MCP Integration · Kiro CLI Guide

Use the Model Context Protocol to bring external tools like git, GitHub, browsers, and docs into Kiro.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets Kiro connect to external tool servers and expand its capabilities. Things like working with git, querying GitHub, controlling a browser, and reading official docs are all possible.

Managing MCP servers

kiro-cli mcp list                 # List configured servers
kiro-cli mcp status               # Check the status of a server
kiro-cli mcp add ...              # Add / replace
kiro-cli mcp remove ...           # Remove
kiro-cli mcp import ...           # Import from another config file

Adding a local (stdio) server

kiro-cli mcp add \
  --name git \
  --command mcp-server-git \
  --args "--stdio" \
  --scope global

Common flags:

flag	Description
`--name`	Server name
`--command`	Startup command (required for stdio servers)
`--url`	Endpoint for an HTTP server (required for HTTP servers)
`--args`	Arguments passed to the command (can be repeated or a JSON array)
`--env`	Environment variables
`--scope`	`default` / `workspace` / `global`
`--agent`	Add to a specific agent (omit to write to the global mcp.json)
`--timeout`	Startup timeout (milliseconds)
`--disabled`	Add it but don’t load it yet
`--force`	Overwrite a server with the same name

Adding a remote (HTTP) server

kiro-cli mcp add \
  --name remote-api \
  --url https://mcp.example.com/sse \
  --scope global

Writing it straight into the agent config

You can also define it directly in the agent’s mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "git": { "command": "mcp-server-git", "args": ["--stdio"] },
    "github": {
      "command": "mcp-server-github",
      "args": ["--stdio"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_TOKEN": "$GITHUB_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

Trusting MCP tools

MCP tool names look like this: @<server>/<tool>. Putting them in allowedTools means trusting them:

{
  "allowedTools": ["@git/*", "@github/get_*", "@github/list_*"]
}

TIP

After adding one, use kiro-cli mcp status to confirm the server came up properly. To see which tools this server provides and how their names are spelled, type /tools in the conversation.

MCP servers are external programs that run directly on your machine. So only add sources you trust. Remember to bring tokens in the env through environment variables (like $GITHUB_TOKEN) — don’t hardcode them in plaintext in the config file and then commit it.

That’s it for advanced automation. Next, let’s customize your own environment.