MCP Server Overview
Cortex exposes a permissioned MCP gateway for AI agents.
Cortex implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) as a Streamable HTTP endpoint. Every tool call executes under the agent's acting user identity — role-scoped filtering, citations, and audit apply automatically.
Gateway Endpoint
POST /mcp
The gateway is stateless — each request builds a per-agent server instance so tools are bound to the acting user's identity.
Authentication
Every request must include a valid agent key:
Authorization: Bearer crtx_...
Or via header:
x-cortex-agent-key: crtx_...
Unauthenticated requests never reach a tool. The gateway returns 401 Unauthorized with a JSON-RPC error.
Available Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
recall | Scope-filtered semantic search with citations |
remember | Store a memory (only into scopes you can read) |
list_memories | Recent memories visible to your role |
get_fact | Deterministic fact from the registry — never a vector guess |
Response Format
All tools return JSON-RPC responses with structured content:
{
"content": [
{
"type": "text",
"text": "{ ... }"
}
]
}
Error Handling
Denials are explicit — if your role isn't cleared for something, the tool returns a denial object with reason and allowed scopes. Denials are always logged to the audit trail.