MCP4Joomla

A STDIO Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Joomla, written in PHP.

Quick facts

• Runs on: your computer
• MCP transport: STDIO
• Usable with local AI Tools (e.g. Claude Code): ✅ Yes
• Usable with hosted AI Tools (e.g. ChatGPT): ❌ No

[!TIP] If you’re looking for an MCP server which can be used with hosted AI tools, please see MCP4j.

What is this?

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server allows a large language model (LLM, also known as “AI”) to interact with external software.

This MCP server is an implementation of the MCP protocol for Joomla 5 and later. It sits between your LLM and your Joomla installation, allowing the LLM to interact with your Joomla installation. The ultimate goal is to make Joomla a first-class citizen in LLMs, allowing you to build and manage your Joomla sites using LLMs without having to write any code or take any manual steps.

The MCP server covers the core Joomla web services, but also some Akeeba extensions. This repository is not affiliated with or endorsed by Akeeba Ltd.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1 or later; PHP 8.4 recommended.
• A Joomla 5.2 or later installation, including 6.x
• A Joomla API token for a Super User account.

Usage

Clone this repository.

Go into the repository and run composer install to install the dependencies.

Edit your MCP configuration file and add this MCP server (the object you see under the MCP4Joomla key in the sample MCP config file below):

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"MCP4Joomla": {
			"command": "/usr/bin/php",
			"args": [
				"/path/to/joomla-mcp-php/mcp4joomla.php",
                "server"
			],
			"env": {
				"JOOMLA_BASE_URL": "https://www.example.com",
				"BEARER_TOKEN": "your_joomla_api_token"
			}
		}
	}
}

Where:

• /usr/bin/php is the path to your PHP CLI executable.
• /path/to/joomla-mcp-php/mcp4joomla.php is the path to the mcp4joomla.php file.
• https://www.example.com is the base URL of your Joomla installation, without the trailing /api, without the trailing /index.php.
• your_joomla_api_token is the Joomla API token for any active Super User account of your Joomla installation, something that looks like c2hhMjU2OjI5NDoxNmI5NzU3NWY1YTFhYTBmYWViNjUyMTRlZThmYzc1NTBiYWNkNmM4MjQ5N2ExYzllM2FjY2I5ODYxZjMxOGMx.

Using with Claude Code

You can add MCP4Joomla to Claude Code using the claude mcp add command.

[!IMPORTANT] MCP4Joomla provides 249 tools across 22 categories. Claude Code cannot handle this many tools reliably — it will only see a subset of them. You should always use --categories to limit the server to only the categories you need for your session. Use php mcp4joomla.php list-tools to see available categories.

For example, to work with content articles and contacts: