CAST Imaging MCP Server

Overview

The CAST Imaging MCP Server bridges the gap between AI agents and real software architecture by exposing comprehensive software intelligence through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows the user to get insights about their applications ,transactions, dependencies, quality patterns, and architectural structures by prompting AI agents.

This service provides AI Agents with the understanding of your applications from portfolio-level inventories to granular object relationships. Whether you're exploring database schemas, analyzing transaction flows, investigating quality issues, the MCP server delivers precise, paginated data that enables informed architectural decisions.

Use Cases

• Portfolio-level exploration: List applications available in your CAST Imaging and provides detailed information about them.
• Application architecture analysis: Explore architectural graphs at different levels and visualize system structure.
• Transaction & data flow mapping: Analyze transactions, trace data entity interaction networks, explore complex objects and sequencing.
• Quality & security insights: Identify vulnerabilities, cloud readiness blockers and structural flaws in the applications.
• Database schema exploration: Browse database tables, columns, relationships, and constraints across applications.
• Object-level investigation: Search objects and their properties and analyze caller/callee relationships.

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Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Quick Start
• Installation
• Configuration Reference
• Running (HTTP)
• Windows Installation
• VS Code + GitHub Copilot Setup
• Verification & Test Queries
• Toolsets & Tools
• Troubleshooting
• Security Notes
• Package Contents
• Support

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Prerequisites

Required

• Linux system with Docker installed and running.
• CAST Imaging‑APIs service reachable from this host
• MCP‑aware client (e.g., GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Claude Desktop)
• CAST Imaging API Key (generate from your Imaging user profile)

Download

• Download the installer for CAST Imaging MCP server

The MCP server should run on a Linux system. CAST Imaging‑APIs may run on the same or a different Linux machine.

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Quick Start

1. Verify Imaging‑APIs is live:

   curl -H "x-api-key: <your-imaging-api-key>"         http://{CONTROL_PANEL_HOST}:8090/imaging/apis/rest/ready
   # expected: true
   

2. Extract the installer zip.
3. Configure config/app.config and .env.
4. Start the server with ./run.sh --install.
5. Configure client (VS Code Copilot or Claude) with your server URL.
6. Test queries (see examples below).

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Installation of CAST Imaging MCP server

1) Extract the installer

com.castsoftware.imaging.mcpserver.docker.1.0.2-funcrel/
├─ config/
│  └─ app.config
├─ .env                      # hidden; use `ls -a`
├─ docker-compose.yml
├─ run.sh
├─ README.md
└─ copilot-instructions.md

2) Verify CAST Imaging‑APIs

Make sure the Control Panel/registry is reachable and Imaging‑APIs is ready (see Quick Start step #1).

3) Configure server

Edit config/app.config:

HOST_CONTROL_PANEL="your-control-panel-host"   # REQUIRED: Control Panel service registry host/IP
PORT_CONTROL_PANEL=8098                        # Default Control Panel registry port
IMAGING_PAGE_SIZE=1000                         # Internal fetch batch size
IMAGING_DISPLAY_PAGE_SIZE=20                   # Page size in responses
IMAGING_CODE=False                             # Source code access via MCP (security sensitive)
DEBUG_MODE=false                               # Debug mode to see the activity in logs
IMAGING_DOMAIN="default"                       # Imaging domain/tenant
CONTROL_PANEL_SSL_ENABLED=false                # Set true only if Control Panel config/eureka is on HTTPS
MCP_TOOL_SURFACE_PROFILE="full"                # MCP tool exposure profile: "intents" or "full"
MCP_INTENTS_HIDDEN_FUNCTIONS=""                # Comma-separated structural functions hidden from intents mode
SERVICE_HOST="your-service-host"               # REQUIRED: The IP/hostname of the machine on which the MCP Server is running
SSL_CA_BUNDLE=""                               # Optional PEM bundle for private/self-signed CAs

Set your exposed port in .env (hidden file):

MCP_SERVER_PORT=8282

Tip: On Linux, files starting with a dot (like .env) are hidden. Use ls -a to view.

