MCP Integration

MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets LLM hosts like Claude Code, Cursor, and Gemini call aide.sh agents as tools. Your agents become subagents that any LLM can orchestrate.

What is MCP?

MCP is a standard protocol for LLMs to discover and invoke external tools. aide.sh implements an MCP server that exposes your running agents as tools.

Auto-configure for Claude Code

$ aide.sh setup-mcp
Detected: Claude Code
Wrote MCP config to ~/.claude/settings.json
Registered tools: aide_list, aide_exec, aide_logs

This adds aide.sh as an MCP server in your Claude Code configuration.

Manual setup

Add the following to your Claude Code settings.json or equivalent MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aide": {
      "command": "aide-sh",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"]
    }
  }
}

For Cursor, add to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aide": {
      "command": "aide-sh",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"]
    }
  }
}

Available MCP tools

Once configured, the LLM host sees these tools:

Example: Claude Code calling an agent

After setup, Claude Code can use your agents directly:

User: "Check if I have any new assignments on COOL"

Claude: I'll check your COOL LMS for new assignments.
        [calling aide_exec: instance="jenny", skill="cool", args=["assignments"]]

        You have 2 new assignments:
        - VLSI Design: HW3 due 2025-06-15
        - ML Lab: Final project proposal due 2025-06-20

The LLM discovers available skills via aide_list, picks the right one, and calls aide_exec.

Running the MCP server manually

$ aide-sh mcp-serve
MCP server listening on stdio

This is what setup-mcp configures to run automatically. You rarely need to invoke it directly.

Debugging

Check that instances are running:

$ aide.sh ps
NAME     IMAGE          STATUS
jenny    jenny:0.1.0    running

Test a skill works before expecting MCP to use it:

$ aide.sh exec jenny cool courses

If the skill works via exec but not via MCP, check the MCP server logs:

$ aide.sh logs --mcp