MCP Server

The MCP Server node enables connection to Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, which provide collections of related tools. Unlike the MCP Tool node that configures individual tools, the MCP Server node allows you to connect to an entire server and select multiple tools at once, making it ideal for providing comprehensive functionality to your agents. MCP servers bundle related tools together, offering complete toolsets for specific domains or use cases.

Why Use MCP Server?

The MCP Server is ideal when you need to:

Access multiple tools efficiently - Select multiple or all tools from a server in a single configuration
Provide comprehensive capabilities - Give agents access to complete toolsets for complex, multi-faceted tasks
Simplify configuration - Connect once to access many tools instead of configuring each individually
Use bundled functionality - Leverage pre-configured sets of tools designed to work together
Enable domain expertise - Provide agents with specialized tool collections for specific domains
Streamline tool management - Manage authentication and configuration at the server level for all tools

How It Works

MCP Servers provide collections of tools through a standardized protocol:

Server Connection - Establish connection to an MCP server endpoint
Tool Discovery - Automatically discover all tools provided by the server
Bulk Selection - Select multiple tools or all tools at once
Agent Access - Connected agents can use any selected tool from the server
Centralized Management - Manage authentication and configuration at the server level
Unified Context - All tools share the same server context and credentials

When to Use MCP Server

Use MCP Server when:

You need multiple related tools from the same source
You want to provide agents with comprehensive toolsets
All or most tools from a server are relevant to your workflow
You prefer centralized tool management with one configuration
You're connecting to domain-specific tool collections
You want to simplify setup compared to adding many individual tools (use MCP Tool for single tools)

Configuration Steps

Setting up an MCP Server involves selecting the server source, choosing which tools to make available, and reviewing the tools summary.

Step 1: Server Configuration

First, choose where your MCP server is hosted - either internal pre-configured servers or external custom servers.

Server Type:

Choose between two server types:

Internal Server (Recommended) - Use pre-configured internal MCP servers
- Ready-to-use servers provided by FlowGenX platform
- No additional configuration required
- Pre-tested and verified tool collections
- Managed authentication and credentials
- Regularly maintained and updated
- Ideal for most use cases
External Server - Connect to custom external MCP servers
- Connect to your own MCP server implementations
- Use third-party MCP servers from the community
- Requires server URL and authentication configuration
- Useful for custom integrations and specialized tools
- Full control over server implementation

Step 2: Select MCP Server

After choosing the server type, select the specific MCP server you want to connect to.

Selecting from Internal Servers:

Click on the Select MCP Server dropdown
Browse available internal MCP servers
Each server displays:
- Server name and unique identifier
- Comprehensive description of the server's purpose and capabilities
- Icon or logo for easy identification

Example Server:

scrapy-jane-doe-20260107-115640
- Description: "Web scraping connector powered by Scrapy framework for extracting data from websites using powerful CSS selectors..."
- Provides a complete suite of web scraping and data extraction tools

Once selected, the server information is displayed with its full description, helping you understand the complete set of tools it provides.

Step 3: Select MCP Tools

The key advantage of the MCP Server node is the ability to select multiple tools from the server at once. This step shows all available tools and lets you choose which ones to make available to your agents.

MCP Tools Selection Interface:

The tools selection interface provides powerful features for managing multiple tools:

Selection Controls:

Search tools - Use the search bar to filter tools by name or description
All - Select all available tools from the server with one click
None - Deselect all tools to start fresh
14/14 selected - Counter showing how many tools are currently selected

Tool List:

Each tool in the list displays:

Checkbox - Select or deselect individual tools
Tool Icon - Visual identifier for the tool type
Tool Name - Clear, descriptive name of the tool
Tool Description - Detailed explanation of what the tool does

Example Tools from Scrapy Server:

✓ Test Scrapy connector configuration - Verifies that the Scrapy connector is properly configured
✓ Authenticate with a website - Authenticate with a website using various methods: Basic Auth, Bearer Token, API Key, or form-based login
✓ Download files and images from URLs - Download files, images, PDFs, or any other resource from a URL and save to disk
✓ Submit a form or make a POST request - Submit forms or make POST requests to websites with form data or JSON payload
✓ Extract all links from a webpage - Extracts all links from a webpage

Selection Counter: At the bottom of the tool list, you'll see a message indicating how many tools will be available:

"14 tools will be available to the agent"

Connection Status:

Once tools are selected, a Connected Successfully status appears, showing:

Confirmation that the server connection is established
The server name you're connected to

Step 4: Tools Summary

After selecting your tools, the Tools Summary section displays comprehensive information about your configuration.

