MCP servers

MCP servers give tasks outside tools: a database, a browser, an issue tracker, your own scripts. mini-AlbertCode runs local servers (started as a command on your machine) and remote ones (Streamable HTTP, with sign-in where the server asks for it).

Managing them

The welcome screen and the sidebar say how many are connected, and how many need your attention (2 connected, 1 needs attention).

Adding one

Ready to add. MCP servers… (the Settings menu, or MCP in the status bar) lists 105 connectors under Ready to add, by kind, with a search. Each one in the first table below was added there, connected, and had a tool called; each service you sign in to (the second table) was added there and its own sign-in page opened from Add, which is as far as anyone can go without your account. Most are a single click; a few ask one question first, such as a folder, in a field that hides anything secret. In the terminal it is + Add a connector… in /mcp, and on the command line albert-mini mcp connectors, then albert-mini mcp install <id>.

The first start of one that runs on your machine downloads its server (a few seconds; up to two minutes on a slow connection). A hosted one has nothing to download.

Services you sign in to. These reach your own account at a service. Add opens the service's sign-in page; sign in, allow access, and it connects (Signing in). Nothing is installed and no key is typed anywhere.

Each says what it gives Albert where it is listed, for example Linear: find, create and update issues, projects and comments.

GitHub, Figma, Slack, Dropbox, HubSpot and a few others do not let an app register itself for a sign-in, so they are not in the list. Add one by hand with a token you make on its site (for GitHub, a personal access token from Settings → Developer settings). It is kept readable only by you and only ever shown masked:

albert-mini mcp add github --url https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ --header "Authorization=Bearer <your token>"

From a server's instructions. Most MCP servers say how to add them with a block of JSON. Paste it into Import JSON… in the MCP dialog (or open the file it is in), or give the file to the command line. Servers under mcpServers or servers are read, comments are fine, and nothing connects until you add it. Values of env and headers are only ever shown masked:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "memory": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"] },
    "docs": { "url": "https://mcp.example.com/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer {env:DOCS_TOKEN}" } }
  }
}

albert-mini mcp import servers.json           # show what would be added
albert-mini mcp import servers.json --apply   # add them

By hand:

albert-mini mcp add files --command "npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ."
albert-mini mcp add docs --url https://mcp.example.com/mcp
albert-mini mcp add api --url https://mcp.example.com/mcp --header "Authorization=Bearer <token>"

Signing in

Adding a connector that signs in takes you straight to its sign-in page: Add in the browser opens it in a new tab, and the terminal and albert-mini mcp install <id> open it in your browser. Sign in, allow access, and it connects by itself; no key is typed anywhere. The page you end on says Signed in, and you can close it. mini-AlbertCode registers itself with the service on the spot and checks the answer (OAuth with PKCE), and the sign-in is kept in your system's key store.

A remote server added another way says so in the MCP list when it needs a sign-in. Sign in with ctrl+a in the terminal's list, Sign in in the browser, or albert-mini mcp auth <name>. albert-mini mcp logout <name> forgets it. A sign-in made in one interface works in the other.

Example. In Ready to add, search linear and press Add beside Linear. A tab opens on Linear's page asking whether mini-AlbertCode SWE Agent may use your workspace; press Approve. The tab says Signed in to linear, and within a few seconds Linear shows connected in the MCP list with its tools. Ask Albert What are my open Linear issues this week?

A server you added by its address, https://mcp.example.com/mcp, shows needs sign-in in the same way. Press Sign in, allow access on its page, and it connects.

Some services ask a question of their own first: Grafana Cloud asks for your stack's address, PostHog whether your project is in the US or the EU, and a few show a "verify you are human" check before their sign-in page.

Prompts

A server's prompts become commands: /server:prompt key=value … asks the server to fill the prompt in, and the result lands in the box for you to read, change and send.

Command line

albert-mini mcp                         # list them, with their state and tools
albert-mini mcp enable <name>           # switch one on; disable switches it off
albert-mini mcp connect <name>          # connect again
albert-mini mcp tools <name>            # what it offers
albert-mini mcp connectors              # the catalogue
albert-mini mcp install <id> key=value  # add one from the catalogue
albert-mini mcp import FILE [--apply]   # servers from a block of JSON
albert-mini mcp remove <name>