Update docs to reflect the new Rust-based version (#148)

JoshMock · web-flow · commit cbbb3d24b154 · 2025-07-16T12:04:10.000-05:00
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Elasticsearch MCP Server
 
 > [!CAUTION]
-> 
+>
 > **WARNING: this is MCP server is EXPERIMENTAL.**
 
 Connect to your Elasticsearch data directly from any MCP Client using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
@@ -28,6 +28,12 @@ Versions `8.x` and `9.x` are officially supported. Earlier versions may partiall
 
 ## Installation & Setup
 
+> [!NOTE]
+>
+> Versions 0.3.1 and earlier were installed via `npm`. These versions are deprecated and no longer supported. The following instructions only apply to 0.4.0 and later.
+>
+> To view instructions for versions 0.3.1 and earlier, see the [README for v0.3.1](https://github.com/elastic/mcp-server-elasticsearch/tree/v0.3.1).
+
 This MCP server is provided as a Docker image at `docker.elastic.co/mcp/elasticsearch`
 that supports MCP's stdio, SSE and streamable-HTTP protocols.
 
@@ -52,10 +58,11 @@ Options:
 ### Using the stdio protocol
 
 The MCP server needs environment variables to be set:
-* `ES_URL`, the URL of your Elasticsearch cluster
-* `ES_API_KEY`, the Elasticsearch API key. We **strongly recommend** creating an API key
-   with limited privileges so that the LLM only has access to the data and operations
-   required for the usage context.
+
+* `ES_URL`: the URL of your Elasticsearch cluster
+* For authentication use either an API key or basic authentication:
+  * API key: `ES_API_KEY`
+  * Basic auth: `ES_USERNAME` and `ES_PASSWORD`
 * Optionally, `ES_SSL_SKIP_VERIFY` set to `true` skips SSL/TLS certificate verification when connecting
   to Elasticsearch. The ability to provide a custom certificate will be added in a later version.
 
@@ -73,10 +80,10 @@ The configuration for Claude Desktop is as follows:
    "elasticsearch-mcp-server": {
     "command": "docker",
     "args": [
-    	"run", "-i", "--rm",
-    	"-e", "ES_URL", "-e", "ES_API_KEY",
-    	"docker.elastic.co/mcp/elasticsearch",
-    	"stdio"
+     "run", "-i", "--rm",
+     "-e", "ES_URL", "-e", "ES_API_KEY",
+     "docker.elastic.co/mcp/elasticsearch",
+     "stdio"
     ],
     "env": {
       "ES_URL": "<elasticsearch-cluster-url>",
@@ -92,27 +99,28 @@ The configuration for Claude Desktop is as follows:
 Note: streamable-HTTP is recommended, as [SSE is deprecated](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/concepts/transports#server-sent-events-sse-deprecated).
 
 The MCP server needs environment variables to be set:
+
 * `ES_URL`, the URL of your Elasticsearch cluster
+* For authentication use either an API key or basic authentication:
+  * API key: `ES_API_KEY`
+  * Basic auth: `ES_USERNAME` and `ES_PASSWORD`
 * Optionally, `ES_SSL_SKIP_VERIFY` set to `true` skips SSL/TLS certificate verification when connecting
   to Elasticsearch. The ability to provide a custom certificate will be added in a later version.
 
-The MCP client must also be configured with an `Authorization` header containing the Elasticsearch
-cluster's API key
-
 The MCP server is started in http mode with this command:
 
 ```bash
-docker run --rm -e ES_URL -p 8080:8080 docker.elastic.co/mcp/elasticsearch http
+docker run --rm -e ES_URL -e ES_API_KEY -p 8080:8080 docker.elastic.co/mcp/elasticsearch http
 ```
 
 If for some reason your execution environment doesn't allow passing parameters to the container, they can be passed
-using the `CLI_ARGS` environment variable: `docker run --rm -e ES_URL -e CLI_ARGS=http -p 8080:8080...`
+using the `CLI_ARGS` environment variable: `docker run --rm -e ES_URL -e ES_API_KEY -e CLI_ARGS=http -p 8080:8080...`
 
 The streamable-HTTP endpoint is at `http:<host>:8080/mcp`. There's also a health check at `http:<host>:8080/ping`
 
 Configuration for Claude Desktop (free edition that only supports the stdio protocol).
 
-1. Install `mcp-proxy` (or an equivalent), that will bridge stdio to streamable-http. The executable 
+1. Install `mcp-proxy` (or an equivalent), that will bridge stdio to streamable-http. The executable
    will be installed in `~/.local/bin`:
 
     ```bash
@@ -135,4 +143,3 @@ Configuration for Claude Desktop (free edition that only supports the stdio prot
       }
     }
     ```
-
diff --git a/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md b/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ Elasticsearch MCP Server is open source, and we love to receive contributions fr
 
 There are many ways to contribute, from writing tutorials or blog posts, improving the documentation, submitting bug reports and feature requests or writing code.
 
-
 Contributions are [released](https://help.github.com/articles/github-terms-of-service/#6-contributions-under-repository-license) under the [project's license](../LICENSE).
 
 Please note that this project follows the [Elastic's Open Source Community Code of Conduct][code-of-conduct].
@@ -34,13 +33,14 @@ You can use either:
 
 1. **Elastic Cloud** - Use an existing Elasticsearch deployment and your API key
 2. **Local Elasticsearch** - Run Elasticsearch locally using the [start-local](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/run-elasticsearch-locally.html) script:
+
    ```bash
    curl -fsSL https://elastic.co/start-local | sh
    ```
 
    This starts Elasticsearch and Kibana with Docker:
-   - Elasticsearch: http://localhost:9200
-   - Kibana: http://localhost:5601
+   - Elasticsearch: <http://localhost:9200>
+   - Kibana: <http://localhost:5601>
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > The `start-local` setup is for development only. It uses basic authentication and disables HTTPS.
