]
        end

        subgraph "Data Layer"
            TOKENS[83 Design Tokens<br/>HSL colors, spacing,<br/>typography, borders, shadows]
            COMPONENTS[24 Components<br/>with token dependencies]
            DOCS[Documentation<br/>Guidelines & best practices]
        end
    end

    CLIENT -->|JSON-RPC| SERVER
    SERVER --> SYSTEM
    SERVER --> DOC_INTRO
    SERVER --> DOC_START
    SERVER --> DOC_TOKENS
    SERVER --> DOC_COLOR
    SERVER --> DOC_SPACING
    SERVER --> DOC_TYPO
    SERVER --> DOC_COMP
    SERVER --> DOC_A11Y
    SERVER --> TOK_ALL
    SERVER --> TOK_COLOR
    SERVER --> TOK_SPACING
    SERVER --> TOK_TYPO
    SERVER --> COMP_ALL
    SERVER --> T1
    SERVER --> T2
    SERVER --> T3
    SERVER --> T4
    SERVER --> T5
    SERVER --> T6
    SERVER --> T7
    SERVER --> T8
    SERVER --> T9
    SERVER --> T10
    SERVER --> T11
    SERVER --> T12
    SERVER --> T13
    SERVER --> T14
    SERVER --> P1
    SERVER --> P2
    SERVER --> P3
    SERVER --> P4
    SERVER --> P5
    T1 --> TOKENS
    T2 --> TOKENS
    T3 --> TOKENS
    T4 --> COMPONENTS
    T5 --> COMPONENTS
    T6 --> COMPONENTS
    T7 --> DOCS
    T8 --> TOKENS
    T9 --> TOKENS
    T10 --> TOKENS
    T11 --> TOKENS
    T12 --> TOKENS
    T13 --> COMPONENTS
    T14 --> TOKENS
    T14 --> COMPONENTS
    P1 --> SYSTEM
    P2 --> TOKENS
    P3 --> COMPONENTS
    P4 --> T8
    P5 --> T12

Installation

VS Code 🎨

Quick Setup:

1. Command Palette → MCP: Open User Configuration
2. Add this configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "optics": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@rolemodel/optics-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Open GitHub Copilot in Agent Mode
4. Click the tools icon to see Optics tools available

Or create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace with the same config.

Official MCP Registry: Listed at registry.modelcontextprotocol.io ✅

Cursor 🎯

One-Click Install (click to open Cursor):

cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=optics&config=eyJvcHRpY3MiOnsiY29tbWFuZCI6Im5weCIsImFyZ3MiOlsiLXkiLCJvcHRpY3MtbWNwIl19fQ==

Or Manual Setup:

1. Open Cursor Settings → MCP
2. Add this configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "optics": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@rolemodel/optics-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Chat with Cursor AI to access Optics tools

Quick Start (Zero-Install) ⚡

The easiest way to use Optics MCP - no installation required!

Claude Desktop

Add to your MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optics": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@rolemodel/optics-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code CLI

Add with a single command:

claude mcp add optics -- npx -y optics-mcp

Other useful commands:

# List all MCP servers
claude mcp list

# Remove the Optics server
claude mcp remove optics

# View server details
claude mcp get optics

# Test the connection
claude mcp test optics

That's it! The server runs automatically whenever your MCP client needs it.

Local Installation (For Development)

If you want to modify the server or contribute:

git clone https://github.com/RoleModel/optics-mcp.git
cd optics-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Then configure with the local path:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "optics": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/optics-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Running Directly

npm start

Available Tools (14 Total)

For detailed documentation of all tools, see TOOLS.md.

Core Tools

get_token

Get detailed information about a specific design token.

search_tokens

Search for design tokens by category or name pattern.

get_token_usage_stats

Get statistics about design token usage across the system.

get_component_info

Get detailed information about a component including its design token dependencies.

list_components

List all available components in the design system.

get_component_tokens

Get all design tokens used by a specific component.

search_documentation

Search through Optics documentation.

Advanced Tools

generate_theme

Create a custom branded theme with CSS variables and Figma Variables JSON.

