Connect via MCP Client

Toolbox SDKs vs Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Toolbox now supports connections via both the native Toolbox SDKs and via Model Context Protocol (MCP). However, Toolbox has several features which are not supported in the MCP specification (such as Authenticated Parameters and Authorized invocation).

We recommend using the native SDKs over MCP clients to leverage these features. The native SDKs can be combined with MCP clients in many cases.

Protocol Versions

Toolbox currently supports the following versions of MCP specification:

• 2024-11-05

Features Not Supported by MCP

Toolbox has several features that are not yet supported in the MCP specification:

• AuthZ/AuthN: There are no auth implementation in the 2024-11-05 specification. This includes:
  • Authenticated Parameters
  • Authorized Invocations
• Notifications: Currently, editing Toolbox Tools requires a server restart. Clients should reload tools on disconnect to get the latest version.

Connecting to Toolbox with an MCP client

Before you begin

1. Install Toolbox version 0.3.0+.

2. Make sure you’ve set up and initialized your database.

3. Set up your tools.yaml file.

Connecting via Standard Input/Output (stdio)

Toolbox supports the stdio transport protocol. Users that wish to use stdio will have to include the --stdio flag when running Toolbox.

./toolbox --stdio

When running with stdio, Toolbox will listen via stdio instead of acting as a remote HTTP server. Logs will be set to the warn level by default. debug and info logs are not supported with stdio.

Connecting via HTTP

Toolbox supports the HTTP transport protocol with and without SSE.

• HTTP with SSE
• HTTP POST

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "toolbox": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:5000/mcp/sse",
    }
  }
}

Using the MCP Inspector with Toolbox

Use MCP Inspector for testing and debugging Toolbox server.

• STDIO
• HTTP with SSE

Tested Clients