Add the server in Msty Studio
Open the Toolbox and select Add New Tool (Msty Studio docs). Choose a transport type: STDIO / JSON runs local MCP servers on your machine, while HTTP connects to remote servers using Streamable HTTP (Msty Studio docs). For the local KnowMan server, pick STDIO / JSON.
Enter the Tool Configuration below as a valid JSON object, give the tool a unique Name such as knowman, optionally add Notes, and select Add (Msty Studio docs). KnowMan's MCP server is the open-source package @knowman/mcp, run with npx -y @knowman/mcp, and it requires Node 22 or newer (KnowMan MCP on npm).
The Tool Configuration to paste
Msty documents three configuration keys. command is the program that runs the server, such as Node or NPX, and it must be installed on your machine. args holds command-line arguments, and env holds environment variables (Msty Studio docs).
For KnowMan, command is npx, args is ["-y", "@knowman/mcp"], and env carries KNOWMAN_API_KEY (KnowMan MCP on npm). Msty also supports Mustache placeholders such as {Database Host} that fill in when the tool runs, but a plain key value is enough here (Msty Studio docs).
Create a KnowMan API key
Open app.knowman.io, go to Settings > Connections > Connect an AI agent, and create the key there. Keys look like km_... (KnowMan MCP repo). Paste it into the env block of the Tool Configuration, or use the sign-in flow in the next section instead.
Sign in once with knowman login
You can skip the API key entirely. Run npx -p @knowman/mcp knowman login once, and a browser sign-in opens (KnowMan MCP repo). The saved credential is shared by the CLI and the MCP server, so the env block can be dropped from the Tool Configuration (KnowMan MCP repo).
The same package installs a knowman CLI with kb-search, ask, save, recent, memories, login, status, and logout commands (KnowMan MCP repo).
Check that it works
Msty includes a Tool Console that lets you test the tool with different parameters (Msty Studio docs). You can also ask your assistant to search your KnowMan for a topic you have saved, or to save a URL (KnowMan MCP repo).
If a dependency such as Node is not detected, check the logs via Sidecar and View Logs (Msty Studio docs). For the wider picture of an MCP server in front of your knowledge base, see an MCP server for a knowledge base.
The six KnowMan tools
KnowMan exposes six tools over MCP (KnowMan MCP repo). kb_search searches saved items by keyword or meaning and returns titles, URLs, and metadata. kb_ask answers a question with citations. kb_get_item returns the readable content of one item. kb_save saves a URL to the Inbox or the Knowledge Base with an optional note. kb_recent lists recent items, and kb_memories lists saved claims, decisions, and playbooks. kb_memories is read-only (KnowMan MCP repo). See a knowledge base for AI agents for how this fits together.
If something goes wrong
If Msty does not detect Node or npx, check the logs via Sidecar and View Logs (Msty Studio docs). For Node itself, Msty recommends Volta, or Homebrew on Mac, rather than NVM (Msty Studio docs).
In Msty Studio on the web, the Toolbox works only when connected to Studio Desktop through Remote Connections or Sidecar (Msty Studio docs). SSE transport is not supported in Msty and is deprecated in favor of Streamable HTTP; to use an SSE-based server you can run a local proxy such as mcp-remote (Msty Studio docs). The KnowMan server added in this guide runs locally over stdio (KnowMan MCP on npm).
Questions people ask
How do I add an MCP server to Msty?
Open the Toolbox, select Add New Tool, choose a transport type, and enter the Tool Configuration. For local stdio servers, the configuration is a valid JSON object with command, args, and env. Give the tool a unique Name and select Add (Msty Studio docs).
Can Msty use the hosted KnowMan server?
Msty's HTTP transport connects to remote MCP servers using Streamable HTTP (Msty Studio docs). KnowMan also runs a hosted remote server at https://api.knowman.io/mcp with OAuth sign-in or an API key (MCP Registry). This guide walks through the local stdio server instead (KnowMan MCP on npm).
Do I need an API key for the local server?
Yes, the local server talks to KnowMan's HTTP API with a Bearer key in the KNOWMAN_API_KEY environment variable (KnowMan MCP on npm). Create one at Settings > Connections > Connect an AI agent in the web app, or run npx -p @knowman/mcp knowman login once and drop the env block (KnowMan MCP repo).
What can the KnowMan tools do?
KnowMan exposes six tools over MCP: kb_search, kb_ask, kb_get_item, kb_save, kb_recent, and kb_memories (KnowMan MCP repo). They search saved items, answer questions with citations, return the readable content of one item, save a URL, list recent items, and list saved claims, decisions, and playbooks (KnowMan MCP repo).