Skip to content

servers.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
326 lines (238 loc) · 13 KB

servers.md

File metadata and controls

326 lines (238 loc) · 13 KB
Raw

Predefined MCP Servers

This document describes the predefined MCP servers available in AgentTools and helps you choose the right one for your needs.

Overview

AgentTools provides four predefined server configurations, each tailored for different use cases. These are available via $DefaultMCPServers and can be installed into MCP clients using InstallMCPServer.

Server Primary Use Case
Wolfram General-purpose: Wolfram Language + Wolfram Alpha
WolframAlpha Natural language queries via Wolfram Alpha
WolframLanguage Wolfram Language development with notebook support
WolframPacletDevelopment Paclet development with documentation tools

Choosing a Server

Wolfram

Best for: General-purpose use combining computational power with natural language understanding.

InstallMCPServer["ClaudeDesktop", "Wolfram"]

This is the default server for chat clients (ClaudeDesktop, Goose) when no server name is specified. Coding clients default to "WolframLanguage" instead — see mcp-clients.md for each client's default. It provides:

Component Name Description
Tool WolframContext Semantic search across Wolfram resources (documentation, Wolfram Alpha, repositories, and more)
Tool WolframLanguageEvaluator Execute Wolfram Language code
Tool WolframAlpha Natural language queries to Wolfram Alpha
Prompt Search Combined documentation and Wolfram Alpha search

Use this when: You want a balanced mix of code execution, documentation lookup, and natural language computation.

WolframAlpha

Best for: Natural language queries without code execution.

InstallMCPServer["ClaudeDesktop", "WolframAlpha"]

This server focuses on Wolfram Alpha's natural language capabilities:

Component Name Description
Tool WolframAlphaContext Semantic search for Wolfram Alpha results
Tool WolframAlpha Natural language queries to Wolfram Alpha
Prompt Search Wolfram Alpha search

Use this when: You need computational knowledge (math, science, data) without running Wolfram Language code.

WolframLanguage

Best for: Wolfram Language development and learning.

InstallMCPServer["ClaudeCode", "WolframLanguage"]

This server provides comprehensive Wolfram Language development tools:

Component Name Description
Tool WolframLanguageContext Semantic search across Wolfram Language resources (documentation, repositories, and more)
Tool WolframLanguageEvaluator Execute Wolfram Language code
Tool ReadNotebook Read Wolfram notebooks (.nb) as markdown
Tool WriteNotebook Convert markdown to Wolfram notebooks
Tool SymbolDefinition Look up symbol definitions
Tool CodeInspector Inspect Wolfram Language code for issues
Tool TestReport Run Wolfram Language test files (.wlt)
Prompt Search Wolfram Language documentation search
Prompt Notebook Attach notebook contents to context

Use this when: You're developing Wolfram Language code, working with notebooks, or learning the language.

WolframPacletDevelopment

Best for: Developing and maintaining Wolfram paclets.

InstallMCPServer[{"ClaudeCode", "/path/to/paclet"}, "WolframPacletDevelopment"]

This server extends WolframLanguage with paclet documentation and development tools:

Component Name Description
Tool WolframLanguageContext Semantic search across Wolfram Language resources (documentation, repositories, and more)
Tool WolframLanguageEvaluator Execute Wolfram Language code
Tool ReadNotebook Read Wolfram notebooks (.nb) as markdown
Tool WriteNotebook Convert markdown to Wolfram notebooks
Tool SymbolDefinition Look up symbol definitions
Tool CodeInspector Inspect Wolfram Language code for issues
Tool TestReport Run Wolfram Language test files (.wlt)
Tool CreateSymbolDoc Create new symbol documentation pages
Tool EditSymbolDoc Edit existing symbol documentation
Tool EditSymbolDocExamples Edit example sections in documentation
Tool CheckPaclet Check a paclet for issues (missing metadata, invalid structure, etc.)
Tool BuildPaclet Build a paclet archive (.paclet) for distribution
Tool SubmitPaclet Submit a paclet to the Wolfram Language Paclet Repository
Prompt Search Wolfram Language documentation search
Prompt Notebook Attach notebook contents to context

Use this when: You're developing a Wolfram paclet and need to create or maintain documentation notebooks, or check/build/submit paclets.

Server Comparison

Tools by Server

Tool Wolfram WolframAlpha WolframLanguage WolframPacletDevelopment
WolframContext X
WolframAlphaContext X
WolframLanguageContext X X
WolframLanguageEvaluator X X X
WolframAlpha X X
ReadNotebook X X
WriteNotebook X X
SymbolDefinition X X
CodeInspector X X
TestReport X X
CreateSymbolDoc X
EditSymbolDoc X
EditSymbolDocExamples X
CheckPaclet X
BuildPaclet X
SubmitPaclet X

Prompts by Server

Prompt (MCP Name) Wolfram WolframAlpha WolframLanguage WolframPacletDevelopment
Search X X X X
Notebook X X

Note: The Search prompt has different implementations depending on the server:

  • Wolfram: Searches both documentation and Wolfram Alpha
  • WolframAlpha: Searches Wolfram Alpha only
  • WolframLanguage/WolframPacletDevelopment: Searches documentation only

Shared Config Key

All built-in servers share the config key "Wolfram" in client configuration files (via the "MCPServerName" property). This means they are mutually exclusive — installing one built-in server variant replaces any previously installed built-in variant in the same client:

InstallMCPServer["ClaudeDesktop", "Wolfram"]
InstallMCPServer["ClaudeDesktop", "WolframLanguage"]
(* Only "WolframLanguage" remains, under the "Wolfram" config key *)

This is intentional: the built-in servers are different configurations of the same Wolfram MCP server and should not run simultaneously. To override this behavior, use the "MCPServerName" option (see mcp-clients.md).

