How to use Context7: set up up-to-date docs for AI coding agents

Check the requirements before you install

Context7 is installed through a package manager. The ctx7 CLI requires Node.js 22.13 or newer, so check your Node.js version before running anything else.

You also need an AI coding agent. The main value of Context7 is feeding docs into that agent, so it is not useful on its own. Context7 sends prompts and library names to its servers, so only use it if that is acceptable for your project.

• Node.js 22.13 or newer
• An AI coding agent such as Claude, Cursor or VS Code
• An internet connection, since requests go to Context7's servers

Install Context7 with the guided setup

Run the guided setup with npx. It authenticates via OAuth, generates an API key and installs the appropriate skill. You can choose between CLI + Skills mode or MCP mode.

To target a specific agent, add one of the flags --cursor, --claude or --opencode. The source also notes that a free API key is available from the Context7 dashboard for higher rate limits.

• CLI + Skills: installs a skill that guides your agent to fetch docs with ctx7 CLI commands, with no MCP required.
• MCP: registers a Context7 MCP server so your agent can call documentation tools directly.

Use Context7 in your prompts

Add the phrase "use context7" to the end of a prompt that asks about a library. Context7 then fetches up-to-date, version-specific docs and examples into your agent's context while it writes code.

If you already know which library you need, add its Context7 ID with the slash syntax. Context7 can then skip the library-matching step and load docs for that library directly. To target a version, simply mention it in your prompt.

• Example: a Next.js proxy request ending with "use context7"
• Library ID example: "use library /supabase/supabase for API and docs"
• Version example: "How do I set up a Next.js 16 proxy? use context7"

Add a rule so Context7 is used automatically

If you installed with ctx7 setup, a skill is configured automatically to trigger Context7 for library-related questions. If you prefer to set this up yourself, add a rule to your coding agent. In Cursor, the rule lives under Cursor Settings > Rules. In Claude Code, it goes in CLAUDE.md. Other agents have equivalent settings.

• Cursor: Cursor Settings > Rules
• Claude Code: CLAUDE.md

Use the CLI commands directly

The ctx7 CLI has two main commands. Use library to search the Context7 index by library name, which returns matching libraries and their IDs. Use docs with a library ID and a query to retrieve documentation for that library.

Library IDs use a slash format, such as /mongodb/docs.

• ctx7 library <name> <query>: searches by library name and returns matching IDs
• ctx7 docs <libraryId> <query>: retrieves documentation for a given library ID

Remove Context7 or configure it manually

To remove the generated setup later, run the remove command. If you installed the CLI globally with npm install -g ctx7, remove that package separately.

To configure manually instead, use the server URL https://mcp.context7.com/mcp in your MCP client and pass your API key in an Authorization: Bearer header. The project documentation has client-specific instructions for other clients.