> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.machina.gg/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MCP Overview

> Two distinct MCP surfaces in Machina — outbound (MCP Builder) and inbound (External MCP) — and the one endpoint they share.

"MCP" shows up in two directions in Machina, and they're easy to conflate because both ultimately talk to the same kind of endpoint. Keep them separate:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="MCP Builder (outbound)" icon="wrench" href="/mcp/mcp-builder">
    Compose a server that **exposes** your project's workflows, agents, prompts, and connector operations as tools — for an external agent to call.
  </Card>

  <Card title="External MCP (inbound)" icon="plug" href="/mcp/external-mcp-integrations">
    Connect your project **to** someone else's MCP server, so its tools become available to the Studio Copilot.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## The one thing both share: the connection endpoint

Every Machina project has an MCP endpoint at its Client-API base plus a fixed path:

| Field       | Value                                |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------ |
| URL         | `<client-api base>/mcp/sse`          |
| Transport   | `sse`                                |
| Auth header | `X-Api-Token` (or `X-Session-Token`) |

Whatever tools MCP Builder publishes (outbound) show up on this **same** endpoint. Resolve it with [`machina mcp url`](/cli/commands/mcp), or get it paired with an auth token ready to hand to an external agent with [`machina connect`](/cli/commands/connect). See [Connecting External Agents](/mcp/connecting-external-agents) for ready-to-paste snippets (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Claude Desktop).

## Quick decision guide

* **"I want an external agent (SportsClaw, Claude Code, Cursor…) to call things in my project"** → [MCP Builder](/mcp/mcp-builder) to choose what's exposed, then [Connecting External Agents](/mcp/connecting-external-agents) to wire the client.
* **"I want my project's Copilot to use tools from someone else's MCP server"** → [External MCP](/mcp/external-mcp-integrations).

## Related

* [`mcp`](/cli/commands/mcp), [`connect`](/cli/commands/connect) — the CLI commands.
* [Agent Commands via CLI](/agents/cli-commands) — CLI command vs. instruction vs. workflow vs. MCP tool.