Using Predefined Servers

Installation

Install a server into an MCP client:

(* Install default (Wolfram) server *)
InstallMCPServer["ClaudeDesktop"]

(* Install a specific server *)
InstallMCPServer["ClaudeCode", "WolframLanguage"]

(* Install to a project directory *)
InstallMCPServer[{"ClaudeCode", "/path/to/project"}, "WolframPacletDevelopment"]

See mcp-clients.md for details on supported clients and installation options.

Accessing Server Objects

Get a server object programmatically:

(* Get all predefined servers *)
$DefaultMCPServers
(* <|"Wolfram" -> MCPServerObject[...], ...|> *)

(* Get a specific server *)
MCPServerObject["WolframLanguage"]

Server Properties

Query server properties:

server = MCPServerObject["WolframLanguage"];
server["Name"]           (* "WolframLanguage" *)
server["Tools"]          (* List of LLMTool objects *)
server["MCPPrompts"]     (* List of prompt definitions *)
server["JSONConfiguration"]  (* JSON config for manual setup *)

Creating Custom Servers

If the predefined servers don't meet your needs, you can create custom servers with CreateMCPServer.

Basic Custom Server

CreateMCPServer["MyServer", <|
    "Tools" -> {"WolframLanguageEvaluator", "WolframAlpha"}
|>]

Mixing Predefined and Custom Tools

CreateMCPServer["MyServer", <|
    "Tools" -> {
        "WolframLanguageEvaluator",
        LLMTool @ <|
            "Name" -> "CustomTool",
            "Description" -> "My custom tool",
            "Function" -> myFunction,
            "Parameters" -> {"input" -> <|"Interpreter" -> "String"|>}
        |>
    }
|>]

Adding Custom Prompts

CreateMCPServer["MyServer", <|
    "Tools" -> {"WolframLanguageEvaluator"},
    "MCPPrompts" -> {
        "WolframLanguageSearch",
        <|
            "Name" -> "Greet",
            "Description" -> "Generates a greeting",
            "Arguments" -> {<|"Name" -> "name", "Required" -> True|>},
            "Type" -> "Text",
            "Content" -> StringTemplate["Hello, `name`!"]
        |>
    }
|>]

See tools.md and mcp-prompts.md for details on creating custom tools and prompts.

Server Initialization

Custom servers can include initialization code that runs when the server starts:

CreateMCPServer["MyServer", <|
    "Tools" -> {"WolframLanguageEvaluator"}
|>, Initialization :> Needs["MyPackage`"]]

The Initialization option accepts an expression that will be evaluated at server start time before any tools are invoked.

CreateMCPServer Options

Option Default Description
OverwriteTarget False Overwrite an existing server with the same name
IncludeDefinitions True Include function definitions in the serialized server
Initialization None Code to evaluate when the server starts

LLMKit Requirements

Some tools require an LLMKit subscription for full functionality:

Tool LLMKit Dependency
WolframContext Suggested
WolframAlphaContext Required
WolframLanguageContext Suggested
Other tools Not required

Not having an LLMKit subscription will have the following effects:

  • WolframContext will not provide reranking or filtering and will not include any Wolfram|Alpha results
  • WolframAlphaContext will not function at all
  • WolframLanguageContext will only provide basic semantic search without reranking or filtering

Other tools (e.g. WolframLanguageEvaluator, WolframAlpha) do not depend on LLMKit.

MCP Apps Support

All predefined servers support MCP Apps when the client advertises the io.modelcontextprotocol/ui extension. When active, the WolframAlpha and WolframLanguageEvaluator tools are automatically enhanced with interactive UI (e.g., embedded cloud notebook viewers). No server configuration changes are needed; capability negotiation happens automatically during initialize.

To disable MCP Apps for a specific installation, use:

InstallMCPServer["ClaudeDesktop", "EnableMCPApps" -> False]

MCP Roots Support

All predefined servers support the MCP roots handshake. When a client advertises the roots capability (e.g., Claude Code passing the project directory the user opened), the server queries roots/list, picks the first valid directory, and propagates it to the kernel, the local evaluator, and tools that invoke external processes (TestReport). Relative paths the LLM passes to a tool then resolve against the user's project rather than against the server's startup directory.

If the client does not advertise roots, no roots/list request is sent and tools fall back to the kernel's original working directory. No server configuration is required either way.

Paclet-Backed Servers

Third-party paclets can contribute MCP servers via the "AgentTools" paclet extension. These servers are referenced using paclet-qualified names:

(* View a paclet-backed server *)
MCPServerObject["PublisherID/MyPaclet/ServerName"]

(* Install a paclet-backed server *)
InstallMCPServer["ClaudeCode", "PublisherID/MyPaclet/ServerName"]

Paclet servers appear alongside file-based and built-in servers when listing with MCPServerObjects[]. Use "IncludeRemotePaclets" -> True to also discover servers from uninstalled paclets in the Paclet Repository.

See paclet-extensions.md for details on how paclets declare servers, tools, and prompts.

Related Documentation