netlify-coding-rules
ALWAYS call when writing serverless or Netlify code. required step before creating or editing any type of functions, Netlify sdk/library usage, etc.
LABSCO SUMMARY
One tool per service area keeps a large API from eating the client's tool budget.
Nine tools stand in for far more operations: each takes a schema selector and runs one named operation, and the read/write split is in the tool name itself, so a reader cannot deploy and an updater is never mistaken for a lookup. The cost is discoverability — what an updater can actually do is listed inside its description rather than in its name, which is how manage-env-vars and initialize-database end up behind generic-sounding tools. netlify-coding-rules is positioned as a required first call before writing functions or SDK code, so a coding session starts with a call that returns rules rather than data.
What it is
A server over the Netlify API grouped by service — user, team, project, deploy and extension — with a reader and, where writes exist, an updater, each dispatching to named operations.
What you get
- Deploys read and created: get-deploy and get-deploy-for-site on the reader, deploy-site on the updater
- Project administration in one place — create-new-project, update-project-name, manage-env-vars, update-visitor-access-controls, update-forms and manage-form-submissions
- Project and form reads through get-project, get-projects and get-forms-for-project
- Account context from get-user, get-teams and get-team
- Extensions listed and detailed, then acted on with change-extension-installation and initialize-database
- netlify-coding-rules, which the server asks to be called before any Netlify function or SDK code is written
Requirements
A Netlify account, with the team and project you intend to act on already created in it.
Setup effort
One command — npx -y @netlify/mcp
USE CASES
01
Shipping a build to production
Confirm which project you are pointed at, run the deploy through the updater, and read the resulting deploy back to see how it finished.
02
Rotating a key a site depends on
Read the project to see what is configured, then set the new value through manage-env-vars on the project updater. The same updater carries visitor access controls when a rotation comes with a lockdown.
03
Writing a Netlify function that works first time
Call the coding rules before writing serverless or SDK code, then deploy what you wrote. The rules call is what the server expects to happen first, not an optional reference.
04
Adding a database to a project
List what extensions are available and read the full detail of the one you want, then install it and initialise the database in the same session.
05
Dealing with what the contact form collected
Read the forms on a project, then work the submissions and the form settings through the project updater — including turning a form off when it is being abused.
9 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
netlify-deploy-services-reader
Select and run one of the following Netlify read operations (read-only) get-deploy, get-deploy-for-site
netlify-deploy-services-updater
Select and run one of the following Netlify write operations deploy-site
netlify-extension-services-reader
Select and run one of the following Netlify read operations (read-only) get-extensions, get-full-extension-details
netlify-extension-services-updater
Select and run one of the following Netlify write operations change-extension-installation, initialize-database
netlify-project-services-reader
Select and run one of the following Netlify read operations (read-only) get-project, get-projects, get-forms-for-project
netlify-project-services-updater
Select and run one of the following Netlify write operations update-visitor-access-controls, update-forms, manage-form-submissions, update-project-name, manage-env-vars, create-new-project
netlify-team-services-reader
Select and run one of the following Netlify read operations (read-only) get-teams, get-team
netlify-user-services-reader
Select and run one of the following Netlify read operations (read-only) get-user
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
9 tools when we connected. Each -updater tool covers a family of writes: netlify-deploy-services-updater builds and deploys, netlify-project-services-updater manages projects and settings, netlify-extension-services-updater installs extensions. Team and user information is read-only.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- Node.js 22 or later
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 9 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
npx -y @netlify/mcpMCP Clients
Cursor, LM Studio, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, Cline, Warp
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"netlify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@netlify/mcp"
]
}
}
}VS Code
VS CODE · JSON
{
"servers": {
"netlify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@netlify/mcp"
]
}
}
}Goose
GOOSE
goose://extension?cmd=npx&arg=-y&arg=%40netlify%2Fmcp&id=netlify&name=Netlify&description=Build%2C%20deploy%2C%20and%20manage%20sites%20with%20Netlify's%20official%20MCP%20server.