• Outputs HSL-based theme overrides
• Generates Figma Variables format
• Creates theme preview

validate_token_usage

Find hard-coded values in code that should use design tokens.

• Detects colors, spacing, fonts, borders, shadows
• Suggests token replacements
• Validates token usage

replace_hard_coded_values

Automatically replace hard-coded values with design tokens.

• Manual mode: suggestions only
• Autofix mode: applies replacements
• Preserves code structure

check_contrast

Check WCAG color contrast ratios between tokens.

• Supports AA and AAA levels
• Works with token names or hex colors
• Provides accessibility recommendations

suggest_token_migration

Suggest tokens for legacy code migration.

• Maps old values to new tokens
• Prioritizes semantic tokens
• Provides rationale

generate_component_scaffold

Generate component code with Optics tokens.

• React, Vue, Svelte, HTML support
• Pre-configured with design tokens
• TypeScript types included

generate_sticker_sheet

Generate a visual style guide showing all design tokens and components.

• Complete color palettes with swatches
• Typography scale examples
• Spacing visualizations
• Component examples
• Multi-framework support (React, Vue, Svelte, HTML)
• Production-ready code output

Available Resources

The server exposes the following resources via the optics:// URI scheme:

Documentation

• optics://documentation/introduction - Overview of Optics
• optics://documentation/getting-started - Getting started guide
• optics://documentation/design-tokens - Design token documentation
• optics://documentation/color-system - Color system guide
• optics://documentation/spacing - Spacing system guide
• optics://documentation/typography - Typography guide
• optics://documentation/components - Component library overview
• optics://documentation/accessibility - Accessibility guidelines

Tokens

• optics://tokens/all - All design tokens
• optics://tokens/color - Color tokens only
• optics://tokens/spacing - Spacing tokens only
• optics://tokens/typography - Typography tokens only

Components

• optics://components/all - All components

Design System Overview

Design Token Categories

1. Colors (25 tokens): HSL-based color system with primary, neutral, and alert colors
2. Spacing (11 tokens): calc-based rem units with base-10 scale (2px to 80px)
3. Typography (32 tokens): Noto Sans/Serif fonts with sizes, weights, and line heights
4. Borders (10 tokens): Border radius (small to pill) and widths
5. Shadows (5 tokens): Elevation system (x-small to x-large)

Components (24 Total)

All components extracted from real Optics SCSS with accurate token dependencies:

• Accordion: Collapsible content panel
• Alert: Notification messages (warning, danger, info, notice)
• Avatar: User profile pictures
• Badge: Status indicators and labels
• Breadcrumbs: Navigation hierarchy
• Button: Interactive buttons with variants
• ButtonGroup: Grouped button container
• Card: Content containers with elevation
• ConfirmDialog: Action confirmation modals
• Divider: Content separators
• Form: Input fields, textareas, selects
• Icon: Material Symbols icons
• Modal: Overlay dialogs
• Navbar: Top navigation
• Pagination: Page navigation
• SidePanel: Sliding side panels
• Sidebar: Side navigation
• Spinner: Loading indicators
• Switch: Toggle switches
• Tab: Tabbed interfaces
• Table: Data tables
• Tag: Categorization labels
• TextPair: Label-value pairs
• Tooltip: Contextual information

Each component specifies which Optics design tokens it uses, making it easy to understand dependencies and maintain consistency.

Development

Build

npm run build

Watch Mode

npm run watch

Project Structure

optics-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts          # MCP server implementation
│   └── optics-data.ts    # Design tokens and component data
├── dist/                 # Compiled JavaScript
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

Token Usage Tracking

The server tracks which design tokens are used by each component, enabling:

• Dependency Analysis: Understand which tokens a component relies on
• Impact Analysis: See which components are affected by token changes
• Usage Statistics: Get insights into token usage patterns

Contributing

To add new design tokens or components:

1. Edit src/optics-data.ts
2. Add tokens to the designTokens array
3. Add components to the components array, specifying their token dependencies
4. Rebuild the project: npm run build

License

MIT

Links

• Optics Design System Documentation
• Model Context Protocol
• MCP TypeScript SDK