4) Start

chmod +x run.sh
./run.sh --install

This launches the Docker Compose stack and the MCP server.

If you use SSL_CA_BUNDLE, place the PEM file in a certificates/ folder next to docker-compose.yml. The compose file mounts that folder into the container at /app/certificates.

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Configuration Reference

HOST_CONTROL_PANEL (Required)

Default: None (user needs to provide the value)
Description: IP or hostname of the machine running the Control Panel Service.

This is a service registry used by Imaging to register and discover its internal services. It is automatically deployed when you install Imaging. You should enter the IP address of the Linux machine running the Imaging Control Panel service.

PORT_CONTROL_PANEL

Default: 8098
Description: Control Panel registry port.

IMAGING_PAGE_SIZE

Default: 1000
Description: Sets the number of records the MCP server fetches per request (internal batching). Tune for throughput.

IMAGING_DISPLAY_PAGE_SIZE

Default: 20
Description: Sets how many records are shown per page in the user-facing response. Tune for UX.

IMAGING_CODE

Default: False
Description: Controls whether the agent can access source code via the MCP server.

It's false by default, as agents typically work on open repos. Enabling it can expose source code to anyone with MCP access, making it a potential security risk, especially relevant for clients like Claude desktop without direct repo access.

DEBUG_MODE

Default: false
Description: Debug mode will show teh activity in the logs. When set to true it will show the tool picked, the API called and the result for each user prompt. When set to false, it will only show the tool picked and the corresponding API called.

IMAGING_DOMAIN

Default: default
Description: Imaging domain/tenant used to fetch data in multi-tenant environments.

CONTROL_PANEL_SSL_ENABLED

Default: false
Description: Set to true when Control Panel config/eureka endpoints run on HTTPS.

MCP_TOOL_SURFACE_PROFILE

Default: full Description: Selects the MCP tool exposure profile. Use full to expose the complete toolset, or intents for the meta-tool surface.

MCP_INTENTS_HIDDEN_FUNCTIONS

Default: empty Description: Comma-separated list of structural functions to hide when MCP_TOOL_SURFACE_PROFILE is set to intents.

SERVICE_HOST (Required)

Default: None (user needs to provide the value)
Description: IP/hostname of the machine on which the MCP Server is running.

SSL_CA_BUNDLE

Default: empty
Description: Optional path to a PEM CA bundle for private/self-signed certificate chains. With the Docker installer, place the PEM under ./certificates/ and reference it as /app/certificates/<file>.pem.

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Running (HTTP)

Start the server with:

chmod +x run.sh
./run.sh --install

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Windows Installation

This section provides detailed steps for installing and configuring the CAST Imaging MCP Server on Windows systems.

Prerequisites for Windows

• Windows system
• CAST Imaging‑APIs service running and accessible
• MCP‑aware client (e.g., GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Claude Desktop)
• CAST Imaging API Key (generate from your Imaging user profile)

1) Download and Extract

1. Download the installer package for windows.
2. Extract the zip file to your preferred location
3. Navigate to the extracted directory

Package contents:

com.castsoftware.imaging.mcpserver.__MCP_VERSION__*/
├─ mcpserver/
├─ tools/
├─ configuration.conf
├─ mcp-server-installer.bat
└─ README.md

2) Verify CAST Imaging‑APIs

Make sure the Control Panel/registry is reachable and Imaging‑APIs is ready:

curl -H "x-api-key: <your-imaging-api-key>" 
     http://{HOSTNAME_CONTROL_PANEL}:8090/rest/ready
# expected: true

3) Configure Server

Edit configuration.conf with your environment settings:

HOSTNAME_CONTROL_PANEL="your-control-panel-host"      # Required: IP or hostname of Control Panel server
SERVICE_HOST="your-service-host"                      # Required: IP/hostname of the MCP Server machine
PORT_CONTROL_PANEL=8098                               # Default Control Panel registry port  
MCP_SERVER_PORT=8282                                  # Default MCP server port
INSTALL_DIR=C:\Program Files\Cast\Imaging-MCP-Server  # Default installation location
CONFIG_DIR=C:\ProgramData\CAST\Imaging-MCP-Server     # Default config files location
IMAGING_PAGE_SIZE=1000                                # Records per internal request
IMAGING_DISPLAY_PAGE_SIZE=20                          # Records per response page
IMAGING_CODE=False                                    # Enable source code access (security consideration)
DEBUG_MODE=false                                      # Debug mode to see the activity in logs
IMAGING_DOMAIN=default                                # Imaging domain/tenant
CONTROL_PANEL_SSL_ENABLED=false                       # Set true only if Control Panel config/eureka is on HTTPS
MCP_TOOL_SURFACE_PROFILE=full                         # MCP tool exposure profile: full or intents
MCP_INTENTS_HIDDEN_FUNCTIONS=                         # Comma-separated structural functions hidden from intents mode
SSL_CA_BUNDLE=                                        # Optional PEM bundle for private/self-signed CAs

4) Install as Windows Service

Run the installation using the batch script:

mcp-server-installer.bat --install configuration.conf

This installs the MCP server as a Windows service. After successful installation, you'll see a Windows service named "CAST Imaging MCP Server" in your services list.

5) Verify Installation

Check that the service is running:

• Open Services (services.msc)
• Look for "CAST Imaging MCP Server"
• Ensure status is "Running"

Windows-Specific Operations

Update MCP Server

To update an existing installation:

mcp-server-installer.bat --update

No configuration changes needed for updates.

Uninstall MCP Server

To completely remove the MCP server:

mcp-server-installer.bat --uninstall

This removes the Windows service and cleans up all MCP-related files.

Get Help

For available commands:

mcp-server-installer.bat --help

Available commands:

mcp-server-installer.bat --install configuration.conf   : Install CAST Imaging MCP server
mcp-server-installer.bat --update                       : Update CAST Imaging MCP server
mcp-server-installer.bat --uninstall                    : Uninstall CAST Imaging MCP server
mcp-server-installer.bat --help                         : Display help message

Windows Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
Service won't start	Configuration error	Check %CONFIG_DIR%/setup-config/app.config
Connection refused	Service not running	Restart "CAST Imaging MCP Server" service
Installation fails	Insufficient permissions	Run installer as Administrator

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VS Code + GitHub Copilot Setup

This section provides detailed steps for for connecting the CAST Imaging MCP Server with Github Copilot.

1) Install GitHub Copilot on your VS code

• Open the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X).
• Search for "GitHub Copilot" and click Install.
• Sign in to GitHub when prompted

2) Generate CAST Imaging API Key

• Login to your CAST Imaging
• Navigate to your profile section.
• Generate a new API key (copy and save this key securely as you'll need it in the next steps)

3) Create MCP configuration (.vscode/mcp.json)

• Open any folder in VS Code and create a .vscode folder in its root. Inside that, create mcp.json file.

{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "imaging-key",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "CAST Imaging API Key"
    },
    {
      "id": "imaging-tenant",
      "type": "promptString",
      "description": "Imaging tenant"
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "imaging": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://<your-mcp-server-host:port>/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "x-api-key": "${input:imaging-key}",
        "x-user-tenant": "${input:imaging-tenant}"
      }
    }
  }
}

4) (Alternative) Manual registration flow

If VS Code doesn’t auto‑pick the server:

1. Open Copilot Chat → gear icon → Select tools that are available to chat
2. + Add More Tools… → + Add MCP Server… → choose HTTP
3. Enter http(s)://<your-mcp-server-host:port>/mcp/ and confirm
4. VS Code writes .vscode/copilot/mcp.json → add the header block:

"my-mcp-server-xxxx": {
  "url": "http://<your-mcp-server-host:port>/mcp/",
  "headers": {
    "x-api-key": "${input:imaging-key}",
    "x-user-tenant": "${input:imaging-tenant}"
  }
}

5) Project instructions for Copilot

Copy copilot-instructions.md from the installer into your VScode by creating a folder named .github and then pasting the copilot-instructions.md file inside it. This will help the agent in proving better responses.