Tools Summary Information:

Server - The MCP server providing these tools
- Example: "scrapy-jane-doe-20260107-115640"
Tool Count - Number of tools selected
- Displayed as a badge (e.g., "14 tools")
Selected Tools - Visual representation of all selected tools
- First few tools shown as individual tags/chips
- Tool names displayed clearly
- "+9 more" indicator when there are many tools selected
- Example tools shown:
  - Test Scrapy connector configuration
  - Authenticate with a website
  - Download files and images from URLs
  - Submit a form or make a POST request
  - Extract all links from a webpage
  - +9 more
Description - Server description
- Example: "A Model Context Protocol Server"

This summary provides a complete overview of what tools are configured and ready for use by your agents.

Connecting to Agents

Once configured, the MCP Server node can be connected to agents in your workflow to make all selected tools available.

Connecting to React Agent

To connect the MCP Server to a React Agent:

Add both MCP Server node and React Agent node to your workflow
Draw a connection from the MCP Server to the React Agent
The React Agent will automatically detect all selected tools
Update the React Agent's prompt to explain the available tools and when to use them
The agent can now invoke any of the tools during execution

Benefits for React Agent:

Agent gains access to a complete toolset for comprehensive task handling
Multiple related tools enable complex, multi-step operations
Unified server context ensures consistent tool behavior
Agent can choose the most appropriate tool for each subtask
Reduces configuration overhead compared to adding tools individually

For detailed information on configuring React Agents, see the React Agent documentation.

Connecting to Supervisor Agent

MCP Server connected to Supervisor Agent

To connect the MCP Server to a Supervisor Agent:

Add both MCP Server node and Supervisor Agent node to your workflow
Draw a connection from the MCP Server to the Supervisor Agent
The Supervisor Agent will detect all selected tools and can delegate their use
Update the Supervisor's prompt to explain the tool collection and orchestration strategy
The supervisor can invoke tools directly or coordinate their use across child agents

Benefits for Supervisor Agent:

Supervisor can orchestrate usage of multiple related tools
Complete toolsets enable sophisticated multi-tool workflows
Supervisor can delegate specific tools to child agents
Enables complex problem-solving with comprehensive tool access
Centralized tool management for the entire agent hierarchy

For detailed information on configuring Supervisor Agents, see the Supervisor Agent documentation.

Using the MCP Server in Your Workflow

After configuration and connection:

The MCP Server node appears in your workflow canvas
All selected tools are available to connected agents
Agents can discover and choose from the available tools based on their needs
When an agent invokes a tool, it calls the MCP server with appropriate parameters
The server executes the tool's function
Results are returned to the agent for processing
The workflow continues with enriched data from multiple tool invocations

Multi-Tool Workflow Example:

Agent receives complex task →
Determines multiple tools needed →
Invokes Tool 1 (e.g., Authenticate) →
Invokes Tool 2 (e.g., Extract data) →
Invokes Tool 3 (e.g., Download files) →
Processes all results →
Generates comprehensive response

Best Practices

Server Selection

Choose appropriate servers - Select servers whose tools match your workflow domain
Prefer internal servers - Use internal servers when available for easier management
Understand server purpose - Review server descriptions to ensure alignment with your needs
Check server reliability - Ensure servers are stable and well-maintained
Consider tool count - Servers with 10-20 tools are often ideal for comprehensive functionality

Tool Selection

Select relevant tools - Choose tools that align with your workflow requirements
Use "All" judiciously - Select all tools only when all are truly needed
Review tool descriptions - Understand what each tool does before selection
Balance quantity and focus - More tools provide flexibility but may overwhelm agents
Deselect unused tools - Remove tools that don't serve your specific use case

Agent Integration

Document tool collections - Clearly explain the available toolset in agent prompts
Provide usage guidelines - Explain when to use which tools
Group related tools - Help agents understand how tools work together
Set tool priorities - Guide agents on which tools to prefer for specific tasks
Include examples - Show multi-tool workflow examples in prompts

