#MCP Usage

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old turtle Dec 4, 2025, 11:17 AM

MCP noob here - probably an easy question but I'll risk it.
I have 3 MCP servers installed on Warp and enabled. I have added them to the allow list for my profile. Is this all that is needed to enable the warp agent to use them? Do I have to expressly reference the MCPs I want used in my prompts or in a set up somewhere? Also, is there any indication in the UI that an MCP is being used for the current action?

empty turretBOT Dec 4, 2025, 11:17 AM

Hi @old turtle. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave:

You’ve already done most of the setup; there are just a couple of nuances.

1. Is “installed + allowlisted” enough?

For Warp’s in-terminal agents:

You must add & start MCP servers in Settings > MCP Servers (or via Warp Drive’s MCP tab). [MCP basics]
Then you must allow the agent to use them via MCP permissions / allowlist / denylist in your Agent Profile (Settings > AI > Agents > Profiles > Permissions > MCP permissions). [Agent permissions]

If those two are done (servers running + profile allows them), the Warp agent can call them. You don’t need extra wiring beyond that.

For the Warp CLI, there’s an additional step:

The CLI uses the same MCP configurations, but:
- If your profile allows specific MCP servers, they start automatically.
- If your profile allows any server, you must pass them explicitly with --mcp-server <UUID>. [CLI MCP usage]

So: in the GUI agent, “installed + allowed in profile” is generally sufficient; in the CLI, you may also need --mcp-server.

2. Do you need to mention MCP servers in prompts?

Not strictly, as long as:

The MCP is running and allowed for that profile, and
Your request is something the MCP’s tools can reasonably handle.

Warp’s agent will pick tools (MCP servers) as needed. You can nudge it via Rules (e.g. “when I say ‘ticket’, check Linear”) to make tool selection more reliable, but that’s optional. [Using MCP servers with Warp]

3. UI indication that an MCP is being used

The docs show that:

The MCP Servers page lists each server and its tools and whether it’s running. [MCP basics]
Agents will prompt for confirmation when calling MCP tools, unless you’ve disabled or allowlisted them, in which case they may execute silently. [SQLite/Stripe MCP]

However, the knowledge sources do not explicitly document a per-request “MCP is being used right now” indicator in the chat UI (like a visible log of each tool call). I’m sorry, but there’s no information about a dedicated MCP-use badge/indicator beyond confirmation prompts and the MCP servers status page.

4. If MCPs still aren’t being used

From the resolved GitHub issue, two common gotchas:

Ensure MCP permissions are actually allowed in the Agent’s profile (not just servers configured). [Issue comment]
Make sure you’re using a profile that permits those MCPs, and that your session is using that profile. [Agent profiles]

If after that the agent claims no MCP is available, that would be unexpected in current builds and might warrant a bug report, as earlier versions had a now-fixed bug in this area. [Issue resolution]