MCP Servers

Pi connects to Model Context Protocol servers over stdio or streamable HTTP and makes their tools and resources available to the model.

Add a local stdio server, check the connection, then start Pi:

pi mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem .
pi mcp list
pi

For a remote server:

pi mcp add docs --url https://example.com/mcp --bearer-token-env-var DOCS_TOKEN
pi mcp list

These commands add user-level servers by default. Add --local or -l to write the project configuration instead:

pi mcp add -l tools --env API_KEY='${TOOLS_KEY}' -- uvx tools-mcp

Use /mcp inside an interactive session to inspect connections, sign in, reconnect, change exposure, or enable and disable servers. Run /reload after adding, removing, or changing a server outside the session.

Pi reads user-level servers from ~/.pi/agent/mcp.json and project servers from .pi/mcp.json. Project configuration is read only after project trust is granted. A project entry replaces a user-level entry with the same name.

The format matches other MCP clients:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "."]
    },
    "docs": {
      "url": "https://example.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${DOCS_TOKEN}" },
      "description": "Search and read the product documentation"
    }
  }
}

Stdio servers use command, args, env, and cwd. Relative cwd values resolve against the session directory. A leading ~/ in command, an argument, or cwd names the home directory.

HTTP servers use url, headers, and oauth (see Authenticate with OAuth). The legacy SSE transport is not supported.

Both server types support:

• timeout: per-request timeout in seconds (default 60). Progress notifications reset it.
• enabled: false: keep the entry without connecting to it.
• exposure and toolExposure: control how tools reach the model (see Control tool exposure).
• description: what the server offers, in a sentence. It lists the server in the system prompt (see Control tool exposure), tool search ranks the server's tools by it, and codemode's describeNamespace() returns it. Without it, the first line of the server instructions is used once the server connects.

Keep personal servers and servers with credentials in the user-level file. Use the project file only for servers the project requires, and only in trusted projects.

• Server names may contain only letters, digits, _, and -. Tools are named mcp__<server>__<tool>, with every character other than letters, digits, and _ replaced by _; tools of a server whose names then collide all get a hash suffix. Server names that differ only in - and _ count as the same server: a second one is rejected, and a mcp.json server overrides a registered one.
• type is optional. A command selects stdio and a url selects streamable HTTP. When present, type must be stdio, http, or streamable-http.
• sse is rejected. Servers that document an SSE endpoint often also provide streamable HTTP, commonly at /mcp instead of /sse.
• command is one executable and args contains its arguments. It is not a shell command string.
• env and headers values can use environment variables such as ${GITHUB_TOKEN}. They can also run a command with !command, but the command must make up the whole value, for example "Authorization": "!echo Bearer $(gh auth token)".
• Invalid entries are reported and skipped without preventing other servers from connecting.

pi mcp add and pi mcp remove cover common changes from a shell. See MCP commands for their options.

/mcp lists configured servers with their state, tool count, exposure, and configuration source. Servers that need attention appear first. Select a server to inspect its tools and connection details, reconnect, sign in or out, change exposure, or enable and disable it.

Exposure and enabled-state changes are saved to the file that defines the server without replacing unrelated content. Disabled servers remain listed. Outside the interactive TUI, /mcp prints server status; /mcp login <server>, /mcp logout <server>, and /mcp reconnect <server> perform those actions directly.

Shell commands work without a session: pi mcp add, pi mcp remove, pi mcp list, pi mcp login, and pi mcp logout. Shell commands do not load extensions.

Run pi mcp list to connect to every enabled server and print its state, tools, and errors. It exits with status 1 when an entry is invalid or an enabled server is not connected. /mcp shows the full connection error and the tail of stderr from a failed stdio server.

Pi reports configuration errors, failed connections, and required sign-ins once after startup. Server logging notifications are appended to ~/.pi/agent/mcp.log as <time> [<server>] <level> <logger>: <message>. The file moves to mcp.log.1 after it grows past 5 MB.

