Documentation Lookup via Context7
Context7 provides up-to-date documentation and code examples for libraries and frameworks. When working with fast changing libraries always use this skill instead of relying on potentially stale training data.
When to use
- •You need current documentation for a library (React, Zod, Express, Next.js, etc.)
- •You want code examples from official docs
- •A specific library version requires up-to-date API references
- •Your knowledge of a library's API might be outdated
Prerequisites
- •mcporter installed as a devDependency (
bun add -d mcporter) or available vianpx - •CONTEXT7_API_KEY (optional) — set in
.env.localfor higher rate limits. Without a key, calls are rate-limited.
CLI quick reference
Step 1: Resolve a library name to a Context7 ID
npx mcporter call 'context7.resolve-library-id(query: "react useEffect cleanup", libraryName: "react")'
Both parameters are required:
- •
libraryName— the package/library name to search for - •
query— your actual question or task; Context7 uses this to rank results by relevance
Use specific, descriptive queries for better ranking. query: "react" returns generic results; query: "react useEffect cleanup" returns results weighted toward that topic.
The response lists matching libraries with their Context7-compatible IDs (format: /org/project). Pick the best match.
Step 2: Query documentation
npx mcporter call 'context7.query-docs(libraryId: "/websites/react_dev", query: "react useEffect cleanup")'
Both parameters are required:
- •
libraryId— the ID from step 1 (e.g.,/websites/react_dev) - •
query— a specific question; be detailed for better results
Returns documentation snippets with code examples and source links.
One-liner example
# Resolve + query in sequence (same query threads through both steps) npx mcporter call 'context7.resolve-library-id(query: "zod parse vs safeParse", libraryName: "zod")' && \ npx mcporter call 'context7.query-docs(libraryId: "/colinhacks/zod", query: "zod parse vs safeParse")'
API notes
- •The MCP tool names are
resolve-library-idandquery-docs(notget-library-docs) - •Both tools require a
queryparameter alongside the primary identifier - •The MCP server returns human-readable text (not JSON) — this is intentional, as MCP is designed for LLM consumption
- •For programmatic JSON access, Context7 also offers a REST API:
GET /api/v2/libs/searchandGET /api/v2/context— see context7.com/docs/api-guide
TypeScript usage
The scripts/ subfolder contains reference TypeScript code using mcporter's programmatic API:
- •
scripts/context7-client.ts— Reusable client: resolve libraries, query docs, extract headlines - •
scripts/context7-docs.ts— CLI demo:bun .agents/skills/docs-context7/scripts/context7-docs.ts [library] [query]
These scripts require mcporter to be installed (bun add -d mcporter).