MCP

MCP, or Model Context Protocol, lets Axiomate connect to external tool services. An MCP server can expose tools, prompts, and resources to Axiomate. After a server connects successfully, those capabilities become available to the current session.

In simple terms: built-in tools come with Axiomate, while MCP connects external systems. Internal APIs, search services, read-only database query tools, design systems, monitoring platforms, and knowledge bases can all be exposed through MCP servers.

When MCP is useful

Use MCP when:

• Axiomate needs access to an external system, but the interface is too complex to paste into a prompt every time.
• A team already has internal tools and wants Axiomate to call them safely.
• Important context lives outside the repository, such as monitoring, tickets, knowledge bases, or business backends.
• A group of tools should be exposed to Axiomate in a reusable way.

If Axiomate only needs to read and edit current project files or run local commands, MCP is usually not needed.

How MCP servers connect

Axiomate commonly uses three MCP transports:

When --transport is omitted, axiomate mcp add treats the server as stdio. For URL-based servers, explicitly pass --transport http or --transport sse.

Add an MCP server

Add a local stdio server:

axiomate mcp add my-server -- npx my-mcp-server

The -- separates Axiomate arguments from the server command. Everything after -- is treated as the MCP server command and arguments.

Add an HTTP server:

axiomate mcp add --transport http my-api https://example.com/mcp

Add an SSE server:

axiomate mcp add --transport sse search https://example.com/sse

Pass environment variables to a stdio server:

axiomate mcp add -e API_KEY=xxx my-server -- node server.js

Pass headers to an HTTP server:

axiomate mcp add --transport http my-api https://example.com/mcp -H "Authorization: Bearer xxx"

Where configuration is saved

axiomate mcp add writes to the local scope by default. Use -s to choose another scope:

Project-shared .mcp.json servers do not connect silently. The first time Axiomate sees a project-scoped server, it asks the user to approve or reject it.

Do not commit secrets into .mcp.json. Team-shared configuration should reference environment variables so each user keeps tokens on their own machine.

Manage MCP inside a conversation

Inside Axiomate, run:

/mcp

This opens the MCP management view. It shows server status, authentication state, tool counts, prompts, and resources.

Common commands:

The CLI can also inspect or remove configuration:

axiomate mcp list
axiomate mcp get <name>
axiomate mcp remove <name>

axiomate mcp list and axiomate mcp get connect to servers for health checks, and may start stdio servers from .mcp.json. Only run them in project directories you trust.

Authentication and permissions

If an HTTP or SSE server needs OAuth, Axiomate shows an authentication entry in /mcp. After authentication succeeds, the server's tools can become available.

MCP tool calls still go through Axiomate's normal tool permissions and approval flow. Connecting an MCP server does not mean its tools can bypass confirmation.

Practical guidance:

• Only add MCP servers you trust.
• Do not run unknown stdio commands.
• Do not commit tokens into the repository.
• Prefer environment variables and least-privilege tokens for team-shared configuration.

Common issues