MCP tool reference¶

The Connector runs as a local MCP server (stdio transport) and exposes 91 resource tools plus 3 connection-management tools (94 total) to any AI client that can launch one. It speaks the Model Context Protocol. When you wire a client up with kuali mcp setup, every tool listed below becomes callable from inside a conversation.

Local MCP servers only

The Connector is designed to run on your own machine and communicate with the AI client over stdio. Clients that only support hosted MCP servers (HTTPS endpoints) — ChatGPT (chatgpt.com), Claude.ai — can't launch it directly. See the FAQ for the full story.

Each tool has two annotations that AI clients use to decide how to surface them:

Read-only — lists, gets, exports, status checks, summaries. Safe to call without confirmation.
Destructive — deletes, deactivates, revokes, and anything that removes data. Most clients will prompt for approval before calling these.

When a tool is neither read-only nor destructive (create, update, submit, approve, import), it's a mutation — it changes state but doesn't remove anything.

Filtering the tool list

Run the Connector with --tools read-only to register only the read-only tools. Mutations and destructive tools are hidden from the client entirely. See Read-only mode.

Tools see only what your Kuali user sees

Every tool runs as the Kuali user who owns the API key. The server enforces that user's permissions — tools don't escalate, and the Connector doesn't cache or bypass anything. If you can't see an app, document, or user in the Kuali web UI, the assistant can't see them via these tools either. Admin-only operations (user management, audit log, workflow bypass) require an admin's key. To scope the assistant down further, create a low-privilege Kuali user and issue an API key for that user — the AI assistant will only ever see what that user would see.

Connection management¶

Always registered, regardless of --tools mode.

Tool	Purpose
`kuali_connect`	Connect to a Kuali instance and save it as a profile. Read-only.
`kuali_switch`	Switch the active connection for the current session. Read-only.
`kuali_connections`	List configured Kuali connections. Read-only.

Apps¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_apps_list`	List applications, with optional search/pagination.	read-only
`kuali_apps_get`	Get full details of one app.	read-only
`kuali_apps_icons`	List available tile icons.	read-only
`kuali_apps_create`	Create a new app with name, icon, color.	mutation
`kuali_apps_update_tile`	Change icon or color on an existing app.	mutation
`kuali_apps_publish`	Publish an app so documents can be submitted against it.	mutation
`kuali_apps_add_workflow_step`	Append an approval / task / notification step to an app's workflow.	mutation
`kuali_apps_delete`	Delete an app and every document in it.	destructive

Forms¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_forms_list`	List form field definitions for an app.	read-only
`kuali_forms_get`	Get the full form template.	read-only
`kuali_forms_schema`	Get field schema with types and validations.	read-only
`kuali_forms_options`	Get option values for a dropdown / radio field.	read-only
`kuali_forms_outline`	Render the form as a text outline (good for assistant consumption).	read-only
`kuali_forms_update`	Update the form template (validated before send).	mutation

Documents¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_documents_list`	List documents with filters, sorting, pagination.	read-only
`kuali_documents_get`	Get a single document by ID.	read-only
`kuali_documents_create`	Create a draft document; optional immediate submit.	mutation
`kuali_documents_update`	Update document data.	mutation
`kuali_documents_submit`	Submit a draft into its workflow.	mutation
`kuali_documents_approve`	Approve at the current workflow step.	mutation
`kuali_documents_sendback`	Send back to a previous step.	mutation
`kuali_documents_duplicate`	Duplicate as a new draft.	mutation
`kuali_documents_delete`	Delete a document.	destructive

Users¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_users_list`	List users, with search and pagination.	read-only
`kuali_users_get`	Get one user.	read-only
`kuali_users_list_api_keys`	List a user's API keys.	read-only
`kuali_users_create`	Create a user account.	mutation
`kuali_users_activate`	Reactivate a deactivated account.	mutation
`kuali_users_import`	Bulk import users from CSV or JSON.	mutation
`kuali_users_create_api_key`	Issue an API key for a user.	mutation
`kuali_users_deactivate`	Deactivate a user account.	destructive
`kuali_users_revoke_api_key`	Revoke a user's API key.	destructive

Groups¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_groups_list`	List groups.	read-only
`kuali_groups_get`	Get one group.	read-only
`kuali_groups_members`	List members of a group.	read-only
`kuali_groups_create`	Create a group.	mutation
`kuali_groups_add_member`	Add a user to a group with a role.	mutation
`kuali_groups_import_members`	Bulk import members from CSV or JSON.	mutation
`kuali_groups_remove_member`	Remove a user from a group.	mutation
`kuali_groups_delete`	Delete a group.	destructive

