Storybook MCP Integration

Use the Storybook MCP server (@storybook/addon-mcp) to give agents awareness of a project's actual component library — props, stories, tests, and live previews.

When to Use

• Component generation — check existing Storybook components before creating new ones
• Component testing — run story tests + a11y audits via MCP instead of CLI
• Visual verification — embed story previews in chat for user confirmation
• Component auditing — inventory components with full metadata via MCP

Quick Reference — 6 Tools, 3 Toolsets

Toolset	Tool	Purpose	Key Inputs
dev	get-storybook-story-instructions	Guidance on writing stories + interaction tests	none
dev	preview-stories	Returns preview URLs for stories (embeddable)	stories[]: {storyId} or {absoluteStoryPath, exportName}
docs	list-all-documentation	Full component + docs manifest index	none
docs	get-documentation	Props, first 3 stories, story index, docs	id (required), storybookId (optional)
docs	get-documentation-for-story	Full story source + component docs	componentId, storyName (required)
testing	run-story-tests	Run component + a11y tests, pass/fail + violations	stories[] (optional), a11y boolean (default true)

Prerequisites

# Storybook 10.3+ with Vite builder (no webpack)
npx storybook@latest upgrade

# Install the addon (current: @storybook/[email protected], Apr 2026)
npx storybook add @storybook/addon-mcp

# Enable docs toolset (required for component discovery)
# In .storybook/main.ts:
#   componentsManifest: true
# NOTE: the old `experimentalComponentsManifest` flag was renamed in
# Storybook 10.3; it is now `componentsManifest` and default-on. Any
# code still passing the `experimental` prefix will warn-then-ignore.

# For Chromatic remote setups, use the standalone package instead of
# the addon (same tool surface, no local Storybook required):
#   npm i -D @storybook/mcp
#   npx storybook-mcp --registry https://chromatic.storybook.cloud

# Enable testing toolset (requires addon-vitest)
# npx storybook add @storybook/addon-vitest

# Register with Claude Code
npx mcp-add --type http --url "http://localhost:6006/mcp" --scope project

Detection Pattern

Before using Storybook MCP tools, check availability:

# Probe for storybook-mcp tools
ToolSearch(query="+storybook list-all-documentation")

# If tools found → Storybook MCP is available
# If not found → fallback to filesystem-based component discovery

Rule Details

Load rules on demand with Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/<file>"):

Rule	Impact	Description
component-discovery	HIGH	Use list-all-documentation + get-documentation before generating new components
story-preview-verification	HIGH	Embed preview-stories URLs for visual confirmation
mcp-test-runner	CRITICAL	Run run-story-tests with a11y:true after component generation

Toolset Selection

Filter toolsets via X-MCP-Toolsets header to reduce agent context:

Agent Role	Toolsets	Rationale
component-curator	docs	Inventory + props only, no testing
frontend-ui-developer	dev,docs,testing	Full access for gen → verify loop
design-system-architect	docs	Component metadata for governance

Chromatic Remote Publishing

For teams using Chromatic, the docs toolset is publishable remotely:

• Published at https://<chromatic-storybook-url>/mcp
• Only docs toolset available remotely (dev + testing need local Storybook)
• Useful for cross-team design system discovery without running Storybook locally

Graceful Degradation

Storybook MCP	Fallback	Behavior
Available	—	Use MCP tools for component discovery, testing, previews
Unavailable	Filesystem	Glob("**/components/**/*.tsx") + Grep for component inventory
Unavailable	21st.dev	Search public registry via 21st-dev-magic MCP
Unavailable	Manual	Claude multimodal analysis of screenshots

Related Skills

• storybook-testing — CSF3 patterns, Vitest integration, Chromatic TurboSnap
• component-search — 21st.dev registry search (external components)
• design-to-code — Full mockup-to-component pipeline (uses this skill in Stage 2)
• ui-components — shadcn/ui + Radix component patterns