Custom MCP Client

Connect Nella to any MCP-compatible client or build your own integration.

Stdio Transport

Nella’s MCP server uses the stdio transport by default. Any MCP client that supports stdio can connect:

npx -y @getnella/mcp --workspace /path/to/repo

The server communicates over stdin/stdout using the MCP protocol.

Programmatic Connection

Connect to Nella from a TypeScript/JavaScript application:

import { Client } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client';
import { StdioClientTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/stdio';

const transport = new StdioClientTransport({
  command: 'npx',
  args: ['-y', '@getnella/mcp', '--workspace', '/path/to/repo'],
});

const client = new Client({ name: 'my-app', version: '1.0.0' });
await client.connect(transport);

// List available tools
const tools = await client.listTools();
console.log(tools);

// Call a tool
const result = await client.callTool({
  name: 'nella_search',
  arguments: {
    query: 'authentication middleware',
  },
});

console.log(result);

Available Tools

Local stdio connections expose the workspace tools below:

Tool	Description
nella_index	Index a workspace directory
nella_search	Hybrid semantic + lexical codebase search
nella_get_context	Get session context
nella_add_assumption	Record an assumption
nella_check_assumptions	Check assumption validity
nella_check_dependencies	Detect dependency drift
nella_heartbeat	Verify trust-chain continuity between tool calls

See the MCP Tools Reference for full input/output schemas.