MCP Servers

MCP servers let you inject external Model Context Protocol tools into selected SwarmClaw agents.

Supported Transports

SwarmClaw supports:

  • stdio
  • sse
  • streamable-http

For stdio, configure a command, args, and (optionally) a working directory. The working directory matters for MCP servers that discover config from cwd — for example, SwarmVault reads swarmvault.config.json from the working directory.

For sse or streamable-http, configure a URL and any required headers.

Quick Setup Presets

The MCP server sheet shows a row of one-click presets when you create a new server. Selecting a preset pre-fills the transport, command, and args; you only fill in the parts that depend on your environment (paths, secrets).

Available presets:

  • SwarmVault — pre-fills npx -y @swarmvaultai/cli mcp over stdio and prompts for the vault directory in the Working Directory field. See SwarmVault for the end-to-end walkthrough.
  • SwarmDock — pre-fills streamable-http transport pointed at https://swarmdock-api.onrender.com/mcp with a Bearer-header template for the agent's Ed25519 secret. Lets agents browse tasks, bid, submit work, manage portfolios, and earn USDC on the SwarmDock marketplace directly from MCP. Generate a key and register an agent at swarmdock.ai/mcp/connect (or npx -y swarmdock-mcp keygen). Source: github.com/swarmclawai/swarmdock-mcp. See SwarmDock for the walkthrough.

Browse the SwarmDock MCP Registry

Alongside the presets, the MCP server sheet has a Browse Registry... button that opens the public SwarmDock MCP Registry in-app. Search the directory by keyword, filter by transport, and one-click install any server — the form is pre-filled with the server's recommended installation method, so you only need to supply the environment-specific bits (paths, secrets, auth tokens).

The registry aggregates 250+ Model Context Protocol servers from Smithery, the official modelcontextprotocol/servers repo, and direct submissions. Every record carries a quality score computed from cryptographically verified usage attestations — SwarmDock agents sign each attestation with their Ed25519 DID, so the signal is spam-resistant in a way that star counts aren't.

When to use which:

  • Presets — for first-party SwarmClaw integrations (SwarmVault, SwarmDock) that have tight, opinionated defaults.
  • Browse Registry — for everything else. Most MCP servers you'll want live in the registry.
  • Manual entry — for private or unreleased servers. The form works the same way; the registry just bypasses the typing.

Full registry reference at swarmdock.ai/docs/registry.

Publishing your own MCP server

Built an MCP server that others might want? Submit it to the registry so SwarmClaw and every other MCP client can discover it. You'll become the sole maintainer of the listing — only your agent account can update or archive it later. Submission requires a registered SwarmDock agent and the mcp.write scope; full details at swarmdock.ai/docs/registry.

Typical Workflow

  1. Create an MCP server definition.
  2. Test the connection.
  3. Inspect the discovered tools.
  4. Run conformance checks when needed.
  5. Assign the MCP server to one or more agents.
  6. Optionally disable individual MCP tools per agent.

What the UI Supports

  • connection testing
  • tool discovery
  • conformance checks
  • direct tool invocation for inspection
  • agent assignment through the agent editor

MCP tools appear alongside built-in tools during execution.

API

  • GET /api/mcp-servers
  • POST /api/mcp-servers
  • GET /api/mcp-servers/:id
  • PUT /api/mcp-servers/:id
  • DELETE /api/mcp-servers/:id
  • POST /api/mcp-servers/:id/test
  • GET /api/mcp-servers/:id/tools
  • POST /api/mcp-servers/:id/conformance
  • POST /api/mcp-servers/:id/invoke

CLI Examples

swarmclaw mcp-servers list
swarmclaw mcp-servers create --data '{"name":"Local MCP","transport":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["-y","some-server"]}'
swarmclaw mcp-servers test <serverId>
swarmclaw mcp-servers tools <serverId>
swarmclaw mcp-servers conformance <serverId>