Research Roadmap: Namecheap DNS MCP Server
Project: Design and prototype an MCP server that wraps the Namecheap DNS XML API to enable AI‑driven domain management.
Goal: Provide a set of MCP tools that allow AI agents to list domains, manage DNS records, and change nameservers via Namecheap’s API, with proper security and error handling.
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Phase 1: API Assessment & Requirements
- [ ] Study Namecheap DNS API endpoints: `dnsns.getList`, `dnsns.setHostRecords`, `dnsns.addHost`, `dnsns.delHost`, `dnsns.setNameservers`, etc.
- [ ] Determine authentication model (API User, API Key, Client IP whitelist).
- [ ] Identify rate limits, error codes, and idempotency considerations.
- [ ] Define MCP tool signatures that map cleanly to API operations.
Phase 2: Architecture & Design
- [ ] Choose implementation language: Go (consistent with DNS server project) or Python? Go preferred for static binary and stdio MCP.
- [ ] Design MCP tool set: `namecheap.domains.list`, `namecheap.dns.list_records`, `namecheap.dns.add_record`, `namecheap.dns.delete_record`, `namecheap.dns.update_record`, `namecheap.dns.set_nameservers`, `namecheap.dns.get_nameservers`.
- [ ] Define data structures: record types, TTLs, nameserver arrays.
- [ ] Plan error mapping: API XML faults → MCP error responses.
- [ ] Consider caching for `domains.list` to reduce API calls (optional).
Phase 3: Implementation Plan
- [ ] Set up Go module; include MCP SDK dependencies.
- [ ] Implement HTTP client for Namecheap API (POST form, XML parsing).
- [ ] Implement each MCP tool with proper validation.
- [ ] Add configuration: env vars for API credentials, optional whitelist check.
- [ ] Write unit tests with mocked API responses.
- [ ] Build binary; provide example usage with MCP clients.
- [ ] Estimate effort: likely 1–2 weeks for MVP.
Phase 4: Security & Operations
- [ ] Ensure API credentials are not logged.
- [ ] Optionally add MCP access token (in addition to stdio isolation).
- [ ] Document deployment: systemd service, environment file.
- [ ] Provide README with setup steps.
Phase 5: Reporting
- Write Report 1: Namecheap DNS API Landscape & Requirements
- Write Report 2: MCP Architecture & Tool Specification
- Write Report 3: Implementation Plan & Effort Estimate
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Will iterate based on findings.