MCP Configuration

MCP config objects tell Data Designer which Model Context Protocol providers exist and which tools an LLM column may use.

MCPProvider configures remote MCP servers via SSE or Streamable HTTP transport. LocalStdioMCPProvider configures local MCP servers as subprocesses via stdio transport. ToolConfig sets which tools are available for LLM columns and how they are constrained.

For MCP execution internals, see Engine MCP. Related guides:

MCP Providers - Configure local or remote MCP providers
Tool Configs - Define tool permissions and limits
Enabling Tools - Use tools in LLM columns
Traces - Capture full conversation history

API Reference

Classes:

Name	Description
`LocalStdioMCPProvider`	Configuration for launching a local MCP server via stdio transport.
`MCPProvider`	Configuration for a remote MCP server connection.
`ToolConfig`	Configuration for permitting MCP tools on an LLM column.

`LocalStdioMCPProvider`

Bases: ConfigBase

Configuration for launching a local MCP server via stdio transport.

LocalStdioMCPProvider is used to launch MCP servers as subprocesses using stdio for communication. For connecting to remote/pre-existing MCP servers, use MCPProvider instead.

Attributes:

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`str`	Unique name used to reference this MCP provider.
`command`	`str`	Executable to launch the MCP server via stdio transport.
`args`	`list[str]`	Arguments passed to the MCP server executable. Defaults to [].
`env`	`dict[str, str]`	Environment variables passed to the MCP server subprocess. Defaults to {}.
`provider_type`	`Literal['stdio']`	Transport type discriminator, always "stdio".

Examples:

Stdio (subprocess) transport:

>>> LocalStdioMCPProvider(
...     name="demo-mcp",
...     command="python",
...     args=["-m", "data_designer_e2e_tests.mcp_demo_server"],
...     env={"PYTHONPATH": "/path/to/project"},
... )

`MCPProvider`

Bases: ConfigBase

Configuration for a remote MCP server connection.

MCPProvider is used to connect to pre-existing MCP servers via SSE (Server-Sent Events) or Streamable HTTP transport. For local subprocess-based MCP servers, use LocalStdioMCPProvider instead.

Attributes:

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`str`	Unique name used to reference this MCP provider.
`endpoint`	`str`	Endpoint URL for connecting to the remote MCP server.
`api_key`	`str \| None`	Optional API key for authentication. Defaults to None.
`provider_type`	`Literal['sse', 'streamable_http']`	Transport type discriminator. Defaults to `"sse"`.

Examples:

Remote SSE transport (default):

>>> MCPProvider(
...     name="remote-mcp",
...     endpoint="http://localhost:8080/sse",
...     api_key="your-api-key",
... )

Remote Streamable HTTP transport:

>>> MCPProvider(
...     name="remote-mcp",
...     endpoint="https://api.example.com/mcp",
...     api_key="your-api-key",
...     provider_type="streamable_http",
... )

`ToolConfig`

Bases: ConfigBase

Configuration for permitting MCP tools on an LLM column.

ToolConfig defines which tools are available for use during LLM generation. It references one or more MCP providers by name and can optionally restrict which tools from those providers are permitted.

Attributes:

Name	Type	Description
`tool_alias`	`str`	User-defined alias to reference this tool configuration in column configs.
`providers`	`list[str]`	Names of the MCP providers to use for tool calls. Tools can be drawn from multiple providers.
`allow_tools`	`list[str] \| None`	Optional allowlist of tool names that restricts which tools are permitted. If None, all tools from the specified providers are allowed. Defaults to None.
`max_tool_call_turns`	`int`	Maximum number of tool-calling turns permitted in a single generation. A turn is one iteration where the LLM requests tool calls. With parallel tool calling, a single turn may execute multiple tools simultaneously. Defaults to 5.
`timeout_sec`	`float \| None`	Timeout in seconds for MCP tool calls. Defaults to None (no timeout).

Examples:

>>> ToolConfig(
...     tool_alias="search-tools",
...     providers=["doc-search-mcp", "web-search-mcp"],
...     allow_tools=["search_docs", "list_docs"],
...     max_tool_call_turns=10,
...     timeout_sec=30.0,
... )