---
title: "MCP Server"
---
Let AI assistants run your RocketRide pipelines via the Model Context Protocol.
## Quick Start
```bash
pip install rocketride-mcp
```
Configure your MCP client to use the server (see examples below), then ask your AI assistant to process files through your running RocketRide pipelines.
## How It Works
The MCP server connects to a running RocketRide engine and dynamically exposes your pipelines as MCP tools. When an AI assistant calls a tool, the server sends the file to the corresponding pipeline and returns the result.
```text
AI Assistant (Claude, Cursor, ...)
|
MCP Protocol
|
rocketride-mcp server
|
WebSocket (DAP)
|
RocketRide Engine
|
Your Pipelines
```
Running pipelines are discovered automatically - start a pipeline in VS Code or via the SDK, and it appears as a callable tool in your AI assistant.
## What is RocketRide?
[RocketRide](https://rocketride.org) is an open-source, developer-native AI pipeline platform.
It lets you build, debug, and deploy production AI workflows without leaving your IDE --
using a visual drag-and-drop canvas or code-first with TypeScript and Python SDKs.
- **50+ ready-to-use nodes** - 13 LLM providers, 8 vector databases, OCR, NER, PII anonymization, and more
- **High-performance C++ engine** - production-grade speed and reliability
- **Deploy anywhere** - locally, on-premises, or self-hosted with Docker
- **MIT licensed** - fully open-source, OSI-compliant
## How pipelines become tools
Every pipeline you start in RocketRide is automatically registered as an MCP
tool by the server — no extra configuration required.
When you start a pipeline (via the VS Code extension, the CLI, or an SDK), the
engine assigns it a **task token**. The MCP server discovers all running tasks
for your API key and exposes each one as a callable tool. The tool name is
derived from the pipeline name; the tool schema is derived from the pipeline's
input lanes.
```
You start a pipeline → engine assigns a task token
↓
rocketride-mcp discovers it → registers it as an MCP tool
↓
Claude calls the tool → MCP server forwards the request to the pipeline
↓
Pipeline processes it → result streamed back to Claude
```
Stop the pipeline and the tool disappears from the next tool-list refresh.
Start a new pipeline and it appears automatically.
## Worked example
**1. Start the MCP server** (if not already running via a client config):
```bash
export ROCKETRIDE_URI=ws://localhost:5565
export ROCKETRIDE_AUTH=your-api-key
rocketride-mcp
```
**2. Start a pipeline** — for example, a simple chat pipeline (`chat.pipe`):
```json
{
"nodes": [
{ "id": "source_1", "provider": "webhook" },
{
"id": "llm_1", "provider": "llm_openai",
"config": { "profile": "openai-4o-mini", "apikey": "${OPENAI_API_KEY}" },
"input": [{ "lane": "questions", "from": "source_1" }]
},
{ "id": "target_1", "provider": "response",
"input": [{ "lane": "answers", "from": "llm_1" }] }
]
}
```
```bash
rocketride start --pipeline ./chat.pipe
```
**3. Ask Claude to use it.** Open Claude Desktop (configured with the
`mcpServers` block above) and type:
> Use the RocketRide pipeline to answer: what is the boiling point of water?
Claude discovers the tool, calls it with the question, and returns the answer
streamed from your pipeline.
**4. Inspect resources** — Claude can also list your pipelines and check server
status using MCP resources:
> Show me the available RocketRide pipelines.
This reads `rocketride://pipelines` and returns the list of running tasks.
## Installation
```bash
pip install rocketride-mcp
```
Requires Python 3.10+ and `rocketride-client-python` >= 1.1.0.
## Client Configuration
### Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop config file:
**macOS:** `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
**Windows:** `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"rocketride": {
"command": "rocketride-mcp",
"env": {
"ROCKETRIDE_URI": "ws://localhost:5565",
"ROCKETRIDE_AUTH": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
### Cursor
Add to `.cursor/mcp.json` in your workspace:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"rocketride": {
"command": "rocketride-mcp",
"env": {
"ROCKETRIDE_URI": "ws://localhost:5565",
"ROCKETRIDE_AUTH": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
### Claude Code
```bash
claude mcp add rocketride -- rocketride-mcp
```
Set `ROCKETRIDE_URI` and `ROCKETRIDE_AUTH` in your environment before running.
### Command line
```bash
# Using the installed entry point
rocketride-mcp
# Or using Python module
python -m rocketride_mcp
```
## Available Tools
Tools are **discovered from the RocketRide server** (pipelines/tasks available to your account) plus a built-in convenience tool:
- **Server tasks** - Any pipelines or tasks returned by the server for your API key are exposed as MCP tools. Each tool accepts a `filepath` argument and sends that file's contents to the corresponding pipeline.
- **RocketRide_Document_Processor** - A convenience tool that runs the bundled document-parsing pipeline (`simpleparser.json`) without requiring a pre-started task. Supports multi-modal parsing (text, images, video, tables, audio).
