MCP Hub Feather

The MCP Hub Feather runs MCP servers on demand and exposes their tools in the command palette alongside shell actions. Nothing starts at launch — servers hot-start when you open the Perch or invoke an MCP palette action.

Configuration

Create ~/.config/toowl/mcp.json with the same server list shape used by Claude Desktop and Cursor:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/Projects"]
    }
  }
}

Enable the MCP Hub in config.toml:

[plugins.mcp]
enabled = true

Using tools

1. Open the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P).
2. Type mcp: to filter MCP tool actions, e.g. mcp:filesystem.read_file.
3. Edit arguments in the Perch form (flat or nested JSON Schema) and run the tool.

Network capability

MCP Feathers request the Network capability with an optional allowlist. The host blocks HTTP unless the Feather declares allowed hosts in its manifest.

Privacy

MCP traffic stays local — toowl does not proxy tool calls through a cloud service. You choose which servers to install and when to enable them.

Install servers

Use the Aviary helper script to download third-party Feathers:

bash scripts/feather-install.sh <feather-id>

See Feather authoring to build your own integration.