Rasa MCP Tools

Rasa Tools are included in Rasa Pro 3.16 and later. There is no separate package to install.

v3.16

What are Rasa MCP Tools?

Rasa MCP Tools are Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools that let agentic systems — IDE copilots, browser copilots, and other MCP clients — inspect, validate, train, and debug Rasa agents using natural language.

Building Rasa agents involves business logic spread across flows, slots, custom actions, and configuration files. IDE copilots are strong at coding but lack Rasa-specific knowledge. Rasa MCP Tools bridge that gap by making Rasa a first-class tool provider for your IDE.

What you can do

Capability	Example prompt
Inspect	"What flows and slots are in this project?"
Build	"Help me add a new subagent that manages flight bookings."
Validate	"Validate my project and explain any errors."
Train	"Train the model and tell me if it succeeded."
Test	"Send 'I want to transfer money' to the assistant and show me what happens."
Debug	"Get the assistant logs and explain why the flow was cancelled."
Learn	"Search the Rasa docs for how slot validation works."

The MCP server exposes 17 tools across five groups: documentation search, project introspection, schema retrieval, build/validation, and runtime testing. For a complete tool-by-tool reference, see Rasa MCP Tools API Reference.

How it works

Your IDE agent starts rasa tools run, which is the Rasa MCP server: a local process that speaks MCP over stdio and reads your project files directly. You do not need a separate service for most tools. A Rasa Server (for example rasa run or rasa inspect) is only required for the two runtime tools: talk_to_assistant and get_assistant_logs.

Your machine

  ┌──────────────┐  MCP (stdio)   ┌──────────────────────┐
  │ IDE Agent    │ ◄────────────► │ Rasa MCP Server      │
  │              │                │ rasa tools run       │
  │ (your IDE)   │                │ reads project files  │
  └──────────────┘                └──────────┬───────────┘
                                             │ optional HTTP
                                             ▼
                                  ┌──────────────────────┐
                                  │ Rasa Server          │
                                  │ rasa run / inspect   │
                                  └──────────────────────┘

Setup

Prerequisites

Rasa Pro 3.16+ installed (Python or Docker)
RASA_LICENSE environment variable set. Some setups (for example Claude Code) start non-interactive shells, so they may not load ~/.zshrc. On zsh, put the license where it is always read, such as ~/.zshenv:
```
echo 'export RASA_LICENSE="your-license-key"' >> ~/.zshenv
```

Quick setup with the wizard

Run from your project root:

rasa tools init

The wizard:

Creates .rasa/tools.yaml with server configuration
Downloads offline documentation into .rasa/
Generates MCP configuration for your IDE
Downloads Rasa specific skills for your project

Use -y to accept all defaults:

rasa tools init -y

After the wizard completes, open your IDE from the project root and check that rasa-tools appears in your IDE's MCP settings.

Manual setup by client

If the wizard did not configure your IDE, or you prefer manual setup, follow the instructions for your client below.

Cursor

Jump to Cursor setup

VS Code

Jump to VS Code setup

Claude Code

Jump to Claude Code setup

JetBrains

Jump to JetBrains setup

Your IDE starts the Rasa Tools process and communicates over stdio. Add a server entry like the examples below.

note

Use the same rasa binary you use in a terminal where rasa train works. Always run from the project root unless you pass an explicit --project-path.

If your IDE does not inherit RASA_LICENSE from your shell (common when launching from Dock or Spotlight instead of a terminal), add it via the env field in your MCP config:

"env": { "RASA_LICENSE": "your-license-key" }

Cursor

Open Settings > Tools & MCP and add a new MCP server, or create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root.
Add the following config:

.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rasa-tools": {
      "command": "rasa",
      "args": ["tools", "run", "--mode", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Ensure rasa is on your PATH. Restart Cursor or reload MCP.
Open your project from the project root.

VS Code (Agent Mode)

Create or open .vscode/mcp.json in your project root.
Add a server entry:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "rasa-tools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "rasa",
      "args": ["tools", "run", "--mode", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Reload the window or restart VS Code. The server will appear in the MCP: List Servers command palette entry.

Claude Code

Claude Code launches non-interactive shells, so it may not inherit your terminal's PATH. Use the full path to rasa (run which rasa inside your activated virtualenv to find it).

