MCPCFC — The World's First ColdFusion MCP Server

Your ColdFusion apps can now talk to AI. And AI can use your CF tools.

MCPCFC connects Adobe ColdFusion to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, and any other AI assistant that supports the Model Context Protocol. It turns your existing CFML code into AI-callable tools — no rewrite required.

Got a ColdFusion function that generates invoices? That's an MCP tool now. One that queries your proprietary database? Tool. One that kicks off an internal workflow? Tool. If ColdFusion can do it, AI can call it.

┌─────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐      ┌──────────────────┐
│   Claude /   │─────▶│    MCPCFC     │─────▶│  Your CF App     │
│   ChatGPT /  │◀─────│  MCP Server   │◀─────│  & Business Logic│
│   Cursor     │      └──────────────┘      └──────────────────┘
└─────────────┘       JSON-RPC 2.0          PDF, Email, DB,
                      + Stdio Bridge        Files, HTTP, ...

Why this matters

Millions of lines of ColdFusion are still running in production — at government agencies, financial institutions, healthcare systems, and enterprises worldwide. That code works. But it's increasingly isolated from the AI-powered tools reshaping how people work.

MCPCFC bridges that gap. Instead of rewriting your CF business logic in Python or TypeScript, you wrap it as an MCP tool and let AI assistants call it directly. Your legacy codebase becomes an AI-connected asset overnight.

Who this is for:

• Enterprise teams sitting on years of CF business logic who want AI capabilities without a rewrite
• Government agencies modernizing legacy CF systems incrementally
• CF developers who want to build the next generation of intelligent applications on top of what already works
• Digital transformation leads looking for a low-risk path from legacy to cutting-edge

What's included

MCPCFC ships with six proof-of-concept tools that demonstrate the pattern:

Tool	What it does
hello	Simple greeting — useful for verifying connectivity
fileOperations	Sandboxed file I/O (read, write, list, delete, exists, info)
httpRequest	Outbound HTTP requests (blocks private/internal IPs)
pdf	Generate, extract text from, and merge PDFs using ColdFusion's built-in PDF engine
queryDatabase	Validated read-only SQL queries (SELECT only)
sendEmail	Send email via SendGrid (requires SENDGRID_API_KEY)

These are intentionally simple. The real power is in adding your own tools — see Adding a custom tool below.

Tested environment

• ✅ macOS + Adobe ColdFusion 2025
• ⚠️ Not yet tested on Windows/Linux or other CFML engines (Lucee, BoxLang, etc.)

Quick start

Option 1: Browser test client

1. Clone this repo into your ColdFusion web root (or symlink it).
2. Visit: http://localhost:8500/mcpcfc/client-examples/test-client.cfm
3. Click Connect → List Tools → Call Hello Tool.

Option 2: Claude Desktop (local stdio)

Claude Desktop talks to local MCP servers via stdio. MCPCFC is HTTP-based, so it ships with a bridge script that translates between the two.

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coldfusion-mcp": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/mcpcfc/bridge/cf-mcp-bridge.sh",
      "env": {
        "MCPCFC_URL": "http://localhost:8500/mcpcfc"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then fully quit and relaunch Claude Desktop.

Option 3: Remote / Streamable HTTP

MCPCFC also supports direct HTTP connections from any MCP client at:

BASE_URL/endpoints/mcp.cfm

For copy-paste configs for Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Zed, Kimi, and Antigravity, see CLIENTS.md.

Adding a custom tool

This is where MCPCFC becomes yours. Every tool is a ColdFusion Component (.cfc) that extends AbstractTool. The base class gives you input validation, structured result helpers, and automatic registration with the MCP protocol. You write the business logic; MCPCFC handles the plumbing.

The pattern

Every tool follows three steps:

1. Create a .cfc file in core/tools/ that extends AbstractTool
2. Define the tool in init() — name, description, and input schema
3. Register it by adding one line to MCPServer.cfc

That's it. Let's walk through a complete example.

Example: Building a WeatherTool

Say you want to give your AI assistant the ability to check weather via an external API. Here's the complete tool:

Step 1 — Create core/tools/WeatherTool.cfc:

/**
 * WeatherTool.cfc
 * Returns current weather for a given city
 */
component extends="AbstractTool" output="false" {

    public function init() {
        // 1. Identity — how the tool appears in MCP
        setName("getWeather");
        setTitle("Get Weather");
        setDescription("Returns current weather conditions for a given city name.");

        // 2. Input schema — tells the AI what parameters to send
        var inputSchema = structNew("ordered");
        inputSchema["type"] = "object";
        inputSchema["properties"] = structNew("ordered");

        var citySchema = structNew("ordered");
        citySchema["type"] = "string";
        citySchema["description"] = "City name (e.g., 'Pittsburgh', 'New York')";
        inputSchema.properties["city"] = citySchema;

        inputSchema["required"] = ["city"];
        setInputSchema(inputSchema);

        return this;
    }

    public struct function execute(required struct toolArgs) {
        // Validate the required parameter exists
        validateRequired(arguments.toolArgs, ["city"]);

        var city = trim(arguments.toolArgs.city);
        logExecution("Weather requested", { city: city });

        try {
            // Call an external weather API
            var apiUrl = "https://wttr.in/#encodeForURL(city)#?format=j1";

            var httpService = new http(method="GET", url=apiUrl, timeout=10);
            var response = httpService.send().getPrefix();

            if (response.statusCode contains "200") {
                var data = deserializeJson(response.fileContent);
                var current = data.current_condition[1];

                var result = {
                    "city": city,
                    "temperature_f": current.temp_F,
                    "temperature_c": current.temp_C,
                    "condition": current.weatherDesc[1].value,
                    "humidity": current.humidity & "%",
                    "wind_mph": current.windspeedMiles
                };

