Model Context Protocol (MCP) extends Kiro's capabilities by connecting to specialized servers that provide additional tools and context. This guide helps you set up, configure, and use MCP servers with Kiro.
MCP is a protocol that allows Kiro to communicate with external servers to access specialized tools and information. For example, the AWS Documentation MCP server provides tools to search, read, and get recommendations from AWS documentation directly within Kiro.
With MCP, you can:
Before using MCP, make sure you have:
There are two ways of integrating MCP servers with Kiro CLI:
# Add new MCP server kiro-cli mcp add github \ --url "mcp://github.com/api" \ --auth-token "$GITHUB_TOKEN" \ --type "http"
{ "mcpServers": { "local-server-name": { "command": "command-to-run-server", "args": ["arg1", "arg2"], "env": { "ENV_VAR1": "value1", "ENV_VAR2": "value2" }, "disabled": false }, "remote-server-name": { "url": "https://endpoint.to.connect.to", "type": "http", "headers": { "HEADER1": "value1", "HEADER2": "value2" }, "disabled": false } } }
If you encounter issues with MCP servers:
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Connection failures | Verify prerequisites are installed correctly |
| Permission errors | Check that tokens and API keys are valid |
| Tool not responding | Review MCP logs for specific error messages |
| Configuration not loading | Validate JSON syntax and save the config file |
Now that you understand MCP basics, explore these resources:
Model context protocol (MCP)