Understanding MCP Tools

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is how agents interact with external systems. It's the bridge between "the AI wants to do something" and "the thing actually gets done."

What is MCP?

MCP servers provide tools that agents can use. Think of them as plugins:

• sciorex-tickets gives agents the ability to create and manage tickets
• sciorex-interactions lets agents ask you questions
• sciorex-resources lets agents create and modify other agents and flows
• A GitHub MCP could let agents create pull requests
• A Slack MCP could let agents send messages

Built-in MCP Servers

Sciorex includes three MCP servers out of the box, plus one internal server for permissions:

sciorex-tickets

Tools for working with your ticket system:

Tool	What it does
sciorex_create_ticket	Create a new ticket
sciorex_get_ticket	Get ticket details
sciorex_update_ticket	Modify a ticket
sciorex_change_status	Move ticket through workflow
sciorex_add_subtask	Add a subtask
sciorex_complete_subtask	Mark subtask done
sciorex_list_tickets	Find tickets with filters
sciorex_search_tickets	Search by text

sciorex-interactions

Tools for communicating with you:

Tool	What it does
sciorex_ask_user	Ask a question and wait for your answer
sciorex_notify_user	Send a notification
sciorex_request_approval	Request approval before proceeding

sciorex-resources

Tools for managing agents and flows programmatically:

Tool	What it does
sciorex_list_agents	List all available agents
sciorex_get_agent	Get an agent's YAML definition
sciorex_save_agent	Create or update an agent
sciorex_delete_agent	Delete an agent
sciorex_list_flows	List all available flows
sciorex_get_flow	Get a flow's JSON definition
sciorex_save_flow	Create or update a flow
sciorex_delete_flow	Delete a flow

How Agents Use Tools

When an agent needs to do something, it calls a tool:

Agent: "I need to create a ticket for this bug."
       → calls sciorex_create_ticket with title and description
       → ticket T-007 is created
       → agent continues with the ticket ID

You control which tools each agent can access in the agent configuration.

Enabling Tools in Chat

When chatting directly (not using a specific agent), you can toggle tools:

1. Click the Tools button in the chat input
2. Enable or disable specific tools
3. Tools you enable become available for that session

Permission Modes

You decide how much autonomy agents have:

Mode	Behavior
Ask for all	Every tool call requires your approval
Auto-approve edits	File operations are automatic, commands need approval
YOLO Mode	Everything runs automatically (use with caution)

Adding Custom MCP Servers

You can add MCP servers from the community or build your own. Configure them in your Claude Code settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Once configured, the tools appear in Sciorex automatically.

Common MCP Servers

The MCP ecosystem is growing. Some popular options:

Server	Capabilities
GitHub	Issues, PRs, repositories
Slack	Messages, channels
PostgreSQL	Database queries
Filesystem	Extended file operations

Check the MCP registry for community servers.

Best Practices

Start with built-in tools. The ticket and interaction tools cover most needs.

Limit tool access. Only give agents the tools they actually need.

Require approval for destructive actions. Creating is safer than deleting.

Test custom MCPs carefully. Make sure they handle errors gracefully.

Next Steps

• Full MCP reference
• Configuring agent tools
• MCP in flows