                // Return structured JSON — the AI will interpret it
                return jsonResult(result);
            } else {
                return errorResult("Weather API returned status: #response.statusCode#");
            }
        } catch (any e) {
            return errorResult("Failed to fetch weather: #e.message#");
        }
    }
}

Step 2 — Register it in core/MCPServer.cfc:

Open core/MCPServer.cfc and add your tool class to the toolClasses array in the registerDefaultTools() method:

var toolClasses = [
    "core.tools.HelloTool",
    "core.tools.PDFTool",
    "core.tools.SendGridEmailTool",
    "core.tools.DatabaseTool",
    "core.tools.FileTool",
    "core.tools.HttpClientTool",
    "core.tools.WeatherTool"          // <-- add your tool here
];

Step 3 — Restart and test:

Restart your ColdFusion application (visit restart-app.cfm or restart the CF service), then relaunch your MCP client. Your new tool will appear in the tool list and the AI can call it immediately.

What the base class gives you

AbstractTool.cfc provides helper methods so you can focus on business logic:

Method	Purpose
textResult(string)	Return a plain text response
jsonResult(data)	Return structured JSON data
errorResult(message)	Return an error with isError flag
imageResult(base64Data, mimeType)	Return a base64-encoded image
resourceResult(uri, text, mimeType)	Return an embedded MCP resource
validateRequired(args, paramArray)	Throw if required params are missing
validateTypes(args, typeMap)	Validate parameter types (string, numeric, boolean, array, struct)
getParam(args, name, default)	Get a parameter with a fallback default
logExecution(message, data)	Log tool activity (if logger is configured)

Real-world tool ideas

Once you understand the pattern, think about what ColdFusion already does well at your organization:

• Invoice generator — wrap your existing cfpdf report logic
• Customer lookup — query your CRM database and return results to the AI
• Document converter — leverage CF's built-in Word/Excel/PDF capabilities
• Email drafter — compose and send through your existing mail infrastructure
• Report runner — execute stored procedures and return formatted results
• File processor — parse uploaded CSVs, transform data, write outputs
• Legacy API wrapper — expose SOAP services or internal REST endpoints to AI

Each of these is a single .cfc file and one line of registration.

Smoke tests

Stdio (recommended for Claude Desktop)

MCPCFC_URL="http://localhost:8500/mcpcfc" ./scripts/verify-stdio.sh

Streamable HTTP (for remote clients)

MCPCFC_URL="http://localhost:8500/mcpcfc" ./scripts/verify-http.sh

Configuration

Edit config/settings.cfm to customize:

• protocolVersion (default: 2025-06-18)
• defaultDatasource (default: mcpcfc_ds)
• File sandbox paths and size limits
• CORS settings

Database setup (optional)

The queryDatabase tool expects a ColdFusion datasource named mcpcfc_ds:

1. Configure the datasource in ColdFusion Administrator
2. Load the sample schema by visiting database-setup.cfm in your browser, or import mcpcfc_db.sql into MySQL/MariaDB

Debugging

• Claude Desktop MCP logs (macOS): ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-coldfusion-mcp.log
• Bridge debug mode: set MCPCFC_DEBUG=1 in the env block of your config
• Self-signed HTTPS: set MCPCFC_INSECURE=1 if using untrusted local certs

Security warning

MCPCFC is a powerful remote-control surface — it can access the filesystem, make HTTP requests, query databases, send email, and generate documents. Do not expose it publicly without:

• Authentication
• Tight CORS/origin restrictions
• Rate limiting
• Tool-by-tool authorization and sandboxing

Project layout

Application.cfc
bridge/
  cf-mcp-bridge.sh           # Stdio ⇄ HTTP bridge for Claude Desktop
client-examples/
  test-client.cfm             # Browser-based test interface
config/
  routes.cfm
  settings.cfm                # Server configuration
core/
  CapabilityManager.cfc
  JSONRPCHandler.cfc
  MCPServer.cfc                # Tool registration happens here
  TransportManager.cfc
  tools/
    AbstractTool.cfc           # Base class — extend this for custom tools
    DatabaseTool.cfc
    FileTool.cfc
    HelloTool.cfc              # Good reference for new tools
    HttpClientTool.cfc
    PDFTool.cfc
    SendGridEmailTool.cfc
endpoints/
  mcp.cfm                     # Unified MCP endpoint (JSON-RPC 2.0)
logging/
registry/
session/
scripts/
  verify-stdio.sh
  verify-http.sh

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

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Built with ColdFusion 2025 by @revsmoke. Contributions welcome.