Pi connects every enabled server in the background when a session starts. A server's tools appear once it connects; the codemode description does not list them, so it does not change when servers connect. The first prompt waits up to 10 seconds only for servers with direct tools, which must be declared in its request. Other servers are waited for when they are needed: a codemode script waits for the servers it names (mcp__<server>) and, when it calls searchTools() or reads ALL_TOOLS, for all of them; tool_search and the resource tools also wait for all of them. HTTP network errors and transient statuses (408, 429, and 5xx) are retried twice. A dropped connection is shown as disconnected and reconnects on the next call. When a server announces a changed tool list, new tools are added and withdrawn tools become unreachable.

Stopping a stdio server closes its stdin, sends SIGTERM, then sends SIGKILL to its process group. This also stops servers launched through wrappers such as npx or uvx.

Move the converted entry under mcpServers in mcp.json, then run pi mcp list to validate it.

Remote servers that use OAuth, such as Sentry, need no credentials in mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sentry": { "url": "https://mcp.sentry.dev/mcp" }
  }
}

When the server rejects an unauthenticated connection, /mcp shows that it needs sign-in. Select "Sign in", run /mcp login sentry, or run pi mcp login sentry. Pi opens the authorization page and waits for approval. If the browser runs on another machine, such as over SSH, paste its redirected URL into the sign-in screen. A running session uses the new credentials on its next turn.

Pi registers itself with the authorization server, stores tokens in ~/.pi/agent/mcp-auth.json, and refreshes access tokens when they expire or the server rejects them. If a server later requests additional scope, Pi asks for sign-in again. Signing out deletes the stored credentials.

Credentials belong to a server name and URL. Servers with the same URL under different names, such as one per account, sign in separately; servers with the same name and URL in different mcp.json files share one sign-in.

OAuth applies to HTTP servers without an Authorization header. For a server that does not support dynamic client registration, configure a registered client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "example": {
      "url": "https://mcp.example.com/mcp",
      "oauth": { "clientId": "my-client", "clientSecret": "${EXAMPLE_SECRET}", "callbackPort": 8765 }
    }
  }
}

The redirect URI must match the registered URI. callbackPort uses http://127.0.0.1:<port>/callback. To use another URI, set callbackUrl; it must use HTTP on localhost, 127.0.0.1, or [::1]. Pi sends it exactly as written. When callbackUrl omits a port, Pi uses callbackPort or a free port and adds it to the URI, as allowed for loopback redirects by RFC 8252. clientSecret is optional and can use an environment variable or command.

Set scope to a space-separated list for servers that do not advertise their required scopes. Otherwise, Pi requests the advertised scopes. Later scope requests are added to the configured value.

Pi registers as pi. Some servers only accept registrations from known clients. Set clientName to send another name:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "figma": { "url": "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp", "oauth": { "clientName": "Claude Code" } }
  }
}

The name is only sent when Pi registers a client. To register again under a new name, sign out first.

Pi finds the authorization server through the server's protected resource metadata (RFC 9728) and checks that the authorization server's metadata names the expected issuer (RFC 8414). Some servers advertise the wrong authorization server or none, so sign-in opens a page that does not exist. Set authServerMetadataUrl to the metadata document of the right authorization server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "example": {
      "url": "https://mcp.example.com/mcp",
      "oauth": { "authServerMetadataUrl": "https://example.okta.com/.well-known/openid-configuration" }
    }
  }
}

Pi uses that document instead of discovery and trusts it as configured, so only point it at a document you trust. The URL must use HTTPS, except on localhost, 127.0.0.1, or [::1].

Each server tool is registered as mcp__<server>__<tool>. The server's exposure determines how the model reaches it:

codemode-deferred is accepted as an alias for codemode.

Servers with codemode or deferred tools are listed in the mcp_servers section of the system prompt, with how their tools are reached and one line from the configured description or, once connected, from the server instructions. Pi updates the section when a prompt starts, after waiting for servers with direct tools. When it changed, for example because a server connected and its summary became available, Pi appends the new section to the conversation instead of changing tool declarations, so earlier messages stay cached. describeNamespace() and the namespace option of searchTools() accept mcp__dev-radius, mcp__dev_radius, dev-radius, or dev_radius.

