MCP Server Tool Reference

The Paquet Builder MCP Server exposes over 20 tools for managing installer projects programmatically. This page documents each tool’s purpose, parameters, and behavior.

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• Project
• Settings
• Collections
• Custom Actions
• Build & Other

Tool	Description
open_project	Open an existing .pbpx project file
close_project	Close the current project
save_project	Save the project to disk
new_project	Create a new blank project
list_recent_projects	List recently opened project files
get_project_info	Get a comprehensive project overview

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Opens an existing Paquet Builder project file.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
path	string	Yes	Full path to the .pbpx project file

Returns: Project summary including title, company, version, output path, and key settings.

Closes the currently loaded project. No parameters.

Saves the current project to disk. Usually not needed since changes are auto-saved after every mutation.

Creates a new blank project.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Project title
output_path	string	No	Output directory for the compiled package
install_dir	string	No	Default installation directory

Returns a list of recently opened project files with their paths. No parameters.

Returns a comprehensive overview of the current project: title, company, version, output settings, architecture, compression, signing status, component count, variable count, and more. No parameters.

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Reads the current value of a project setting.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	The setting key (e.g., compressionlzma2, digitalsign, title)

Modifies a project setting. The change is applied and saved immediately.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	The setting key
value	string	Yes	The new value

Returns detailed metadata about a setting: data type, allowed values, effects on other settings, dependencies, warnings, and documentation link.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	The setting key

Searches for settings matching a natural language description. Supports both English and French queries.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
intent	string	Yes	Natural language description (e.g., "compression options", "options de signature")

Returns: A ranked list of matching settings with keys, labels, and descriptions.

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Queries items in one of 6 collection domains.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
domain	string	Yes	files, variables, localization, registry, shortcuts, or screens
query	string	Yes	list, details, search, or schema
id	string	No	Item identifier (for details)
search	string	No	Search term (for search)
limit	number	No	Maximum results to return
include_properties	boolean	No	Include full property details in list results

• Domains
• Queries

Domain	Description
files	Components and their files (list components, view file lists, search files)
variables	Project variables (list, search, view details)
localization	Resource strings and languages
registry	Registry entries created by the installer
shortcuts	Start Menu and Desktop shortcuts
screens	HTML content for installer screens (Welcome, License, Readme, Final)

Adds, updates, or deletes items in a collection. Changes are applied and saved immediately.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
domain	string	Yes	Collection domain (same as above)
action	string	Yes	add, update, delete, set_content, clear_content, or copy_content
targets	array	No	Target items (component names, variable names, etc.)
values	object	No	Properties to set or update
options	object	No	Additional options (varies by domain and action)

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Lists and inspects custom actions across the 15 available events.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	Yes	list, details, search, or schema
event	string	No	Event name (e.g., afterextraction, initialization, finalization)
action_id	string	No	Action identifier (for details)
search	string	No	Search term
limit	number	No	Maximum results

All 15 event names

Event	Description
initialization	Package startup
afterwelcome	After the welcome screen
afterstartreadme	After the readme screen
beforeextraction	Before file extraction begins
afterextraction	After files are extracted
aftershortcuts	After shortcuts are created
aftersetup	After setup execution
beforefinalscreen	Before the final screen
finalization	Package cleanup
uninstinit	Uninstaller startup
uninstbefore	Before uninstall operations
uninstafter	After uninstall operations
uninstfinalize	Uninstaller cleanup
dlgcomponentselect	Component selection dialog
dlgdestfolder	Destination folder dialog

Adds, updates, deletes, moves, duplicates, or toggles custom actions.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
action	string	Yes	add, update, delete, move, duplicate, set_enabled, or clear_event
event	string	Yes	Target event name
action_id	string	No	Target action identifier
action_type	string	No	Action class for add (e.g., TCreateShortcutInfo, TConditionalIfThenInfo)
values	object	No	Properties to set
insert	string	No	Insert position: before or after
reference_action_id	string	No	Reference action for positioning
enabled	boolean	No	Enable/disable state (for set_enabled)

Validates custom action configuration and control flow before applying changes.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
scope	string	Yes	action, event, or all
event	string	No	Event to validate
action_id	string	No	Specific action to validate
action_type	string	No	Action type (for property validation)
values	object	No	Property values to check
deep	boolean	No	Include control flow validation (If/Then nesting, For/Next loops)

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Triggers a full compilation of the current project. Returns success/failure status with basic build information (output path, file size). No parameters.

Retrieves the detailed compilation log from the last build, including all phases, errors, warnings, and timing information. No parameters.

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Performs a full-text search across the Paquet Builder documentation.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	Yes	Search query
limit	number	No	Maximum results (default: 5)

Returns: Ranked results with file path, section title, text snippet, and relevance score.

Performs file operations on the local filesystem.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
action	string	Yes	read, write, list, or exists
path	string	Yes	File or directory path
pattern	string	No	Glob pattern (for list)
content	string	No	File content (for write)
append	boolean	No	Append mode (for write)
limit	number	No	Max entries (for list)
offset	number	No	Offset (for list)

Executes a directive file (.pbd) for batch project creation or modification.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
path	string	Yes	Full path to the .pbd directive file

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Here is an example showing how an AI client might use the MCP tools to configure and build an installer:

1. Open the project

   open_project("C:\\Projects\\myapp.pbpx")
   → "My Application 1.0 by Acme Software — 3 components, 142 files"

2. Update settings

   set_setting("title", "My Application 2.0")
   → Setting updated and saved
   
   set_setting("compressionlzma2", "1")
   → LZMA2 compression enabled

3. Add a component

   collection_mutate(domain="files", action="add",
     targets=["Plugins"],
     values={"title": "Plugins", "description": "Optional plugins"})
   → Component "Plugins" created

4. Add a custom action

   custom_actions_mutate(action="add", event="afterextraction",
     action_type="TCreateShortcutInfo",
     values={"ShortcutName": "My Application",
             "ShortcutTarget": "%DESTPATH%\\myapp.exe"})
   → Shortcut action added to After Extraction

5. Compile and check

   compile()
   → Build successful: C:\Output\Setup.exe (12.4 MB)
   
   get_build_log()
   → Full compilation log with timing and status

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