actx add

actx add

Register an MCP backend server that agents can use for tool discovery and execution.

Usage

actx add <server> [options]

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
server	✅	Unique identifier for the backend (e.g., github, filesystem)

Options

Option	Default	Description
--command <cmd>	—	Command to spawn the MCP server process
--roles <roles>	"default"	Comma-separated role tags for tool scoping
--transport <type>	"stdio"	Transport type: stdio, sse, or http

What It Does

1. Reads .context/actx.yaml
2. Adds or updates the backend entry in the backends array
3. Writes the updated config back to actx.yaml

Examples

Register a GitHub backend

actx add github \
  --command "npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github" \
  --roles "code,issues"

Register a filesystem backend

actx add filesystem \
  --command "npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /workspace" \
  --roles "files"

Register with SSE transport

actx add remote-api \
  --command "node api-server.js" \
  --transport sse \
  --roles "api"

Config Output

After actx add github --command "npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github" --roles "code,issues":

backends:
  - id: github
    cmd: "npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
    roles:
      - code
      - issues
    transport: stdio

Notes

• If a backend with the same ID already exists, it’s replaced (upsert behavior)
• Backends are lazy-spawned — the process starts on the first tool query, not at gateway boot
• Tools are namespaced under the backend ID: github.issues.create, filesystem.read_file

See Also

• actx start — boot the gateway with registered backends
• Adding MCP Backends — detailed guide