MCP

MCP is the operator Model Context Protocol surface the agent hosts so an MCP client can connect. It is an extra client, not a second control plane. The TUI and GUI stay. Work still goes through issues. Chat still does not implement.

The peer is an MCP client (an operator), not a worker and not the agent.

Enablement

Off by default. Turn it on from Config → Settings (mcp_enabled) or STEELFRAME_MCP=1 in the environment. Env wins over config: STEELFRAME_MCP=0 forces the surface off even when Settings is on.

When off, POST/GET/DELETE /mcp return 404 JSON { "error": "mcp disabled" } and never reach the MCP handler.

Connect

Canonical transport is Streamable HTTP at /mcp on the agent (same operator gate as /api/*). Stdio-only hosts use the CLI proxy:

steelframe mcp --project local

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "steelframe-local": {
      "command": "steelframe",
      "args": ["mcp", "--project", "local"]
    }
  }
}

--print-config prints that snippet and a Streamable HTTP variant; the bearer token is redacted. Token comes from projects.toml or --token-file. See CLI and Auth.

steelframe mcp requires a running agent. It does not start the Coordinator.

Tools

v1 tools on this agent:

Tool	Purpose
`get_status`	Agent heartbeat: project, version, Coordinator liveness, workers, tasks in progress, capacity.
`get_board`	Board cards (issue / backlog / Intake). Optional column filter.
`get_task`	GitHub issue/PR preview plus the current Task run.
`get_workflow_run`	Workflow run plus step log.
`list_workflows`	Workflow summary counts by kind and status.
`retrieve`	Retrieve session memory (agent-wide).
`list_chat_sessions`	List Chat sessions on this agent.
`get_chat_session`	Chat session messages (reasoning stripped).
`new_chat`	Open a new Chat session. Does not bind the TUI current session.
`discuss_issue`	Open a Discuss Chat focused on one issue. Does not send a message.
`chat_send`	Send a Chat message. May file an issue (Pickup) or park in the Board backlog when Chat chooses those intents. `decide` does not post.
`chat_stop`	Stop the in-flight Chat turn.
`file_work`	File a new GitHub issue with Pickup labels. Not a substitute for `route_intake` file.
`publish_decision`	Publish a Decision comment. Chat `decide` does not post.
`route_intake`	Route an Intake card: file (Pickup), park (Backlog), or decline.

Resources

steelframe://status, steelframe://board, steelframe://dashboard, steelframe://issue/{n}, steelframe://run/{id}, steelframe://chat/{session}.

Prompts

Prompt	Purpose
`operator_brief`	Operator posture for this agent: Chat, Pickup, Park, Decision, Retrieve, Intake.
`discuss`	Discuss a parked issue until a Decision draft exists, then Publish.

Gotchas

MCP Chat sessions are not the TUI current Chat session. Missing session_id on chat_send opens a fresh session.
A missing Mcp-Session-Id is success (stateless protocol 2026-07-28).
Host/Origin allowlists are process-lifetime; changing external_url needs a restart.
401 means the proxy needs a projects.toml token or STEELFRAME_TUI_TOKEN.