Skip to main content

​
Transport Mode

The watsonx Orchestrate MCP Server supports three transport modes: STDIO, SSE, and HTTP STREAMABLE. The server includes native support for all three transport types. You choose the transport mode by setting the WXO_MCP_TRANSPORT environment variable to stdio, sse, or http. Example:
  • STDIO
  • SSE
  • HTTP STREAMABLE
.env
WXO_MCP_TRANSPORT=stdio
By default, the server runs using STDIO. This works only for locally running servers. For remote connections, HTTP STREAMABLE is the preferred method. Consider how and where you want the server to run when selecting a transport type.

​
Network Settings

When using SSE or HTTP STREAMABLE, the server runs as an HTTP web server on a specific host and port. By default, the host is 127.0.0.1 and the port is 8080. You configure both options using the WXO_MCP_HOST and WXO_MCP_PORT environment variables.

​
File Access

Many features in the watsonx Orchestrate ADK rely on reading and writing files, such as importing or exporting resources. By default, the watsonx Orchestrate MCP Server blocks tools from accessing the file system where the server runs, for security reasons. To allow access, set a root working directory using the WXO_MCP_WORKING_DIRECTORY environment variable. This enables tools in the MCP Server to read and write files, as long as they stay within that directory or its subdirectories. Example:
.env
WXO_MCP_WORKING_DIRECTORY=<file_path>
⌘I