Carbon MCP Server: Supercharge AI-Driven Development

by SLV Team 53 views
Carbon MCP Server: Supercharge AI-Driven Development

Hey guys! Let's talk about leveling up your Carbon Design System workflow with some AI magic. We're diving into a feature request for a Carbon Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that will seriously boost your AI-powered development tools. This is all about making your life easier and your code better, so stick around!

The Problem: Friction Points in Carbon Development

So, what's the deal? Developers like us often hit some snags when working with the Carbon Design System. These friction points can slow us down and make the whole process a bit of a drag. Let's break down the common issues:

  • Repetitive Boilerplate: Creating new components often feels like a copy-paste marathon. Setting up Storybook stories, writing tests, and defining TypeScript interfaces manually? It's a time-killer.
  • Manual Conversion: Got some legacy code you want to bring into the Carbon world? Get ready for some manual find-and-replace action. Converting existing components to Carbon patterns can be tedious.
  • Consistency Issues: Keeping everything aligned with Carbon design tokens can be a challenge. Without automated checks, it's easy for things to drift out of sync.
  • Validation Headaches: Ensuring your components meet Carbon guidelines and accessibility standards? That often means manual reviews and extra steps.
  • Limited AI Integration: Modern AI development tools like Cursor and Claude Dev are awesome, but they could be even better with deeper Carbon integration.

I can feel the frustration, because I've been there. Imagine creating a new Carbon component and having to manually set up all those Storybook stories, tests, and type definitions. Or trying to migrate some old code and getting lost in a sea of find-and-replace operations. And what about making sure your component is 100% Carbon-compliant? It's a lot to juggle.

The real pain comes when you realize there's no automated way to validate your work against Carbon's best practices. And let's not forget how much easier things would be if AI development tools could seamlessly access Carbon documentation and patterns. That's the dream, right?

The Solution: A Carbon MCP Server

Enter the Carbon MCP server (carbon-mcp)! This is where things get exciting. We're talking about building a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides an API specifically for Carbon development tooling. Think of it as a central hub that supercharges your workflow.

Core Features: Seven Tools to Rule Them All

This MCP server isn't just a pie-in-the-sky idea; it's packed with features designed to solve real problems. Here’s a breakdown of the seven core tools:

  1. Component Generation: Say goodbye to boilerplate! This tool automatically generates Carbon React components, complete with:

    • Component file (TSX) with TypeScript interfaces
    • Storybook story (.stories.tsx)
    • Jest tests (.test.tsx)
    • Proper Carbon imports and patterns

  2. Codemod Tools: Transform your existing code into Carbon masterpieces. This tool helps you:

    • Replace old button implementations with Carbon Button
    • Migrate custom components to Carbon equivalents
    • Automate code transformation with dry-run previews

  3. Validation: Ensure your components are always on point. This tool validates against:

    • Carbon prop patterns
    • Accessibility guidelines (WCAG)
    • Design token usage
    • TypeScript type safety

  4. Token Conversion: Easily convert design tokens across different formats, including:

    • CSS variables (--cds-token-name)
    • SCSS maps ($carbon-tokens)
    • JavaScript/TypeScript exports

  5. Documentation Search: Find what you need, fast! This tool provides semantic search of Carbon documentation, including:

    • Component API references
    • Usage patterns
    • Accessibility guidelines

  6. Theme Previews: Generate static HTML previews for all Carbon themes, so you can see how your components look in different contexts.

  7. Figma Integration: Streamline your design process with scaffolding for Figma token synchronization.

The Benefits: Why This Matters

So, why should you care about all this? Here’s the lowdown:

  • Reduce Boilerplate: Cut down on repetitive tasks by an estimated 80%. Think of all the time you'll save!
  • Ensure Compliance: Automated validation ensures your components always meet Carbon standards.
  • Seamless AI Integration: Get the most out of AI development tools with deeper Carbon awareness.
  • Lower Barrier to Entry: Make it easier for new users to get started with Carbon.

This isn't just about making things a little better; it's about transforming your entire development process. By automating the tedious stuff and providing intelligent tools, we can focus on what really matters: building amazing user experiences.

Design Specs: The Technical Details

For the tech-savvy folks, let's dive into the design specs. The server exposes a RESTful API with JSON schemas. Tools are called via HTTP POST requests. Here’s an example of how you might generate a component:

#Example: Generate a component
POST /tool/generateComponent
{
 "component_name": "PrimaryCard",
 "dry_run": true
}

This simple POST request tells the server to generate a component named PrimaryCard with a dry run enabled. This means you can preview the changes without actually modifying your code. It's all about safety and control.

Examples: Similar Solutions in the Wild

This idea isn't happening in a vacuum. There are similar solutions out there that prove this concept works:

  • Model Context Protocol: The foundation for AI tooling. Check it out at Model Context Protocol.
  • Other Design System Tooling: Look at Material-UI codemods and Chakra UI CLI for inspiration.
  • AI-Powered Development Tools: GitHub Copilot extensions and Cursor MCP servers are already pushing the boundaries.

By learning from these examples, we can create a Carbon MCP server that's truly game-changing.

Current Implementation: An MVP Ready for Review

Here's the exciting part: there's already a working MVP ready for you to check out!

This isn't just a concept; it's a real, working project that you can start using today. The MVP includes all seven core tools, comprehensive tests, and detailed documentation. And because it's licensed under MIT, you're free to use it in your own projects.

Sample Usage: Getting Your Hands Dirty

Ready to give it a spin? Here are a couple of examples to get you started:

# Generate a Carbon component
curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/tool/generateComponent \
 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
 -d '{"component_name": "PrimaryCard", "dry_run": true}'

# Search Carbon docs
curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/tool/searchDocs \
 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
 -d '{"query": "button accessibility", "k": 3}'

These simple curl commands demonstrate how easy it is to generate a Carbon component and search the documentation. Just fire up your terminal and give it a try!

Impact and Considerations

Design Impact

Good news! This feature request has no design impact, so we can focus on making the code rock-solid.

Documentation Impact

There will be some documentation updates needed. Specifically:

  • [x] The website documentation (carbondesignsystem.com)
  • [ ] Figma kit documentation
  • [ ] Storybook(s) documentation
  • [ ] I'm not sure

Package

I'm not sure about the package implications, so that's something we'll need to investigate further.

Application/PAL

No response

Business Priority

This is marked as a Low Priority, meaning the release date isn't dependent on this fix. But that doesn't mean it's not important! It just means we have some flexibility in when we roll it out.

Available Extra Resources

No response

Code of Conduct

Conclusion: Let's Make This Happen!

So, there you have it: a proposal for a Carbon MCP server that could revolutionize the way we build with the Carbon Design System. By automating the mundane, providing intelligent tools, and integrating seamlessly with AI development platforms, we can unlock a new level of productivity and creativity. What do you think? Let's discuss and make this happen!