Configuration Management

Validate server connection - Verify "Connected Successfully" status before deployment
Review tools summary - Check the summary to confirm all intended tools are selected
Test tool invocation - Verify tools work correctly in the Playground
Monitor server status - Track server availability and performance
Update as needed - Adjust tool selection based on actual usage patterns

Common Use Cases

Comprehensive Web Scraping:

Connect Scrapy server with all scraping tools
Agent can authenticate, extract data, download files, and submit forms
Complete web automation in a single workflow
Example: Scrape product data, download images, extract reviews

Multi-Step API Workflows:

Server providing authentication, CRUD operations, and data transformation tools
Agent orchestrates complete API interactions
Example: Login, fetch data, process, update records

Document Processing Pipeline:

Server with tools for reading, parsing, extracting, and transforming documents
Agent handles end-to-end document workflows
Example: Read PDF, extract tables, convert formats, generate summaries

Data Integration and ETL:

Server providing extraction, transformation, validation, and loading tools
Agent coordinates complete data pipeline
Example: Extract from source, transform data, validate quality, load to destination

Content Management:

Server with tools for creating, updating, searching, and publishing content
Agent manages content lifecycle
Example: Create articles, add metadata, upload media, publish to CMS

Troubleshooting

Server Not Connecting:

Verify server type is correct (Internal vs External)
Check server availability and status
Ensure network connectivity for external servers
Review authentication credentials for external servers
Try reconnecting or selecting a different server

Tools Not Appearing:

Verify server connection is successful ("Connected Successfully" status)
Refresh the tool list by reselecting the server
Check server logs for tool discovery issues
Ensure the server is properly configured with tools

Agent Not Using Tools:

Verify MCP Server node is connected to the agent
Ensure tools are selected (check the counter, e.g., "14/14 selected")
Update agent prompt to mention available tools
Provide clear instructions on when to use each tool
Check agent logs to see if tools are being discovered

Tool Invocation Failing:

Validate tool parameters are correct
Check server connectivity and status
Verify server has necessary permissions
Review tool-specific error messages
Test individual tools to isolate issues

Too Many Tools Overwhelming Agent:

Reduce the number of selected tools
Keep only the most relevant tools for your use case
Provide clearer guidance in agent prompts
Consider using multiple MCP Tool nodes for better control
Group tools by category in your prompt instructions

Monitoring Server and Tool Usage

Monitor your MCP Server performance:

Track server uptime - Ensure consistent server availability
Monitor tool invocation patterns - Understand which tools are most used
Measure success rates - Track successful vs failed tool calls
Analyze response times - Monitor tool execution performance
Review agent behavior - Understand how agents choose between tools
Identify unused tools - Remove or adjust tools that are never invoked

For more information on monitoring workflow executions, see the Traceability documentation.

MCP Server vs MCP Tool

Use MCP Server when:

You need multiple tools from the same server
You want to provide comprehensive toolsets
All or most tools from a server are relevant
You prefer centralized configuration and management
You're building complex workflows requiring many related tools
You want to simplify setup with bulk tool selection

Use MCP Tool when:

You need one or a few specific tools
You want granular control over individual tool access
Different agents need different specific tools
You're building focused, specialized workflows
You want to avoid overwhelming agents with too many options

Comparison Example:

Web Scraping Workflow:

MCP Server: Connect Scrapy server with 14 tools for comprehensive scraping capabilities
MCP Tool: Add only "Get full page content" tool for simple page retrieval

For information on using individual MCP Tools, see the MCP Tool documentation.

Next Steps

After setting up your MCP Server:

Verify the server connection is successful
Review the selected tools in the Tools Summary
Connect the server to your React Agent or Supervisor Agent
Update agent prompts to explain the available toolset
Test multiple tool invocations in the Playground
Verify all tools work as expected
Deploy your workflow with the integrated tool collection
Monitor tool usage patterns and adjust selection as needed

MCP Servers bring comprehensive external capabilities to your FlowGenX workflows, enabling agents to perform complex, multi-faceted tasks by intelligently choosing and combining tools from complete toolsets designed to work together.