All tools accept a single `filepath` parameter (path to the file to process). File paths support:
- Absolute and relative paths
- `file://` URIs (automatically decoded)
- `~` home directory expansion
### Response format
Tool results include both human-readable text and structured data:
- **Text content**: Confirmation message plus extracted text from the pipeline result
- **Structured content**: Raw pipeline result in `structuredContent.result` for programmatic access
## MCP Resources
The server exposes three read-only **MCP Resources** that provide live information about the connected RocketRide engine. Resources use the `rocketride://` URI scheme and return JSON payloads.
| URI | Name | Description |
| ------------------------ | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `rocketride://pipelines` | Pipeline List | JSON array of all available pipelines (name and description) on the connected server |
| `rocketride://status` | Server Status | Connection status, pipeline count, and list of loaded pipeline names |
| `rocketride://nodes` | Node Registry | Available pipeline node types and their schemas (via `rrext_get_nodes`) |
### Reading resources
In Claude Desktop or any MCP-compatible client, resources are listed automatically. You can also access them programmatically:
```python
# Example: read the pipeline list resource
result = await session.read_resource("rocketride://pipelines")
# Returns: {"pipelines": [{"name": "my-pipeline", "description": "..."}, ...]}
# Example: check server status
result = await session.read_resource("rocketride://status")
# Returns: {"connected": true, "pipeline_count": 3, "pipelines": ["pipe-a", "pipe-b", "pipe-c"]}
# Example: list available node types
result = await session.read_resource("rocketride://nodes")
# Returns: {"nodes": [{"name": "llm_openai", "type": "processor"}, ...]}
```
When the RocketRide client is not connected, resources return a JSON error payload (e.g. `{"pipelines": [], "error": "Client is not connected"}`) instead of raising an exception. Unknown URIs raise a `ValueError`.
## MCP Prompt Templates
The server provides three reusable **MCP Prompt Templates** for common RocketRide operations. These templates generate pre-formatted user messages that can be sent to an LLM.
### analyze-document
Analyze a document through a RocketRide pipeline.
| Argument | Required | Description |
| ---------- | -------- | --------------------------------- |
| `pipeline` | Yes | Pipeline name to use for analysis |
| `query` | Yes | Analysis question or instruction |
**Example usage in Claude Desktop:**
Select the "analyze-document" prompt, then fill in:
- **pipeline**: `invoice-parser`
- **query**: `Extract all line items and totals`
This generates the message: _"Please analyze the document using the RocketRide pipeline "invoice-parser". Focus on the following: Extract all line items and totals"_
### chat-with-data
Start a conversation about data processed by RocketRide.
| Argument | Required | Description |
| ---------- | -------- | ---------------------------- |
| `pipeline` | Yes | Pipeline name |
| `question` | Yes | Your question about the data |
**Example usage:**
- **pipeline**: `quarterly-reports`
- **question**: `What was the revenue growth in Q3?`
This generates the message: _"I would like to discuss data processed by the RocketRide pipeline "quarterly-reports". My question is: What was the revenue growth in Q3?"_
### evaluate-pipeline
Evaluate a pipeline's output quality using test data.
| Argument | Required | Description |
| ----------------- | -------- | ------------------------------ |
| `pipeline` | Yes | Pipeline to evaluate |
| `test_input` | Yes | Test input data |
| `expected_output` | No | Expected output for comparison |
**Example usage:**
- **pipeline**: `sentiment-classifier`
- **test_input**: `This product is fantastic!`
- **expected_output**: `positive`
This generates the message: _"Evaluate the output quality of the RocketRide pipeline "sentiment-classifier" using the following test input: This product is fantastic! Expected output: positive"_
### Using prompts programmatically
```python
# List available prompts
prompts = await session.list_prompts()
# Get a rendered prompt
result = await session.get_prompt("analyze-document", arguments={
"pipeline": "my-pipeline",
"query": "Summarize the key findings"
})
# result.messages[0].content.text contains the rendered message
```
## SSE Mode
For remote or Docker deployments, the server can run as an HTTP/SSE server instead of stdio:
```bash
pip install rocketride-mcp[sse]
rocketride-mcp-sse --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080
```
SSE mode supports optional Bearer token authentication via the `MCP_API_KEY` environment variable. The `/health` endpoint is always accessible for monitoring.
## Configuration
Set these environment variables (required; no config file is used):
| Variable | Required | Description |
| ------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `ROCKETRIDE_URI` | Yes | WebSocket URI of the RocketRide engine (e.g. `ws://localhost:5565`) |
| `ROCKETRIDE_AUTH` | Yes\* | API authentication token |
| `ROCKETRIDE_APIKEY` | Yes\* | Alternative to `ROCKETRIDE_AUTH` |
| `MCP_API_KEY` | No | Bearer token for SSE server authentication |
\*Either `ROCKETRIDE_AUTH` or `ROCKETRIDE_APIKEY` must be set.
## Links
- [Documentation](https://docs.rocketride.org/)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/rocketride-org/rocketride-server)
- [Discord](https://discord.gg/9hr3tdZmEG)
- [Contributing](https://github.com/rocketride-org/rocketride-server/blob/develop/CONTRIBUTING.md)
## License
MIT - see [LICENSE](https://github.com/rocketride-org/rocketride-server/blob/develop/LICENSE).