Workflows¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_workflows_status`	Status for a document's workflow (step, assignees, history).	read-only
`kuali_workflows_actions`	Pending actions for the current user.	read-only
`kuali_workflows_get`	Get a workflow definition.	read-only
`kuali_workflows_list`	List workflows for an app.	read-only
`kuali_workflows_executions`	Workflow execution history.	read-only
`kuali_workflows_create`	Create a secondary workflow.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_duplicate`	Duplicate a workflow.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_toggle`	Enable or disable a workflow.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_trigger`	Manually trigger a workflow on a document.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_bypass`	Admin bypass of an approval step.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_sendback`	Admin send-back to a named step.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_retry`	Retry a failed step.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_skip`	Skip a step.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_reassign`	Reassign a step to a different user.	mutation
`kuali_workflows_delete`	Delete a workflow.	destructive

Products¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_products_list`	List every configured Kuali product (Curriculum, Sponsored Programs, …).	read-only
`kuali_products_get`	Get details for a product by ID or alias.	read-only
`kuali_products_datasets`	List datasets inside a product.	read-only
`kuali_products_aliases`	List all known product aliases (e.g. `cm`, `sp`, `irb`).	read-only
`kuali_products_summary`	Product summary with counts.	read-only
`kuali_products_rules_get`	Get validation rules for a product.	read-only
`kuali_products_rules_set`	Set validation rules for a product.	mutation

Categories¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_categories_list`	List categories.	read-only
`kuali_categories_get`	Get one category.	read-only
`kuali_categories_create`	Create a category.	mutation
`kuali_categories_update`	Update a category.	mutation
`kuali_categories_delete`	Delete a category.	destructive

Integrations¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_integrations_list`	List integrations.	read-only
`kuali_integrations_get`	Get an integration's config and flow graph.	read-only
`kuali_integrations_failures`	Recent integration failures.	read-only
`kuali_integrations_create`	Create a simple HTTP integration.	mutation
`kuali_integrations_create_bridge`	Create a LASSO bridge (multi-node).	mutation
`kuali_integrations_update_bridge`	Update a bridge's nodes.	mutation
`kuali_integrations_invoke`	Invoke an integration with data.	mutation
`kuali_integrations_run`	Run an integration against a document.	mutation
`kuali_integrations_test`	Test an integration endpoint.	mutation

Permissions¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_permissions_list`	List policy groups, identities, and allowed actions for an app.	read-only
`kuali_permissions_get`	Check what permissions a specific user has on an app.	read-only
`kuali_permissions_grant`	Grant a user permission to create and submit documents on an app.	mutation

Audit¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_audit_list`	List audit log entries.	read-only
`kuali_audit_users`	List users with audit-log activity.	read-only

Export¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_export_csv`	Export app documents as CSV.	read-only
`kuali_export_pdf`	Export a single document as PDF.	read-only
`kuali_export_xlsx`	Export a form outline as Excel.	read-only

Import¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_import_csv`	Bulk-import documents from CSV with auto-mapping.	mutation

Files¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_files_download`	Download a file from a document.	read-only
`kuali_files_upload`	Upload a file attachment.	mutation

Utility¶

Tool	Purpose	Flags
`kuali_summary`	Instance overview with counts and health.	read-only
`kuali_doctor`	Run six diagnostic checks.	read-only
`kuali_smoke`	Run a 7-step end-to-end smoke test.	mutation (creates and deletes test data)
`kuali_run`	Escape hatch — run any `kuali` CLI command by name. Useful for flag combinations not covered by the dedicated tools.	mutation

Counts at a glance¶

Category	Total	Read-only	Mutation	Destructive
Apps	8	3	4	1
Forms	6	5	1	0
Documents	9	2	6	1
Users	9	3	4	2
Groups	8	3	4	1
Workflows	15	5	9	1
Products	7	6	1	0
Categories	5	2	2	1
Integrations	9	3	6	0
Permissions	3	2	1	0
Audit	2	2	0	0
Export	3	3	0	0
Import	1	0	1	0
Files	2	1	1	0
Utility	4	2	2	0
Connection management	3	3	0	0
Total	94	45	42	7 (+ `kuali_smoke`, which cleans up after itself)

Run kuali mcp with --tools read-only and you'll see only the read-only tools.