Option A — CLI (recommended)

From your project root:

claude mcp add rasa-tools -- /path/to/your/.venv/bin/rasa tools run --mode stdio

This writes the entry to ~/.claude.json. To store it in the project (shareable via git), add -s project:

claude mcp add -s project rasa-tools -- /path/to/your/.venv/bin/rasa tools run --mode stdio

Option B — edit .mcp.json directly

Create or open .mcp.json in your project root:

.mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rasa-tools": {
      "command": "/path/to/your/.venv/bin/rasa",
      "args": ["tools", "run", "--mode", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

After either option, run /mcp in Claude Code and confirm rasa-tools is Connected.

JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.)

Open Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Click Add and choose STDIO.
Enter the following JSON config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rasa-tools": {
      "command": "rasa",
      "args": ["tools", "run", "--mode", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Set the Working directory to your Rasa project root.
Click OK and restart the AI Assistant.

Using a virtualenv interpreter

If rasa is not on the global PATH, point command at your venv Python and run Rasa as a module:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rasa-tools": {
      "command": "/path/to/project/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": [
        "-m", "rasa",
        "tools", "run",
        "--mode", "stdio",
        "--project-path", "/path/to/rasa/project"
      ],
      "env": {
        "RASA_LICENSE": "your_license_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Remove --project-path if you always start the IDE from the project root.

Trying it out

After setup, open a copilot chat in your IDE and try these prompts:

Use rasa-tools to summarize what this assistant can do.

Help me use rasa-tools to create a new feature for this project.
Return:
1. User goal
2. Required slots (new vs reused)
3. Happy path
4. Edge cases
5. Test scenarios
Keep it under 15 bullets.

Validate this Rasa project and explain any issues.

Search the Rasa docs for how to add an mcp server to this assistant project.

If the tools respond with project information, your setup is working. See the Prompt-Driven Agent Tutorial for a guided walkthrough of building a feature with prompts.

For runtime testing (talking to the assistant), you also need to start the Rasa server:

rasa inspect

Then you can test conversations:

Talk to the assistant: "hello", "I want to send money to Jen", "$50", "yes".
Check if the transfer_money flow completed.

Troubleshooting

Issue	What to do
IDE says "no MCP servers found"	Check that the MCP config file exists in the right location and the JSON is valid. Cursor: `.cursor/mcp.json`. VS Code: `.vscode/mcp.json`. Claude Code: `.mcp.json` or `~/.claude.json`. Reload or restart MCP in your IDE.
`rasa: command not found`	Ensure `rasa` is on your `PATH`. If using a virtualenv, use the full path to `rasa` (find it with `which rasa`), or point `command` at `.venv/bin/python` and use `-m rasa` in `args`. See JetBrains example.
`RASA_LICENSE` not found / license error	The IDE may not inherit your shell environment. Add `"env": { "RASA_LICENSE": "..." }` to your MCP server config, or for zsh put the export in `~/.zshenv` (not only `~/.zshrc`). See Prerequisites.
Claude Code: `rasa-tools` not connected (`/mcp`)	Use the full path to `rasa` from `which rasa` in your venv. Confirm `RASA_LICENSE` is set (see row above). Verify Rasa Pro 3.16+ with `rasa --version`. See Claude Code.
"Project folder not configured"	Run from the project root, or add `--project-path` to your MCP args.
Tools work but `talk_to_assistant` fails	Start the Rasa server first: `rasa run` or `rasa inspect`. The MCP server connects to `http://localhost:5005` by default.
Offline docs are stale	Run `rasa tools init docs` and restart the MCP server.
First tool call is slow	Expected. The MCP server lazy-loads Rasa modules on first use. Subsequent calls are faster.
Validation/training hangs	Large projects can take 60+ seconds. If it truly hangs, check terminal for errors.
Server connects but no tools appear	Restart the MCP server from your IDE. In Cursor: toggle the server off/on in Settings. In VS Code: run MCP: List Servers and restart. In Claude Code: `/mcp` then restart.

For general Rasa Pro installation issues, see Installation Troubleshooting.

Rasa MCP Tools API Reference — full tool-by-tool reference with parameters and sample prompts
Developer Quickstart — fastest path to a working project
Prompt-Driven Agent Tutorial — build your first feature with prompts

What are Rasa MCP Tools?​

What you can do​

How it works​

Setup​

Prerequisites​

Quick setup with the wizard​

Manual setup by client​

Cursor

VS Code

Claude Code

JetBrains

Cursor​

VS Code (Agent Mode)​

Claude Code​

JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.)​

Trying it out​

Troubleshooting​

Related​

What are Rasa MCP Tools?

What you can do

How it works

Setup

Prerequisites

Quick setup with the wizard

Manual setup by client

Cursor

VS Code (Agent Mode)

Claude Code

JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.)

Trying it out

Troubleshooting

Related