Install MCP Server

To install the Tenzir MCP Server server, you can choose between two options:

1. Docker: docker run -i tenzir/mcp
2. Native: uvx tenzir-mcp

The Docker version runs a container that bundles the MCP server along with a Tenzir Node installation as a convenient one-stop solution.

The native version only runs the MCP server and you need to make sure that it can access a Tenzir Node installation yourself.

Always running latest versions

For the native installation, the @latest suffix ensures you always get the most recent MCP server package from PyPI when launching your MCP clients, at the cost of increased startup time. To reduce initial load time, omit @latest and manually refresh the cache with uvx tenzir-mcp@latest when you want updates.

For Docker, the --pull=always flag serves a similar purpose, ensuring you always pull the latest image before running the container. To avoid the pull overhead on every start, omit this flag and manually update with docker pull tenzir/mcp when needed.

AI agent configuration

All AI agents use the same JSON configuration structure for the Tenzir MCP server. The configuration always follows this pattern:

Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tenzir": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--pull=always", "-i", "tenzir/mcp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Native

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tenzir": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["tenzir-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

The configuration file location varies by agent. See the specific sections below.

Claude

Configure the Tenzir MCP server for Claude Code and Claude Desktop.

Claude Code

For automatic configuration:

Docker

claude mcp add tenzir --scope user -- docker run --pull=always -i tenzir/mcp

Native

claude mcp add tenzir --scope user -- uvx tenzir-mcp@latest

For manual configuration, edit ~/.mcp.json for user-wide settings or .mcp.json in your project directory for project-specific settings.

Claude Desktop

Edit the configuration file directly. The location depends on your operating system:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

After updating the configuration, restart Claude Desktop to load the MCP server.

Codex

Configure the Codex CLI by adding the server through the built-in MCP manager. This persists the settings in ~/.codex/config.toml.

Docker

codex mcp add tenzir -- docker run --pull=always -i tenzir/mcp

Native

codex mcp add tenzir -- uvx tenzir-mcp@latest

Codex automatically starts the MCP server when you launch a new session. To inspect or tweak the entry later, run codex mcp list or codex mcp get tenzir.

Cursor

Cursor reads MCP settings from mcp.json. Use either the global file at ~/.cursor/mcp.json or add a project-specific config at .cursor/mcp.json in your workspace root.

Docker

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tenzir": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "--pull=always", "-i", "tenzir/mcp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Native

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tenzir": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["tenzir-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor or reload the MCP config (Cmd+, → MCP Servers → Reload) so the Composer agent picks up the new tools.

Gemini CLI

Google’s Gemini CLI supports MCP servers natively. Configure the Tenzir MCP server by editing ~/.gemini/settings.json.

Gemini Code Assist in VS Code shares the same MCP technology. The configuration automatically applies to both the CLI and VS Code integration.

VS Code

VS Code supports MCP servers through GitHub Copilot starting with version 1.102.

For project-specific configuration, create .vscode/mcp.json in your project root.

For user-wide configuration:

1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Run MCP: Open User Configuration
3. Add the Tenzir server configuration

After configuration:

1. Open the GitHub Copilot chat panel
2. Look for the MCP icon in the chat input
3. Select the Tenzir server from available MCP servers
4. Start interacting with your security pipelines

Next steps

After you’ve successfully installed the MCP server in your agent, proceed with one of the following guides:

• Generate a parser
• Generate an OCSF mapping