Configuration

The server reads its settings from environment variables when it starts.

Choosing an instance

Set exactly one of these groups.

One Indico

Variable	Default	Meaning
INDICO_URL	required	Base address, e.g. https://indico.cern.ch. A trailing / is dropped.
INDICO_TOKEN	none	Personal token (indp_...). Without one, access is anonymous.

The instance is named after its host, e.g. indico.cern.ch.

Several Indico servers

Variable	Default	Meaning
INDICO_INSTANCES	required	Comma-separated name=url pairs: cern=https://indico.cern.ch,in2p3=https://indico.in2p3.fr.
INDICO_TOKEN_<NAME>	none	Token for instance <name>, upper-cased: INDICO_TOKEN_CERN.
INDICO_DEFAULT_INSTANCE	none	Instance used when a call has no instance. Without it, every call must name one.

Names match [a-z][a-z0-9_]*; they are lower-cased on input. INDICO_INSTANCES wins over INDICO_URL when both are set.

The instance argument

Every tool takes an optional instance. The server matches it, case-insensitively, against:

1. an instance name: cern;
2. an instance host: indico.cern.ch;
3. the host of any URL: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1291157/.

If instance is empty, the server uses the only instance, or the default. Otherwise the call fails and the message lists the configured instances.

Behavior

These apply to every instance of a server.

Variable	Default	Meaning
INDICO_READ_ONLY	false	Register only the read tools.
INDICO_ALLOW_DELETE	false	Register the delete tools, and let indico_unschedule_timetable_entry remove entries when that deletes data.
INDICO_UPLOAD_DIR	none	Register indico_upload_file, limited to files inside this folder. ~ is expanded.
INDICO_TIMEOUT	30	HTTP timeout in seconds for calls to Indico.

Flags accept 1, true, yes or on, in any case. Anything else means false.

Command line

indico-mcp [--transport {stdio,http}] [--host HOST] [--port PORT] [--path PATH]

Option	Default	Meaning
--transport	stdio	stdio for clients that start the server, http for streamable HTTP.
--host	127.0.0.1	HTTP bind address.
--port	8000	HTTP port.
--path	/mcp	HTTP endpoint path.

HTTP headers

With --transport http, a request may carry its own token. It takes precedence over the configured token.

Header	Used when
X-Indico-Token-<name>	always; _ in the name becomes -
X-Indico-Token	only one instance is configured
Authorization: Bearer <token>	only one instance is configured