OpenClaw MCP Integration Explained — Model Context Protocol

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is Anthropic's open standard for connecting LLMs to external data sources and tools. OpenClaw supports MCP natively, meaning your agent can use any MCP-compatible server as a tool — without writing custom integration code.

What MCP Enables

MCP servers expose standardized tool interfaces. When you connect an MCP server to OpenClaw, your agent invokes those tools naturally in conversation:

• Database queries (PostgreSQL, SQLite, DynamoDB)
• File system access with structured output
• Browser automation via Playwright MCP
• Git repository operations
• Slack and GitHub API access
• Custom internal APIs

Configuring MCP Servers

# openclaw.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/documents"]
    },
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_TOKEN}" }
    },
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://localhost/mydb"]
    }
  }
}

Installing Common MCP Servers

npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-github
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search
npm install -g @playwright/mcp
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite

Verifying MCP Connections

openclaw gateway status
# Should show: MCP servers: filesystem (ok), github (ok)

openclaw tools list  # List all available MCP tools

Using MCP Tools in Practice

# Using filesystem MCP:
"List all .md files in ~/documents/projects/ and summarize contents"

# Using GitHub MCP:
"Fetch open PRs for my-org/my-repo over 3 days old"

# Using PostgreSQL MCP:
"Query the users table — count signups per day this week"

Building Custom MCP Servers

# Minimal Node.js MCP server:
import { Server } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/index.js';
const server = new Server({ name: 'my-server', version: '1.0.0' });
server.setRequestHandler('tools/list', async () => ({
  tools: [{ name: 'my_tool', description: 'Does X', inputSchema: {} }]
}));
server.setRequestHandler('tools/call', async (req) => {
  return { content: [{ type: 'text', text: 'result' }] };
});

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