Sift MCP server

Ingest and discover data
Perform analysis and transformations
Create Sift entities

Once connected, your client lists the tools the server exposes. Use the Sift MCP server when you want an agent to work against your Sift environment directly. The sift-cli agent command installs and maintains that connection for every supported client on your machine. Supported clients:

Prerequisites

Configure the Sift CLI profile before you install the integration. The MCP server reads its endpoint and API key from that profile.

Install the CLI and configure a profile.
Confirm the profile works:
sift-cli ping

Install the integration

sift-cli agent install

This command detects every supported client and installs the files for each client:

Skills that teach the agent how to interact with Sift by combining the MCP server, the CLI, the REST API, and the client libraries.
An MCP registration that points the client at the sift-cli executable that ran the command.

By default, the agent has read-only access to Sift until you enable write access, and the install uses the default profile. Nothing is written until every target passes a preflight check, and the command refuses to overwrite a same-name skill or MCP entry that Sift does not manage. To install against a named profile instead, pass the profile name, for example, mission:

sift-cli agent install --profile mission

To ensure the client picks up the new registration, reload or restart the client.

Integration files locations

The CLI detects Claude Code and Codex by their command on your PATH. It detects Cursor and OpenCode by their command or their configuration directory.

Path dependency: The MCP registration records the absolute path of the sift-cli executable that ran the install. If you move or reinstall the binary, run sift-cli agent update to point the clients at the new path.

Gated tools

By default, tools that modify or archive existing resources are disabled. When an agent calls a disabled tool, the server returns an error stating that access is disabled. The gated tools are update_asset, update_run, update_report, update_annotation, update_rule, archive_rule, and unarchive_rule. Additive writes stay available without the flag: create_annotation, create_report, create_rule, create_test_report, append_test_measurements, and upload_dataset.

Replace, not merge: --allow-destructive lets an agent overwrite and archive existing Sift resources. update_asset, update_run, update_report, and update_annotation replace tags, metadata, and other collections rather than merging them. Enable it only when you intend to give the agent that access.

To enable gated tools for every detected client:

sift-cli agent update --allow-destructive

To return every client to read-only:

sift-cli agent update --read-only

If you do not specific an access mode, the default is --read-only. Reload each client after changing its access mode.

Check the integration

sift-cli agent doctor reports the state of the installed files and client configurations without changing them. It also checks GitHub for a newer CLI release.

sift-cli agent doctor

Sift agent bundle X.Y.Z
[ok] sift-cli X.Y.Z is current
Detected: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode
[ok] Codex/Cursor/OpenCode skill: /Users/you/.agents/skills/sift
[ok] Claude Code skill: /Users/you/.claude/skills/sift
[ok] Claude Code MCP registration (read-only, default profile)
[ok] Codex MCP registration (read-only, default profile)
[ok] Cursor MCP registration (read-only, default profile)
[ok] OpenCode MCP registration (read-only, default profile)
All detected Sift agent integrations are healthy.

doctor reports an error when a skill is missing, a skill came from a different CLI release, an MCP registration is missing or has drifted, or the detected clients disagree on access mode or profile. Each error is followed by the command that repairs it. To assert that every client uses a specific profile, pass the profile name, for example, mission:

sift-cli agent doctor --profile mission

Example prompts

Adapt these prompts to your own Assets and Runs. The installed skill tells the agent which tools to chain for each one. Each example shows an abridged response to give you a sense of what the agent returns. Your own responses differ by client, by model, and by the data in your environment.

Find your recent Runs

The agent resolves your identity from the API key in your profile, then filters Runs by creator.

Which runs did I create in the last week?

You created three Runs in the last week: acceptance-07, thermal-cycle-12, and regression-04.

Investigate a signal

The agent downloads the Channel data to a Parquet file, then queries it with SQL to find the samples you asked about.

Download the temperature channels for run acceptance-07 and tell me
where any of them exceeded 80C.

I downloaded four temperature Channels for acceptance-07 and queried them. Two exceeded 80C: motor_temp_2 peaked at 87.4C between 00:14:22 and 00:14:51, and motor_temp_3 reached 81.9C at 00:14:36.

Open a view in Explore

The agent returns a Sift Explore link that opens your selection.

Give me an Explore link for the bus voltage channels on run acceptance-07.

https://app.siftstack.com/explore?method=single&runs=acceptance-07&channels=bus_voltage_1,bus_voltage_2

Record a finding

The agent creates an Annotation over the time range it identified.

Annotate the voltage drop you found on run acceptance-07 and assign it to me.

I created the Annotation “Bus voltage drop” on acceptance-07, covering 00:14:22 to 00:14:51, and assigned it to you.

Derive and upload a dataset

The agent downloads the source Channels, computes the new series with SQL, and streams the result back into Sift as a dataset.

Compute a 10-second rolling average of the temperature channels on
run acceptance-07 and upload it to the same asset.

I computed a 10-second rolling average for four temperature Channels and uploaded the result to the Asset as motor_temp_2_avg_10s and three sibling Channels.

Look up how Sift works

The agent searches the Sift documentation and API reference, then reads the matching pages.

How can I set up data ingestion for a new asset?

I searched the Sift documentation and read the ingestion pages. Here are the options for getting data into a new Asset, with links to each source page.

Update every client

Update refreshes the skill and MCP registration for every detected client and preserves the existing access mode and profile. If a newer CLI release exists, update stops and prints the installer command to run.

sift-cli agent update

sift-cli agent install and sift-cli agent update act on all detected clients together. The CLI treats mixed access modes or mixed profiles as an error rather than picking one, so resolve them with an explicit access mode (--allow-destructive or --read-only) or profile, for example, mission:

sift-cli agent update --profile mission

Switch profiles

Point every detected client at a named profile, for example, mission:

sift-cli agent update --profile mission

Return every detected client to the default profile:

sift-cli agent update --default-profile

Reload each client after switching profiles.

Configure a client manually

For a client that sift-cli agent install does not support, register the server yourself. Most MCP clients take a command and arguments:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sift": {
      "command": "sift-cli",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

The client launches the server over stdio instead of running it interactively. Add --profile <name> to select a profile (for example, mission) and --allow-destructive to enable the gated tools:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sift": {
      "command": "sift-cli",
      "args": ["mcp", "--profile", "mission", "--allow-destructive"]
    }
  }
}

Remove the integration

Uninstall removes the skill files and MCP registrations that Sift manages, and leaves everything else in place. It reports what it removed and what was not installed.

sift-cli agent uninstall

Get started

Ingest telemetry

Investigate

Detect and review

Transform

Export

Sift CLI

Integrate

Manage workspace

Reference

Sift MCP server

Prerequisites

Install the integration

Integration files locations

Gated tools

Check the integration

Example prompts

Find your recent Runs

Investigate a signal

Open a view in Explore

Record a finding

Derive and upload a dataset

Look up how Sift works

Update every client

Switch profiles

Configure a client manually

Remove the integration

​Prerequisites

​Install the integration

​Integration files locations

​Gated tools

​Check the integration

​Example prompts

​Find your recent Runs

​Investigate a signal

​Open a view in Explore

​Record a finding

​Derive and upload a dataset

​Look up how Sift works

​Update every client

​Switch profiles

​Configure a client manually

​Remove the integration

Prerequisites

Install the integration

Integration files locations

Gated tools

Check the integration

Example prompts

Find your recent Runs

Investigate a signal

Open a view in Explore

Record a finding

Derive and upload a dataset

Look up how Sift works

Update every client

Switch profiles

Configure a client manually

Remove the integration