Importing servers

You probably have MCP servers configured already, spread across several clients. Switchboard can read those configurations and register the servers once.

ImportCopy Anchor Link

On the web UI's Import page, Switchboard reads the user-level configuration files of Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Windsurf, Codex and Gemini CLI, and lists the servers it finds, grouped by the client each came from. Pick the ones you want and import them in one click. The same from a terminal:

switchboard import                     # list what was found, then ask before importing
switchboard import --client cursor     # only Cursor's servers
switchboard import --yes               # import without asking

Names are turned into valid server names (lowercase letters, digits, - and _). The CLI imports only servers whose name is not taken yet, and a server found in several clients once. A server marked disabled in its client is imported disabled.

Importing does not change the source files; to switch a client over to Switchboard afterwards, connect it, which touches nothing but its own switchboard entry.

env and headers are copied as they are, which may mean tokens in plain text in config.json. Move them into secrets afterwards; switchboard import reminds you which servers have them.

Add a serverCopy Anchor Link

On the Servers page, add a server by filling in the form, or paste an entry from any mcp.json:

{
  "github": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
    "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "secret://github-token" }
  }
}

A server has one of three transports:

From a terminal:

switchboard server add github -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=secret://github-token \
  -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-github
switchboard server add linear --url https://mcp.linear.app/mcp
switchboard server add legacy --url https://example.com/sse --sse -H "Authorization=Bearer secret://legacy-token"
switchboard server ls                  # servers, their targets and cached tool counts
switchboard server disable github      # or enable
switchboard server rm github

--env/-e and --header/-H take KEY=VALUE and can be repeated. --cwd DIR sets a stdio server's working directory, and --idle SECONDS how long it may sit unused before it is stopped (default 600; 0 keeps it running). Adding a server with an existing name replaces it. Removing a server also removes it from every profile.

Test a serverCopy Anchor Link

Test, or switchboard server test <name>, starts the server, lists its tools and stores them in the catalog. Profiles can then use its tools, and clients see them at once, without the server running. When it fails, the error and the last lines of the server's stderr are shown; the server's page in the web UI also has its recent stderr output.

NextCopy Anchor Link

Add the server to a profile, and move any API keys out of plain text with secrets.