MCP Server

Rostyman includes a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI tools — such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible clients — read, search, modify, and execute your API collections directly.

How It Works

When Rostyman is running, the MCP server starts automatically on localhost:3100. AI tools connect to this server and gain access to your collections, requests, environments, variables, and history — all without leaving their own interface.

This means you can ask Claude Desktop to "list my collections," "send the login request," or "create a new endpoint" and it will interact with Rostyman on your behalf.

Enabling and Disabling

The MCP server is enabled by default. To manage it:

1. Open Settings > MCP Server
2. Toggle the server on or off
3. Change the port number if 3100 conflicts with another service
4. Click Save to apply changes

The server restarts automatically when you change settings.

Access Modes

Local Mode (Default)

• The server listens on localhost only
• No authentication required — only apps on your machine can connect
• Best for personal use with Claude Desktop, Cursor, or similar tools

Network Mode

• The server listens on all network interfaces
• Requires an auth token for every connection
• Use this when you need to connect from another machine or a remote AI tool
• The auth token is generated automatically — copy it from the MCP Server settings page

Connecting Claude Desktop

The fastest way to connect Claude Desktop:

1. Open Settings > MCP Server
2. Click Register with Claude Desktop
3. Rostyman automatically adds itself to Claude Desktop's MCP configuration
4. Restart Claude Desktop to pick up the new server

Alternatively, click Copy MCP Config to copy the JSON configuration to your clipboard, then paste it into Claude Desktop's settings file manually.

Available Tools

The MCP server exposes 18 tools that AI clients can use:

Read Tools

Tool	Description
list_collections	List all collections in your workspace
get_collection	Get full details of a specific collection
get_request	Get a specific request with all its settings
search_requests	Search across all requests by name, URL, or method
list_environments	List all environments in a collection
get_environment	Get variables in a specific environment
get_globals	Get global variables
get_history	Get request history with filters
get_recent_history	Get the most recent request/response pairs

Execute Tools

Tool	Description
send_request	Execute a saved request and return the response
run_collection	Run all requests in a collection (like the Collection Runner)

Write Tools

Tool	Description
create_collection	Create a new collection
create_request	Create a new request in a collection or folder
update_request	Update an existing request's method, URL, headers, body, etc.
create_environment	Create a new environment in a collection
set_variable	Set or update an environment, collection, or global variable

Import Tools

Tool	Description
import_collection	Import a collection from Postman, Insomnia, OpenAPI, or other formats

Endpoints

Endpoint	Purpose
http://localhost:3100/sse	SSE endpoint — AI clients connect here for real-time communication
http://localhost:3100/health	Health check — returns server status, uptime, and version

Status Bar Indicator

A green MCP badge appears in the bottom status bar when the server is running. If the badge is missing or grey, the server is stopped or encountered an error — check Settings > MCP Server for details.

Standalone Mode

You can run the MCP server independently, without the full Rostyman app:

yarn build:mcp
node dist-mcp/server.js

This is useful for CI/CD pipelines, headless environments, or running the server on a remote machine. The standalone server connects to the same local database, so all your collections and data are available.

Tips

• The MCP server only exposes data from your local Rostyman database — nothing is sent to external services
• Rate limiting is applied in Network mode to prevent abuse
• Vault secrets are never exposed through MCP tools
• You can monitor all MCP activity in the MCP Logs tab (see MCP Client for log details)