mcp-local-rag

Node.js 22 and a stable document index

Use Node.js 22 or newer. In the existing client example, add BASE_DIR to the server environment and replace the example paths below with absolute paths on your machine. BASE_DIR limits file access; DB_PATH and CACHE_DIR keep the index and model cache stable when the client starts from another working directory.

This Cursor configuration follows the author README. The examples are documentation examples; no package was installed or executed for this guide.

Cursor: server environment inside mcpServers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "local-rag": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-local-rag"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BASE_DIR": "/absolute/path/to/documents",
        "DB_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/rag-index",
        "CACHE_DIR": "/absolute/path/to/rag-models"
      }
    }
  }
}

Sources: Author setup, paths and privacy guidance · Node.js requirement · Documentation checked 2026-10-14.

Local embeddings and MCP client privacy

The server returns retrieved document text to its MCP client. A local index alone does not determine how the host application handles that context. Review your client and model configuration before querying confidential files. A custom RAG_RERANK_CMD also needs its own network review.

Sources: Author setup, paths and privacy guidance · Author MCP tool schemas · MCP host and client architecture · Documentation checked 2026-10-14.

Fix empty results and path errors

Start a directory sync with sync_start and poll sync_status until it completes. Then ask the client to list ingested files before querying. If ingestion succeeds but search is empty, confirm both processes use the same absolute DB_PATH.

A Path outside BASE_DIR error means the file is outside the configured roots. BASE_DIRS takes a JSON array of absolute roots, not a colon-separated list. Source-code extensions are not accepted by file ingestion; index supported documentation files instead. For in-memory HTML, use ingest_data with content and a stable source identifier.

Example request to your MCP client

Sync the configured document root and wait for completion.
List the indexed files. Search for the authentication API and show the source passages.

Sources: Author setup, paths and privacy guidance · Author MCP tool schemas · Documentation checked 2026-10-14.