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A stdio MCP server runs as a subprocess on your machine. MIRA launches it with a shell command and communicates through stdin/stdout. No network port is required.

Prerequisites

  • The MCP server binary or script must be installed and executable on your PATH.
  • Verify it works by running npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector <your-command> in a terminal.

Add the server in MIRA

1

Open Settings

Press ⌘, and navigate to MCP Tools.
2

Click Add Server

Click the + Add Server button.
3

Select transport

Choose stdio from the Transport dropdown.
4

Enter the command

Type the shell command that launches your MCP server.Examples:
ServerCommand
Filesystem toolsnpx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/dir
GitHub toolsnpx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github
Custom Python scriptpython /path/to/my_mcp_server.py
5

Set environment variables (optional)

Click Add Env Var to inject environment variables such as API keys into the subprocess.
Environment variables entered here are stored in the OS keychain, not in plain text. They are not included in exports.
6

Give the server a name

Enter a short name (e.g. filesystem). This name becomes the tool namespace prefix.
7

Set scope

Choose Session (active only in the current chat) or Global (always available). See Session vs Global for details.
8

Save and connect

Click Save. MIRA launches the subprocess and calls list_tools. Available tools appear in the server card within a few seconds.

Verifying the connection

After saving, the server card shows:
  • 🟢 Connected — tools discovered successfully
  • 🔴 Error — command failed; hover for the error message
Click the server card to expand and see the full list of discovered tools.

Troubleshooting

SymptomFix
Server shows Error immediatelyRun the command in a terminal to see the raw error output
Tools not appearingEnsure the server outputs valid MCP JSON-RPC on stdout (no extra debug logging)
Environment variable not passedVerify the variable name exactly matches what the server expects
Server disconnects mid-sessionCheck if the subprocess crashes; add --verbose to the command if available
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