Fonto Docs MCP

An MCP server and HTTP API that makes Fonto XML Editor documentation readable by AI tools. The Fonto docs site is a JavaScript single-page application — this server fetches the underlying DITA XML files directly and converts them to clean Markdown on demand, so AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot can actually read them.

What is Fonto?

Fonto XML Editor is an enterprise structured-content authoring platform. Organizations that produce large volumes of technical documentation — manuals, specifications, regulated content — use Fonto to author in DITA or custom XML schemas inside a browser-based editor. Fonto developers write TypeScript integrations and XQuery operations to configure the editing experience, data connectors, custom toolbars, and document validation rules.

The Fonto documentation covers around 2,000 pages across guides, API references, upgrade notes, and generated API docs for every built-in function and component. It is detailed and essential when building or maintaining a Fonto integration.

The problem this solves

The Fonto documentation site is a JavaScript SPA. AI coding tools cannot run JavaScript, so when you paste a Fonto docs URL into Claude or Copilot, the model sees an empty shell — none of the actual content loads. The only workaround was manually copying text from the browser, which breaks any kind of AI-assisted workflow.

This MCP server fetches the XML source files that back the documentation site and converts them to Markdown in real time. The AI tool can search for a topic, retrieve the full content of any page, or browse the complete catalog — without you leaving your editor.

Who is this for?

This tool is useful for anyone working with the Fonto platform:

Fonto integration developers building or extending a Fonto-based editor in TypeScript or XQuery — look up APIs, check configuration options, and understand upgrade breaking changes without switching context.
Content architects configuring schemas, validation rules, and document templates inside Fonto — quickly find the right configuration property or concept page.
Teams upgrading Fonto — the upgrade section spans over 260 pages of migration notes; AI assistance makes this manageable.

What you can ask your AI

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant questions like:

"How does addDocumentChangeCallback work in Fonto?"
"Search the Fonto docs for documentsManager"
"What are the breaking changes when upgrading from Fonto 8.16 to 8.17?"
"List all pages in the configure section"
"Show me the API reference for evaluateXPathToString"
"What upgrade guides are available for Fonto?"
"My custom operation is still enabled on a locked document — is that a Fonto bug or intentional? Walk me through the design decision."

The AI searches, retrieves, and reads the live Fonto documentation, then answers in the context of your actual codebase.

Connect your AI tool

The server is already running at https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp — no installation needed.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http fonto-docs https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp

Cursor / Claude Desktop / VS Code — add to mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fonto-docs": { "type": "http", "url": "https://fonto-docs.elliat.nl/mcp" }
  }
}

MCP tools & resources

search_fonto_docs(query)

Search by keyword — returns matching pages with titles, descriptions, and slugs.

get_fonto_page(slug)

Fetch the full Markdown content of a page by its slug.

list_pages(keyword)

List pages matching a keyword, with full section breadcrumbs — great for discovery.

fonto://catalog & fonto://page/{slug}

MCP resources: browse the full catalog or address any page directly.

How it works

The Fonto documentation site stores its content as XML files at predictable paths under /static/xml/latest/. This server fetches those files directly, parses them with slimdom and fontoxpath, and converts them to Markdown. Fonto uses two XML formats — DITA-structured guide pages and a custom API reference format — and the conversion handles both. Page content is cached in-process for 10 minutes to absorb repeated lookups in the same session.

Documentation sections

Browse the full catalog filtered by section:

Get started9 pages Configure182 pages Customize24 pages Learn3 pages Integrate34 pages API reference22 pages Add-ons30 pages Upgrade262 pages FAQ39 pages Generated API docs1377 pages

HTTP API

The same data is available over plain HTTP, without MCP:

GET/search?q={query}Search pages — returns JSON — example

GET/page/{slug}Fetch a page as Markdown — example

GET/catalogFull page hierarchy as Markdown — browse or filter by section

Related tools

xq-lsp — XQuery language server with autocomplete and language intelligence for Fonto's XQuery layer, including fonto: built-in functions. Pairs well with this MCP server for AI-assisted Fonto development.

Source

github.com/DrRataplan/fonto-docs-mcp — MIT license. Also available on npm for self-hosting.

Built by elliat.nl