Configuring the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server

For general information about this enhancement, see Asynchronous AI analysis using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Set up the workstation-based MCP server on Windows® to connect external AI assistants to Z Abend Investigator via z/OSMF REST APIs.

Before you begin

Before configuring the server, ensure the following requirements are met:

Install Java 21 on your Windows® system path.
Ensure your z/OSMF V3R1 or later REST API endpoint is active over HTTPS with a valid DNS hostname.
Store your RACF user password securely in Windows Credential Manager. See Configuring local authentication using Windows Credential Manager for details.

About this task

The MCP server exposes a set of functional APIs that are implemented based on Representational State Transfer (REST) services for scripting or testing purposes if the server is run in HTTP mode. You can evaluate and test the server before connecting it to an AI client. Access the exposed REST API services and an OpenAPI spec (/v3/api-docs) through the Swagger UI sending HTTP requests directly to the REST API from you browser by connecting to the following URL: http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html.

To configure the MCP server:

Procedure

Obtain the executable JAR file (FA-MCP-<version>-SNAPSHOT-exec.jar) found as member HFZZMCP in the HFZ.SHFZDOC1 data set.

Start the server in HTTP mode from a Windows® command prompt. HTTP serves a network audience, a shared/remote server. The zosmf.user is your z/OS TSO/RACF user ID.

java -jar ZAI-MCP-<version>-SNAPSHOT-exec.jar --transport.mode=http \
                        --zosmf.url=https://pthfae1.prod.hclabc.com \
                        --zosmf.user=JDOE \
                        --zosmf.ssl.certificate-path=C:/certs/zosmf.crt

Alternatively, the following is an example of an STDIO client JSON configuration file. STDIO serves a local AI client that launches the server as a child process.

"Abend-Investigator-MCP-Server" : {
  "type":"stdio",
  "command": "java",
  "args": [
    "-jar",
    "D:\\MCPServers\\ZAI-1.1.0-exec.jar",
    "--transport.mode=stdio",
    "--zosmf.url=https://pthfae1.prod.hclabc.com",
    "--zosmf.ssl.certificate-path=C:/certs/zosmf.crt",
    "--zosmf.user=JDOE"
  ]
}

To connect desktop AI clients over standard I/O, specify --transport.mode=stdio in the client configuration file.

What to do next

To verify if the server is running successfully in HTTP mode, open the Swagger UI from your browser: http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html. This is not applicable to servers started in STDIO mode.