Pref Editor (Android)

Android Preference Editor MCP Server

Overview

Unlock the power of natural language for Android app development with the Android Preference Editor MCP Server. Effortlessly edit user preferences in real time using simple, conversational commands—no manual file editing required! Built on the robust Android Preference Editor library, this server seamlessly connects with MCP (Model Context Protocol) clients to supercharge your AI-driven workflows.

Just tell the MCP server what you want to do, for example:

• “Toggle the isVisited user preference”
• “Turn off the onboarding guide”
• “List all the user preference values”
• "Create a timestamp preference with the current epoch time"

Experience a smarter, faster way to manage Android preferences—just ask!

Available Tools

Name	Description
change_preference	Changes the value of an existing preference
delete_preference	Delete an existing preference
add_preference	Adds a new preference given the name, value, and type
read_preferences	Reads all user preferences in a file
devices	Lists connected Android devices
list_apps	Lists apps installed on the device
list_files	Lists preference files for an app

Demo

Toggle a user preference	Available tools	Add a preference

See more demos in the demo screenshots directory

Requirements

• Android adb (v1.0.41+)
• Node.js 14+ or Docker

Integrations

This server is available in the Docker MCP Catalog. Enable the Pref Editor server in Docker desktop's MCP toolkit and you'll have access to all the available tools.

Android Studio

Assumes an MCP compatible client is installed.

Add the following configuration to the MCP server config file. For example, for the GitHub Copilot IntelliJ Plugin, the config file is ~/.config/github-copilot/intellij/mcp.json.

Docker

{
  "servers": {
    "pref-editor": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "charlesmuchene/pref-editor-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

npx

{
  "servers": {
    "pref-editor": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@charlesmuchene/pref-editor-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add this server to the /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json configuration file.

Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pref-editor": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "charlesmuchene/pref-editor-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

npx

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pref-editor": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@charlesmuchene/pref-editor-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

You can troubleshoot problems by tailing the log file:

tail -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-pref-editor.log

VS Code

To use the server with VS Code, you need to:

1. Add the MCP Server configuration to your mcp.json or settings.json:

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "pref-editor": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@charlesmuchene/pref-editor-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json

{
  "mcp": {
    "pref-editor": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@charlesmuchene/pref-editor-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

For more information, see the VS Code documentation.

Building Locally

Refer to DEV.md for instructions on how to build this project.

Testing

You can use the MCP Inspector for visual debugging of this MCP Server.

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npm run start

License

See LICENSE

Contact

For questions or support, reach out via GitHub Issues.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! 🎉

First-time contributors: Please start by reading our CONTRIBUTING.md guide, which covers:

• PR requirements and title format
• Development setup and workflow
• Code quality standards
• License information

For detailed development instructions, see DEV.md.