Connecting MCP servers: step-by-step examples

An MCP server gives the BoldCreate assistant extra tools, for example to search documentation or work with GitHub. You list your servers in a file called mcp.json, and BoldCreate connects to them when you start a chat.

What you’ll learn

• Where to put mcp.json: in one project, or in your home folder for every project
• How to connect a real MCP server in two ways:
  • An npm package (run with npx): the Syncfusion React MCP server
  • A remote server (HTTP): GitHub’s hosted MCP server
• How to trust the folder so the servers can start
• How to check the connection and use the tools in a chat

This guide is hands-on. For the full list of boldcreate mcp commands and options, see Manage MCP servers.

Which way should I choose?

Where BoldCreate reads MCP servers from

BoldCreate reads mcp.json from a .boldcreate folder in two places. The file looks the same in both.

• ~ is your home folder: /Users/you on macOS, C:\Users\you on Windows.
• <project> is the folder you start boldcreate in.
• If both files have a server with the same name, the project file wins.

boldcreate mcp list shows where each server comes from (user or project), and boldcreate mcp get <name> shows the exact file.

Step 1: Create mcp.json

Create the .boldcreate folder and an empty mcp.json file in it.

For every project (home folder):

macOS:

mkdir -p ~/.boldcreate
touch ~/.boldcreate/mcp.json

Windows (PowerShell):

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$HOME\.boldcreate"
New-Item -ItemType File "$HOME\.boldcreate\mcp.json"

For one project: run the same commands in the project folder, without ~/ or $HOME\:

macOS:

mkdir -p .boldcreate
touch .boldcreate/mcp.json

Windows (PowerShell):

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force .boldcreate
New-Item -ItemType File .boldcreate\mcp.json

Open the file in your editor. Every file starts like this, with your servers inside mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {}
}

Step 2: Add a server

Pick an example below and copy its entry into mcpServers. You can add as many servers as you like; separate them with commas.

Example 1: an npm package (Syncfusion React MCP)

The server is downloaded and started on your computer with npx. You need Node.js 18 or newer.

Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sf-react-mcp": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@syncfusion/react-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "Syncfusion_API_Key": "<your Syncfusion API key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

macOS:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sf-react-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@syncfusion/react-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "Syncfusion_API_Key": "<your Syncfusion API key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: On Windows, npx must be started through cmd /c, as shown above.

Example 2: a remote server (GitHub)

The server runs on the internet. Nothing is installed; BoldCreate connects to its address. You need a GitHub personal access token. Create one at GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your GitHub token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Keep the word Bearer and the space after it.

Example 3: both together

Add both entries inside mcpServers, separating them with a comma. This example uses the Windows command for the npm server; on macOS, use the npx command and arguments shown in Example 1.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sf-react-mcp": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@syncfusion/react-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "Syncfusion_API_Key": "<your Syncfusion API key>"
      }
    },
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your GitHub token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: The file now contains your keys. The file in your home folder is outside every project, so it’s safe from git. A project’s .boldcreate/mcp.json is inside the repository: don’t commit it. To keep git from picking it up, run this once in the project folder:

echo ".boldcreate/mcp.json" >> .git/info/exclude

The fields

Step 3: Trust the folder (project file only)

Skip this step if you used ~/.boldcreate/mcp.json.

Servers in a project’s .boldcreate/mcp.json that start a program on your computer (command) run only after you trust the folder. Run this once in the project folder:

boldcreate mcp trust

Trusted D:\my-project: MCP servers in its config may now start commands.

Remote servers (url) and servers in ~/.boldcreate/mcp.json don’t need this.

Step 4: Check the connection

Run this in the project folder (for the home folder file, any folder works):

boldcreate mcp list

github        http   https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/            project  ✓ N tools
sf-react-mcp  stdio  cmd /c npx -y @syncfusion/react-mcp@latest    project  ✓ 1 tool

✓ means the server is connected. The first check can take a minute while npx downloads the package.

The fourth column shows which file the server comes from:

To see one server’s details, its exact file, and its tools:

boldcreate mcp get sf-react-mcp

sf-react-mcp  (project, D:\my-project\.boldcreate\mcp.json)
  transport   stdio
  target      cmd /c npx -y @syncfusion/react-mcp@latest
  state       ✓ 1 tool
  server      sf-react-mcp 2.0.1
  tools (1)
    search_docs — Search Syncfusion React documentation …  [read-only]

Step 5: Use the tools in a chat

Start a chat in the project folder:

boldcreate

Ask for something that needs the tools:

• Search the Syncfusion docs for how to enable sorting in the React Grid.
• List the open issues in my repository and summarize the three newest.

Tool calls appear as server › tool, for example sf-react-mcp › search_docs. BoldCreate asks before each MCP tool call; choose always allow all <server> tools to stop the questions for that server.

Type /mcp in the chat to see each server’s state, its tools, and to reconnect, disable, or enable it.

Change or remove a server

Edit the mcp.json file and save it (boldcreate mcp get <name> shows which file). To turn a server off without deleting it, add "enabled": false to its entry. To remove it, delete its entry. Changes apply from your next message in the chat.

Common problems