SurfSense Wiki

desktop-guide

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Requirements & Scope

  • Version: AnythingLLM Desktop v1.8.0 or higher.
  • Scope: Supports Tools loading. Does not support Resources, Prompts, or Sampling.
  • Host Dependencies: The command for any MCP Server (e.g., npx, uv, uvx, node, bash) must be installed manually on the host machine and available in the host PATH or specified via direct binary path.

Configuration File

  • Path: Located in the AnythingLLM storage directory at plugins/anythingllm_mcp_servers.json (created automatically upon opening the “Agent Skills” page if missing).

Startup Behavior

  • MCP servers start automatically when opening the “Agent Skills” page or invoking the @agent directive.
  • Autostart Prevention: To prevent an MCP server from starting automatically, add "anythingllm.autoStart": false to its configuration block.

Operations via UI (“Agent Skills” page)

Add an MCP Server

Add a new tool object to the mcpServers block in anythingllm_mcp_servers.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "server-name": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-package"],
      "anythingllm.autoStart": true
    }
  }
}

Remove an MCP Server

  • UI: Click the MCP Server in the list -> click gear icon -> click Delete (stops process and removes from JSON).
  • Manual: Remove the server object from anythingllm_mcp_servers.json, then click Refresh in the UI.

Start / Stop / Reload

  • Start/Stop: Click the MCP Server -> click gear icon -> click Start or Stop.
  • Reload/Apply Changes: Click the Refresh button to apply configuration edits and restart running instances.

Troubleshooting & Verification

  • Status Checks: Select the server on the “Agent Skills” page to view active errors.
  • Application Logs: Check the standard Desktop application logs for startup failures.
  • CLI Validation: If a tool fails to load, execute the installation/startup command directly in the host terminal (e.g., uv tool install <package>) to verify host compatibility.

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