MCP tool reference

The Connector runs as a local MCP server (stdio transport) and exposes 91 resource tools, the kuali_run catch-all, and 3 connection-management tools (95 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.

95 tools
Read-only annotations
Local stdio only
ANNOTATIONS

How clients decide what to surface

Annotation
Meaning
read-only
Lists, gets, exports, status checks. Safe to call without confirmation.
mutation
Changes state but doesn't remove anything — create, update, submit, approve, import.
destructive
Deletes, deactivates, revokes. Most clients prompt for approval first.

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.

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

Always registered, regardless of --tools mode.

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

Create and manage Build 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

Templates and schemas

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

Create, submit, approve

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

Accounts and API keys

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

Membership management

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

Status, actions, admin tools

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

Datasets and aliases

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

Group 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

HTTP integrations and bridges

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

App-level access

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

Activity log

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

CSV, PDF, XLSX

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

CSV with auto-mapping

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

Attachments

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

Diagnostics and the escape hatch

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 (creates and deletes test data).
mutation
kuali_run
Escape hatch — run any kuali CLI command by name. Useful for flag combinations not covered by the dedicated tools.
mutation

All 95 tools by category

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.

Last updated: September 21, 2026

ON THIS PAGE

How tools are annotatedConnection managementAppsFormsDocumentsUsersGroupsWorkflowsProductsCategoriesIntegrationsPermissionsAuditExportImportFilesUtilityCounts at a glance
<- Reference

Tools see only what your 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.

Read-only mode ->

Where to next

Prompt library

Ready-to-use prompts for curriculum, research, build apps, imports, workflow analysis, and reporting.

Browse prompts →
Client-specific guides

Tips for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Copilot, and VS Code.

AI assistants →
Use it as a CLI

Skip the chat — every capability is also a plain kuali command, ready for scripts and CI.

Command reference →