Hi everyone,
An idea came up during the MCP and FME training: could the OpenAIConnector or other FME AI Connectors accept one or more MCP server URLs and handle tool discovery and execution directly?
The workflow I have in mind is:
1. Configure the MCP server connections in the AI Connector, with URLs entered directly or supplied through an FME list attribute or JSON configuration.
2. Have the connector discover the available tools and their descriptions and input schemas from each server.
3. Let the AI choose the appropriate tool for the user's prompt and generate arguments that match the tool's JSON input schema.
4. Have the connector call the tool on the correct server, pass the result back to the AI, and continue with additional calls when needed before returning the final response.
In the training, we discussed using MCPCallers to list tools, combining those tool lists, and carrying the server information through attributes to route downstream calls. That is useful, but I would love to have this discovery and routing handled inside the AI Connector so there is less setup to repeat in each workspace.
For example, I could connect two MCP servers, provide a prompt, and let the AI discover which tools are available, choose the right one, build valid arguments, and use the result—all within the connector's configured limits. Will also need to be able to handle multiple authentications for MCP servers requiring that.
This could reduce the number of transformers and manual attribute/JSON management needed for dynamic MCP tool calls, lower the learning curve, and make it easier to try new MCP servers without rebuilding the workspace around their tool lists.
Useful controls could include an allowed-tools list, a maximum number of tool calls, and logs showing the selected server, tool, arguments, and result.
Is this already possible through an existing connector configuration, or is it something being considered for a future release? I'd also be interested to hear whether others in the AI SIG would find this useful.
Cheers,
Reno