---
title: "MCP Introduction"
sidebarTitle: "Introduction"
description: "Learn how to install and configure the Trigger.dev MCP Server"
tag: "new"
---

## What is the Trigger.dev MCP Server?

The Trigger.dev MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server enables AI assistants to interact directly with your Trigger.dev projects. It provides a comprehensive set of tools to:

- Search Trigger.dev documentation
- Initialize new Trigger.dev projects
- List and manage your projects and organizations
- Get task information and trigger task runs
- Deploy projects to different environments
- Monitor run details and list runs with filtering options

## Installation

### Automatic Installation (Recommended)

The easiest way to install the Trigger.dev MCP Server is using the interactive installation wizard:

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-mcp
```

This command will guide you through:

1. Selecting which MCP clients to configure
2. Choosing installation scope (user, project, or local)
3. Automatically configuring the selected clients

## Command Line Options

The `install-mcp` command supports the following options:

### Core Options

- `-p, --project-ref <project ref>` - Scope the MCP server to a specific Trigger.dev project by providing its project ref
- `-t, --tag <package tag>` - The version of the trigger.dev CLI package to use for the MCP server (default: latest or v4-beta)
- `--dev-only` - Restrict the MCP server to the dev environment only
- `--yolo` - Install the MCP server into all supported clients automatically
- `--scope <scope>` - Choose the scope of the MCP server: `user`, `project`, or `local`
- `--client <clients...>` - Choose specific client(s) to install into

### Configuration Options

- `--log-file <log file>` - Configure the MCP server to write logs to a file
- `-a, --api-url <value>` - Configure a custom Trigger.dev API URL
- `-l, --log-level <level>` - Set CLI log level (debug, info, log, warn, error, none)

## Authentication

You can use the MCP server without authentication with the `search_docs` tool, but for any other tool call you will need to authenticate the MCP server via the same method as the [Trigger.dev CLI](/cli-login-commands).The first time you attempt to use a tool that requires authentication, you will be prompted to authenticate the MCP server via the MCP client.

### Examples

Install for all supported clients:

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-mcp --yolo
```

Install for specific clients:

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-mcp --client claude-code cursor --scope user
```

Install with development environment restriction:

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-mcp --dev-only --project-ref proj_abc123
```

## Supported MCP Clients

The Trigger.dev MCP Server supports the following clients:

| Client               | Scope Options        | Configuration File                                                                                              | Documentation                                                                                                                                    |
| -------------------- | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Claude Code**      | user, project, local | `~/.claude.json` or `./.mcp.json` (project/local scope)                                                         | [Claude Code MCP Docs](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/mcp)                                                                       |
| **Cursor**           | user, project        | `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (user) or `./.cursor/mcp.json` (project)                                                   | [Cursor MCP Docs](https://docs.cursor.com/features/mcp)                                                                                          |
| **VSCode**           | user, project        | `~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json` (user) or `./.vscode/mcp.json` (project)                     | [VSCode MCP Docs](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/chat/mcp-servers)                                                                   |
| **Zed**              | user                 | `~/.config/zed/settings.json`                                                                                   | [Zed Context Servers Docs](https://zed.dev/docs/context-servers)                                                                                 |
| **Windsurf**         | user                 | `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`                                                                           | [Windsurf MCP Docs](https://docs.codeium.com/windsurf/mcp)                                                                                       |
| **Gemini CLI**       | user, project        | `~/.gemini/settings.json` (user) or `./.gemini/settings.json` (project)                                         | [Gemini CLI MCP Tutorial](https://medium.com/@joe.njenga/gemini-cli-mcp-tutorial-setup-commands-practical-use-step-by-step-example-b57f55db5f4a) |
| **Charm Crush**      | user, project, local | `~/.config/crush/crush.json` (user), `./crush.json` (project), or `./.crush.json` (local)                       | [Charm MCP Docs](https://github.com/charmbracelet/mcp)                                                                                           |
| **Cline**            | user                 | `~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json` | [Cline MCP Docs](https://github.com/saoudrizwan/claude-dev#mcp)                                                                                  |
| **OpenAI Codex CLI** | user                 | `~/.codex/config.toml`                                                                                          | See OpenAI Codex CLI documentation for MCP configuration                                                                                         |
| **Sourcegraph AMP**  | user                 | `~/.config/amp/settings.json`                                                                                   | [Sourcegraph AMP MCP Docs](https://docs.sourcegraph.com/amp/mcp)                                                                                 |
| **opencode**         | user, project        | `~/.config/opencode/opencode.json` (user) or `./opencode.json` (project)                                        | [opencode MCP Docs](https://opencode.ai/docs/mcp-servers/)                                                                                       |

## Manual Configuration

If your client isn't directly supported by the installer, you can configure it manually. The MCP server uses the following configuration:

**Server Name:** `trigger`

**Command:** `npx`

**Arguments:** `["trigger.dev@latest", "mcp"]`

### Example JSON Configuration

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trigger": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["trigger.dev@latest", "mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

### Example TOML Configuration (for Codex CLI)

```toml
[mcp_servers.trigger]
command = "npx"
args = ["trigger.dev@latest", "mcp"]
```

### Additional Options

You can add these optional arguments to customize the server behavior:

- `--log-file <path>` - Log to a specific file
- `--api-url <url>` - Use a custom Trigger.dev API URL
- `--dev-only` - Restrict to dev environment only
- `--project-ref <ref>` - Scope to a specific project

## Environment-Specific Configuration

### Development Only

To restrict the MCP server to only work with the development environment:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trigger": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["trigger.dev@latest", "mcp", "--dev-only"]
    }
  }
}
```

### Project-Scoped

To scope the server to a specific project:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trigger": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["trigger.dev@latest", "mcp", "--project-ref", "proj_your_project_ref"]
    }
  }
}
```

## Verification

After installation, restart your MCP client and look for a server named "trigger". The server should connect automatically and provide access to all Trigger.dev tools.

## Getting Started

Once installed, you can start using the MCP server by asking your AI assistant questions like:

- `"Search the trigger docs for a ffmpeg example"`
- `"Initialize trigger.dev in my project"`
- `"Get all tasks in my project"`
- `"Trigger my foobar task with a sample payload"`
- `"Get the details of the latest run for my foobar task"`
- `"List all runs for my foobar task"`
- `"Deploy my project to staging"`
- `"Deploy my project to production"`

## Next Steps

- [Explore available MCP tools](/mcp-tools)
