MCP servers powered by ACI.dev

For full documentation and tutorials on MCP servers please visit aci.dev docs.

Table of Contents

• MCP servers powered by ACI.dev
  • Table of Contents
  • Overview
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
  • Usage
    • Apps Server
    • Unified Server
  • Understanding the Two Server Types
    • Apps Server
    • Unified Server
  • Configuration
  • FAQ
  • Debugging

Overview

For full documentation and tutorials on MCP servers please visit aci.dev docs.

This package provides two Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for accessing ACI.dev managed functions (tools):

• aci-mcp-apps: An MCP server that provides direct access to functions (tools) from specified apps
• aci-mcp-unified: An MCP server that provides two meta functions (tools) (ACI_SEARCH_FUNCTIONS and ACI_EXECUTE_FUNCTION) to discover and execute ALL functions (tools) available on ACI.dev

Prerequisites

Before using this package, you need to (for more information please see tutorial):

1. Set the ACI_API_KEY environment variable with your ACI.dev API key
2. Configure apps and set them in allowed_apps for your agent on platform.aci.dev.
3. Link your app specific accounts under the same --linked-account-owner-id you'll later provide to start the MCP servers

Installation

The package is published to PyPI, so you can run it directly using uvx:

# Install uv if you don't have it already
curl -sSf https://install.pypa.io/get-pip.py | python3 -
pip install uv

Usage

Apps Server

The apps server provides direct access to functions (tools) under specific apps. You can specify one or more apps to use with the --apps parameter. (For a list of available apps, please visit ACI.dev)

# Using stdio transport (default)
uvx aci-mcp apps-server --apps "BRAVE_SEARCH,GMAIL" --linked-account-owner-id <LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID>

# Using SSE transport with custom port
uvx aci-mcp apps-server --apps "BRAVE_SEARCH,GMAIL" --linked-account-owner-id <LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID> --transport sse --port 8000

Unified Server

The unified server provides two meta functions (tools) to discover and execute ANY functions (tools) available on ACI.dev, even if they aren't directly listed in the server.

The functions (tools) are dynamically searched and executed based on your intent/needs. You don't need to worry about having thousands of tools taking up your LLM's context window or having to integrate multiple MCP servers.

# During functions (tools) search/discovery, allow discoverability of all functions (tools) available on ACI.dev
uvx aci-mcp unified-server --linked-account-owner-id <LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID>

# During functions (tools) search/discovery, limit to only functions (tools) accessible by the requesting agent (identified by ACI_API_KEY)
uvx aci-mcp unified-server --linked-account-owner-id <LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID> --allowed-apps-only

Understanding the Two Server Types

For full documentation and tutorials on MCP servers please visit aci.dev docs.

Apps Server

The apps server provides direct access to specific app functions/tools you specify with the --apps parameter. These tools will appear directly in the tool list when MCP clients (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.) interact with this server.

Unified Server

The unified server doesn't directly expose app-specific tools. Instead, it provides two meta functions (tools):

1. ACI_SEARCH_FUNCTIONS: Discovers functions (tools) based on your intent/needs
2. ACI_EXECUTE_FUNCTION: Executes ANY function (tool) discovered by the search

This approach allows MCP clients to dynamically discover and use ANY function available on ACI.dev platform without needing to list them all upfront. It can search for the right tool based on your needs and then execute it.

Configuration (Integration with MCP Clients)

See the Unified MCP Server and Apps MCP Server sections for more information on how to configure the MCP servers with different MCP clients.

FAQ

• How do I get the ACI_API_KEY?

  The ACI_API_KEY is the API key for your ACI.dev project. You can find it in the ACI.dev project setting.

• How to configure Apps and allow access to them?

  You can configure apps and allow access to them in the ACI.dev project setting.

• How do I get the LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID?

  The LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID is the ID of the account that you want to use to access the functions. You can find it in the ACI.dev project setting.

• What is the benefit of using the unified server over the apps server?

  Most of the current MCP servers out there are limited to a specific set of functions (tools), usually from a single app. If you need to use functions from multiple apps, you'll need to integrate multiple MCP servers. But even if you are ok with the managing overhead of integrating multiple MCP servers, your LLM tool calling performance might suffer because all the tools are loaded into the LLM's context window at once.

  And many times you don't know what apps/functions (tools) you need in advance.

  The unified server, however, allows you to discover and execute ANY function available on ACI.dev dynamically without worrying about having thousands of tools taking up your LLM's context window or having to integrate multiple MCP servers.

• What is the benefit of using the apps server over the unified server?

  In some cases the function calling performance is more reliable because the functions are pre-planned and limited.

• How to specify a list of apps to use with the apps server?

  You can specify a comma-separated list of apps to use with the apps server using the --apps parameter. Try NOT to have spaces between the app names.

• Can I just use functions (tools) from one app?

  Yes, you can just use functions (tools) from one app by specifying the (one) app name with the --apps parameter.

Debugging

You can use the MCP inspector to debug the server:

# For unified server
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx aci-mcp unified-server --linked-account-owner-id <LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID>

# For apps server
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx aci-mcp apps-server --apps "BRAVE_SEARCH,GMAIL" --linked-account-owner-id <LINKED_ACCOUNT_OWNER_ID>

Running tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log will show the logs from the server and may help you debug any issues.