n8n-nodes-mcp-local

Transform any MCP server into native AI Agent tools.

Quick Start

1. Install: Settings → Community Nodes → n8n-nodes-mcp-local
2. Workflow: Add AI Agent + MCP Local Provider → Connect via tool
3. Credentials: Create "MCP Server (STDIO)" → Package: wikipedia-mcp → Save triggers npx and discovers tools
4. Done. All MCP tools appear at your Agent.

Why This Node?

Most MCP servers are STDIO-based — designed to run locally via npx. n8n has two existing options, but neither gives you direct access:

| | n8n Native MCP | nerding.io MCP | This Node | |--|:--------------:|:--------------:|:-------------:| | STDIO / npx | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | | SSE / HTTP | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | Agent sees individual tools | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | | Tool selection (include/exclude) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |

What's Missing

n8n Native gives you clean Agent integration, but no STDIO. You'd need to host MCP servers yourself.

nerding.io has STDIO, but requires two separate nodes for every call. The Agent never sees actual tools — just a "List Tools" and "Execute Tool" wrapper. More indirection, less reliable tool calls.

Direct Access

nerding.io:   Agent → "List Tools" → "Execute Tool" → Result
This node:    Agent → tool_name() → Result

No detours. The Agent sees every tool, reads its description, and calls it like any native function.

Built for Flow

This node uses npx — the MCP server is fetched on every execution

No setup friction. Test ideas, iterate fast, ship when it works.

When you're ready for production scale with high-frequency calls, host your MCP server and switch to the native n8n MCP Client.

How It Works

┌──────────────────┐       ┌──────────────────┐
│  MCP Local       │──────►│    AI Agent      │
│  Provider        │       │                  │
└──────────────────┘       └──────────────────┘
         │
         ▼
    npx wikipedia-mcp
         │
         ▼
    Tools discovered & registered:
    • store_memory
    • retrieve_memory
    • list_memories

Configuration

Credentials

| Field | Description | Example | |-------|-------------|---------| | MCP Package | npm package name | wikipedia-mcp | | Environment Variables | Optional config | API_KEY=xxx |

Node Options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | Tools Mode | all / selected / exclude | | Include/Exclude Tools | Filter which tools the Agent sees |

Troubleshooting

First run slow? npx downloads the package. Subsequent runs use npm cache.

No tools discovered? Check package name. Some servers need environment variables.

License

MIT

Credits

Model Context Protocol by Anthropic • n8n

Build something. Ship it.