Provar MCP

Beta: Provar MCP is currently in Beta. This is offered to all Provar users at no additional cost, and is an open-source project hosted on GitHub here. General Availability is coming soon. We welcome feedback via GitHub Issues (github.com/ProvarTesting/provardx-cli/issues).

What is Provar MCP?

Provar MCP is an AI-assisted quality layer built directly into the Provar DX CLI. It implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that lets AI assistants call tools on your behalf and exposes a rich set of Provar project operations to AI clients such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor.

Once connected, your AI assistant can:

• Inspect your Provar Automation project and surface coverage gaps
• Generate Java Page Objects and XML test case skeletons
• Validate every level of the test hierarchy (test cases, suites, plans, and the full project) against 170+ quality rules
• provardx-properties.json run configuration
• Trigger Provar Automation test runs and Provar Quality Hub managed runs all from inside a chat session

The MCP server runs entirely on your local machine. No project files, test code, or credentials are transmitted to Provar servers.

Prerequisites

Before you can use Provar MCP, ensure the following are in place:

Requirement	Version	Notes
Provar Automation	≥ 3.0.6	Must be installed with an activated license on the same machine. The MCP server reads the license state from ~/Provar/.licenses/.
Salesforce CLI (sf)	≥ 2.x	Install with: npm install -g @salesforce/cli
Provar DX CLI plugin	≥ 1.5.0 (beta)	Install with: sf plugins install @provartesting/provardx-cli@beta
Node.js	≥ 18	Installed automatically with the Salesforce CLI
An MCP-compatible AI client	–	Claude Desktop, Claude Code (VS Code / CLI), or Cursor
An existing Provar Automation project	–	The MCP server works best when pointed at a real project directory. Project context (connections, environments, Page Objects, test cases) is what the AI reads and reasons over.

License requirements

Provar MCP requires an active Provar Automation license on the machine where the server runs. Validation is automatic:

1. The server reads ~/Provar/.licenses/*.properties, the same files written by Provar Automation Desktop, and checks that a license is activated and was last verified online within 48 hours.
2. Successful validations are cached for 2 hours, so frequent server restarts do not cause repeated disk reads.
3. If no valid license is found, the server exits immediately with a clear error message. Open Provar Automation IDE and ensure your license is activated, then retry.

There is no separate MCP license. Your existing Provar Automation license covers MCP usage.

Usage

For detailed information regarding installation, usage, and commands, please refer to the ProvarDX-CLI MCP GitHub documentation page.

Security

• Local only. The MCP server communicates via stdio – no TCP port is opened, no network listener is started. *The only exception here is if users have enabled API access to test case validations, which is disabled by default using the local validation.*
• Path-scoped. All file operations are restricted to the directories you specify via –allowed-paths. Path traversal (../) is blocked.
• No data exfiltration. Project files, test code, and credentials are never transmitted to Provar servers.
• Credential safety. Quality Hub and Automation tools invoke the Salesforce CLI as a subprocess. Org credentials stay in the SF CLI’s own credential store and are never read or logged by the MCP server.
• Audit log. Every tool invocation is logged to stderr with a unique request ID in structured JSON format. Capture stderr to maintain an audit trail.

Troubleshooting

“No activated Provar license found” / LICENSE_NOT_FOUND

Open Provar Automation IDE → Help → Manage License → ensure the license is Activated. Then restart the MCP server.

“Warning: license validated from offline cache” (on stderr)

The server started successfully but the license cache is over 2 hours old. This is a warning only. If the cache exceeds 48 hours without a successful online re-validation, the next startup will fail. Restart the server while Provar Automation IDE is connected to the internet to refresh the cache.

SF_NOT_FOUND error from Quality Hub / Automation tools

The sf CLI binary is not on the PATH that the MCP server sees (common with macOS GUI apps). Use the full binary path in your MCP config:

{ “command”: “/usr/local/bin/sf”, “args”: [“provar”, “mcp”, “start”, “–allowed-paths”, “…”] }

PATH_NOT_ALLOWED error

The path passed to a tool is outside the –allowed-paths root. Update –allowed-paths in your client config and restart the server.

Tools not appearing in Claude Desktop

After editing claude_desktop_config.json, fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q on macOS, not just close the window).

Server starts then immediately exits

Check the plugin is installed: sf plugins | grep provardx. If missing: sf plugins install @provartesting/provardx-cli@beta.

Support

Bug reports and feature requests: github.com/ProvarTesting/provardx-cli/issues

Provar Automation / Quality Hub support: Contact Provar Support through your usual channel or through the Provar Success Portal.

Resources

Github Repo: github.com/ProvarTesting/provardx-cli/

NPM Package: @provartesting/provardx-cli – npm

---

Feedback

Was this article helpful for you?

We really appreciate it!

Thank you for your feedback.

Tell us how we can improve this article.

No Yes