ovstorage-user-connect-via-mcp

name	ovstorage-user-connect-via-mcp
description	Use when connecting an agent client to ovstorage over MCP stdio and mapping common CLI workflows to MCP tools.
license	CC-BY-4.0
version	0.1.0
author	NVIDIA Omniverse
tags	["ovstorage","mcp","agents"]
tools	["Read"]
compatibility	Requires an ovstorage-mcp binary, configured plugins, and an MCP-capable agent client.

Connect Via MCP

Goal: Configure an agent client to spawn ovstorage-mcp, verify the configured backends, then choose the MCP tool that matches the user's storage task.

Server configuration

Register ovstorage-mcp as an MCP stdio server. Pass the same config and plugin environment you would use with the CLI:

{
  "command": "ovstorage-mcp",
  "env": {
    "OVSTORAGE_CONFIG": "/path/to/ovstorage.toml",
    "OVSTORAGE_PLUGIN_DIR": "/path/to/plugins"
  }
}

OVSTORAGE_CONFIG follows CLI precedence. If you intentionally want a programmatic/no-config session, set OVSTORAGE_MCP_NO_CONFIG=1.

First call

Call ovstorage_doctor before object I/O:

{
  "tool": "ovstorage_doctor",
  "arguments": {}
}

Confirm the desired backend kind is among the layers this stack declares, and that the target address root is visible, before calling read/write/list tools. A kind absent from backend_kinds is a kind this stack's config never declared a layer for.

MCP to CLI equivalence

MCP tool	Closest CLI command	Notes
ovstorage_doctor	ovstorage doctor --json	Health/config summary for agents.
ovstorage_capabilities	ovstorage list-backends plus ovstorage list-routes	MCP reports one prefix.
ovstorage_stat	ovstorage stat ADDRESS	Object info.
ovstorage_list	ovstorage list PREFIX	Use next_page_token for pagination.
ovstorage_read	ovstorage read ADDRESS	Requires max_bytes; bytes are base64.
ovstorage_materialize	ovstorage read ADDRESS -o FILE	MCP returns a leased path, not a durable caller-owned copy.
ovstorage_release	none	Releases a materialize lease.
ovstorage_write	ovstorage write ADDRESS	Data is base64 in MCP.
ovstorage_update_metadata	ovstorage update-metadata ADDRESS	Same precondition model.
ovstorage_create_directory	ovstorage create-directory ADDRESS	Also CLI mkdir.
ovstorage_copy	ovstorage cp SRC DEST	Source/destination preconditions are explicit.
ovstorage_move	ovstorage mv SRC DEST	Also CLI rename.
ovstorage_delete	ovstorage delete ADDRESS	Also CLI rm.
ovstorage_delete_directory	ovstorage delete-directory ADDRESS

Unsupported gaps

MCP v0 does not expose diff, sync, list-versions, get-latest-version, check-access, watch-directory, or cache/state diagnostic commands such as cache-status, cache-doctor, and state-status. Use the CLI for those workflows.

See also

• ovstorage-user-getting-started — reading the ovstorage_doctor response
• ovstorage-user-handle-errors — interpreting ok: false envelopes
• docs/public/agent/mcp-tools.md — full MCP tool reference