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Add Your First MCP Server

Connect an MCP server to enable new tools for your agents.

Prerequisites

Find an MCP server from:

Add via JSON Editor

For advanced configuration, switch to JSON view in MCP Manager.

JSON Editor

STDIO Example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "autoApprove": ["read_file", "list_directory"],
      "disabled": false,
      "timeout": 60,
      "transportType": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/home/user/projects"]
    }
  }
}

SSE Example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tavily": {
      "autoApprove": ["search"],
      "disabled": false,
      "timeout": 60,
      "transportType": "sse",
      "url": "https://mcp.api-inference.modelscope.cn/bd902138dc1a4d/sse",
      "env": {
        "TAVILY_API_KEY": "tvly-xxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP Example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "weather": {
      "autoApprove": [],
      "disabled": false,
      "timeout": 60,
      "transportType": "streamable_http",
      "url": "https://fastmcp.cloud/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Parallel Search (no API key)

Parallel Search MCP provides web_search for web results and web_fetch for reading URLs. The anonymous endpoint is free for exploration and light use, with rate limits. No Parallel API key or local MCP server installation is required. Model inference is configured and billed separately by your model provider.

In MCP Manager's JSON view, add the parallel_search entry to your existing mcpServers object, keeping your other servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "parallel_search": {
      "autoApprove": [],
      "disabled": false,
      "timeout": 60,
      "transportType": "streamable_http",
      "url": "https://search.parallel.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "User-Agent": "Agent-Graph/3.0.0"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save, click Connect, and open View Tools. In MCP Inspector, select web_search and enter Find the official Python asyncio documentation in objective, and ["Python asyncio official documentation"] in search_queries. The result includes source URLs and excerpts. To read a source, select web_fetch and enter ["https://docs.python.org/3/library/asyncio.html"] in urls. Leave autoApprove empty to keep tool confirmation enabled. The headers map is supported for Streaming HTTP connections through the JSON editor; the form does not expose it.

Add via Form

Navigate to MCP Manager from the workspace sidebar.

STDIO Server

For local Python/Node.js servers:

Add STDIO Server

Field Description Example
Server Name Unique identifier filesystem
Transport Type Select STDIO -
Command Server executable npx or python
Arguments Startup parameters (comma-separated) -y, @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem, /path/to/dir
Timeout Connection timeout in seconds 60
Auto-approve Tools that skip confirmation (comma-separated) read_file, list_directory
Environment Variables One per line as KEY=VALUE API_KEY=sk-xxx

Common STDIO Servers:

# Filesystem (Node.js)
Command: npx
Arguments: -y, @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem, /home/user/projects

# Git (Node.js)
Command: npx
Arguments: -y, @modelcontextprotocol/server-git, --repository, /path/to/repo

# Tavily Search (Python via uvx)
Command: uvx
Arguments: mcp-server-tavily
Environment: TAVILY_API_KEY=tvly-xxxxx

SSE Server

For HTTP streaming servers:

Field Description Example
Server Name Unique identifier tavily_sse
Transport Type Select SSE -
SSE Address Server endpoint URL https://mcp.api-inference.modelscope.cn/bd902138dc1a4d/sse
Timeout Connection timeout in seconds 60
Auto-approve Tools that skip confirmation search
Environment Variables One per line as KEY=VALUE API_KEY=your-key

Streaming HTTP Server

For FastMCP and compatible servers:

Field Description Example
Server Name Unique identifier weather_http
Transport Type Select Streaming HTTP -
HTTP Address Server endpoint URL https://fastmcp.cloud/mcp
Timeout Connection timeout in seconds 60

Connect and Test

After adding a server:

  1. Click Connect on the server card
  2. Check status indicator (green = connected)
  3. Click View Tools to see available tools
  4. Use MCP Inspector for detailed testing (see Inspector Guide)

Common Issues

Problem Solution
Connection timeout Increase timeout value or check server availability
Command not found Verify command is installed (npx, uvx, python)
Environment variables not working Check syntax: KEY=VALUE with one variable per line
Tools not appearing Disconnect and reconnect; check server logs

Next Steps