Pi activates codemode when a server with codemode exposure connects. It activates tool_search for a server with deferred exposure. To make the model see a tool without searching, give it direct exposure with toolExposure.

toolExposure overrides the server exposure for individual tools. Keys are exact server tool names or patterns where * matches any characters. Exact names win over patterns; among patterns, the first match wins. A server with hidden exposure can expose only selected tools:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "exposure": "deferred",
      "toolExposure": {
        "search_code": "direct",
        "get_*": "codemode",
        "delete_*": "hidden"
      }
    }
  }
}

pi mcp list marks tools whose exposure differs from their server. The Tools view in /mcp also shows the effective exposure.

Tools with codemode or deferred exposure can be reached through either indirect mechanism: codemode scripts can call them, and tool_search can load them. Codemode calls do not depend on the active tool set, so they remain available after /tree, resume, and fork. Tools loaded by tool_search are recorded in the transcript and remain declared on that branch.

To keep codemode active without MCP servers, add "defaultTools": ["+codemode"] to settings. To prevent automatic codemode activation, set "autoEnableCodemode": false beside mcpServers. A project value overrides the user-level value. Pi warns once when neither codemode nor tool_search is active and non-direct tools cannot be called.

Text results over 20 KB reach the model with their middle removed around a …N chars truncated… marker. The full text is saved to a temporary file named in the result. Codemode scripts receive the complete result and can reduce it before returning output to the model.

Codemode scripts receive the complete MCP CallToolResult, including content, structuredContent, and isError. A result with isError resolves inside scripts but is reported as an error for direct calls. image(result.content[0]) forwards an image block. Server instructions are not part of any tool description; scripts read them with describeNamespace("mcp__<server>"), which also returns the server's tool names.

When a connected server offers resources, Pi adds the resource tools used by Codex and OpenCode:

• list_mcp_resources lists resources as JSON: { server?, resources: [{ server, uri, name, ... }], nextCursor? }. With server, it lists one page; cursor continues with the next page. Without server, it lists every resource from every server.
• list_mcp_resource_templates lists URI templates for resources the servers do not list directly.
• read_mcp_resource reads a resource by server and uri. Text reaches the model as text and images as images. Other binary resources are saved to temporary files, and the model receives the path. Scripts receive { server, uri, contents }.

These tools reach every enabled, non-hidden server with resources. Their exposure is the widest exposure among those servers: direct, then codemode or deferred. Resource links in tool results identify read_mcp_resource and the server.

Resources for MCP Apps, identified by ui:// URIs or text/html;profile=mcp-app, are omitted because Pi does not render them. Resource icons are also omitted.

Reading and listing resources is retried once after a transient HTTP error (408, 429, or 5xx). Tool calls are not retried because the server may already have performed them.

Every MCP call passes through Pi's tool pipeline. Extension tool_call and tool_result handlers, including permission gates, therefore apply to MCP tools. Calls made from codemode scripts carry the codemode call ID as parentToolCallId.

pi.getAllTools() reports the annotations declared by each server: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, and openWorldHint. Permission extensions can use these hints to decide which calls require confirmation (see Tool exposure). Resource tools are marked read-only.

Extensions can add servers for the current session with pi.registerMcpServer(name, config), using the same shape as an mcpServers entry (see MCP servers in extensions). Registered servers connect like configured servers and appear in /mcp with the extension as their source.

Changes to enabled state or exposure apply only to the current session. A file-configured server with the same name takes precedence, and /mcp lists the overridden registration. pi mcp shell commands do not load extensions and only see file-configured servers.

An installed extension that registers /mcp, such as pi-mcp-adapter, replaces the built-in MCP support for sessions. Pi then does not read mcp.json or connect its servers in a session, and /mcp belongs to the extension. Remove the extension to restore the built-in behavior. To disable built-in MCP support without a replacement, disable mcp under Built-in in pi config, or set "extensions": ["-builtin:mcp"] in settings.

An extension that registers codemode or tool_search similarly replaces the built-in tool with that name. Shell-level pi mcp commands always use the built-in implementation.

SDK sessions do not load built-in extensions. Add the MCP extension, the codemode extension for codemode servers, and the tool-search extension for deferred servers to the resource loader. See Codemode and MCP.