> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.engineeringframework.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Knowledge Base MCP Server: Overview

> What the Knowledge Base MCP server is, how it differs from the Framework MCP server, and when to use each

## What it is

The Knowledge Base MCP server exposes semantic search and retrieval over the
Knowledge Base as a [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)
server. It is a separate, independently deployed service from the
[Framework MCP server](/mcp-server-overview) — same connection method, same
sign-in, but a different service with a narrower purpose.

## Why two MCP servers

The Framework MCP server manages planning: projects, checklist items,
artifacts, users, and organizations. The Knowledge Base MCP server does one
thing — semantic search and retrieval of Knowledge Base Documents (decisions,
guides, pitfalls, process docs). They're split into separate services
deliberately:

* **Independent deployment and database.** The Knowledge Base has its own
  database and is versioned and deployed independently of the Framework. Splitting the MCP
  surface the same way keeps that boundary intact end to end, rather than
  giving the Framework server direct database access into a service it
  doesn't own.
* **Different clients, different needs.** An agent that only needs to look
  up prior art doesn't need — and shouldn't be granted — the full planning
  and administration toolset (managing users, organizations, departments,
  and projects).

In practice, you rarely need to choose one or the other in isolation:

* If you're **already using the Framework MCP server for planning** (writing
  ADRs, reviewing artifacts, checking planning status), you don't need a
  separate connection at all — the Framework MCP server's own
  [`knowledge_ask` tool](/mcp-server-tools) proxies into the
  Knowledge Base MCP server for you, forwarding your identity so results are
  already filtered to what you're authorized to see. The same underlying
  connection is also what surfaces related prior art when the assistant
  looks up context for a checklist item.
* If you want an agent to **search or retrieve Knowledge Base content
  directly** — outside of a planning session, or from a tool/client that
  doesn't otherwise talk to the Framework MCP server — connect to the
  Knowledge Base MCP server directly, as described in
  [Knowledge Base MCP Server Setup](/knowledge-base-mcp-setup).

## Authentication

Like the Framework MCP server, every request requires a valid sign-in — the
same account and organization you use elsewhere in Engineering Framework,
just authenticating against a different service.

## Authorization

Every result is checked against the same permission model used by the
[dashboard's search and review pages](/knowledge-base-search). An MCP caller
only ever sees Documents that person is actually authorized to view —
unauthorized results are simply left out of the response, never returned in
a partial or redacted form.

## Tools

The Knowledge Base MCP server registers three tools:

* **`ask`** — semantic search over the Knowledge Base.
* **`get_by_id`** — full Document retrieval by ID.
* **`kb_health_check`** — a diagnostic/scaffold tool confirming the
  connection and auth are working; not a real Knowledge Base capability.

For parameters and behavior, see
[Searching & Asking the Knowledge Base](/knowledge-base-search), which
documents `ask` and `get_by_id` in full — this page won't repeat that detail.

## Getting connected

See [Knowledge Base MCP Server Setup](/knowledge-base-mcp-setup) for the
Claude Code connection steps. Other MCP clients connect the same way, over
the `/mcp` StreamableHTTP endpoint with a bearer token, using their
own MCP server configuration UI.

Looking to add content rather than search it? See the
[engframe CLI](/engframe-cli) — a separate, standalone command-line tool for
ingesting Documents.