MCP Client & Aggregation
Besides acting as an MCP server, Shortcuts Toolbox can connect to other MCP servers as a client. Once connected, the AI chat and AI tasks can use those servers’ tools alongside your shortcuts. Apple’s on-device model is the exception: it only gets the shortcut tools.
Connecting External Servers
Go to Settings → MCP Client, turn on Enable MCP Client, and add your servers to the configuration JSON:
{
"mcpServers": {
"my-remote-server": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://example.com/mcp"
},
"local-stdio-server": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["./my-server.js"],
"env": { "API_KEY": "..." }
}
}
}
Every server is on unless you add "enabled": false. Add "exposeTools": false to keep a
server’s tools away from your MCP server’s clients (see below); the AI chat and AI tasks still
get them.
Supported Client Transport Types
stdiocommand and no type. env sets extra environment variables
for the process.
httpsseurl and
no type.
remotesseMCP Aggregation
Shortcuts Toolbox can also pass the tools from these servers on to the clients of its own MCP server, so an MCP client like Claude Desktop or Cursor reaches them through the same connection. This is off by default. To turn it on, enable both the MCP Server and the MCP Client, then turn on Expose MCP Client Tools over MCP Server in Settings → MCP Aggregator. Each connected server also has its own Expose Tools via MCP Server switch.
Passed-on tools are named after the server you added. A tool called search from a server you
named notes shows up as notes_search. A tool whose name already starts with the
server name followed by _ or - keeps its name.
A client then sees the built-in Shortcuts Toolbox tools plus the tools from your other servers. The built-in tools, including how clients run your enabled shortcuts, are listed on Available MCP Tools. To give one client a shorter list, see Choose which tools a client sees.