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Verification & Test Queries

Connectivity checks

# MCP container running
docker ps | grep mcp-server

# Imaging‑APIs health
curl -H "x-api-key: <your-key>"      http://{CONTROL_PANEL_HOST}:8090/imaging/apis/rest/ready

Try in Copilot/Claude

List all applications
List 5 transactions for application <YourApp>
List available applications datagraphs
List applications insights

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Toolsets & Tools

The server organizes functionality into Toolsets.

Available Toolsets

Toolset	Description
Portfolio Tools	Portfolio‑level exploration: list applications, compare metrics, scan hotspots across systems.
Applications Tools	Application‑level analysis: transactions, quality issues, datagraphs, architecture.
Objects Tools	Object element exploration: locate objects, references, callers/callees.

Tools

Portfolio

• applications — List the available applications in CAST Imaging
• all_applications — List all applications (cloud build)
• my_applications — List applications belonging to the current user (cloud build)
• applications_transactions — Get transactions from all applications with filtering support
• applications_data_graphs — Data entity interaction networks (data graphs) from all applications
• applications_dependencies — Inter-dependencies between all applications
• applications_quality_insights — Quality insights including CVE, cloud detection patterns, and green detection patterns
• get_mcp_info — Get MCP server and Imaging version/environment information

Applications

• application_database_explorer — Explore database tables and columns in an application
• stats — Get basic statistical information for an application
• architectural_graph — Get architectural graph data (nodes/links) at specific levels (layer, component, sub-component, technology-category, element-type)
• architectural_graph_focus — Get focused architectural graph data for specific areas
• quality_insights — Get quality-related insights (CVE, cloud patterns, green patterns, structural flaws, ISO-5055)
• quality_insight_violations — Get specific violations of quality insights by ID, with optional locations
• packages — Get package information and dependencies
• package_interactions — Get interactions with specific packages by component and version
• transaction_profiles — Get available transaction profiles
• transactions — Get transactions with optional filtering by name, fullname, or type
• transaction_details — Get focused information about a transaction by ID
• add_view_document — Add documentation to a transaction or data graph
• data_graphs — Get data entity interaction networks (data graphs) with optional filtering
• data_graph_profiles — Get available data graph profiles
• data_graph_details — Get focused information about a data graph by ID
• inter_applications_dependencies — Get inward and outward inter-application dependencies
• inter_app_detailed_dependencies — Get detailed dependencies between two specific applications
• advisor_occurrences — Get occurrences supporting a selected advisor
• application_iso_5055_explorer — Explore ISO 5055 characteristics and weaknesses
• api_inventory — Get API inventory for an application
• advisors — Get migration/modernization advisors, rules, and violations
• dynamic_views — List custom aggregation views
• dynamic_view_details — Get a custom view graph or objects inside a custom node
• manage_dynamic_view — Create, delete, rename, publish, or unpublish custom views
• configure_dynamic_view — Add or delete custom nodes in a custom view
• views — List saved views
• view_details — Get saved view details
• manage_view — Create, update, or delete saved views
• tags — List tags available in an application

Objects

• objects — Get objects in an application matching identification criteria (name, fullname, mangling, type, filepath)
• object_profiles — Get available object profiles
• object_details — Get comprehensive details for objects including properties, relationships, code snippets, and usage statistics
• add_object_document — Add documentation text to a specific object identified by ID
• manage_object_tags — Add or delete tags on explicitly identified objects
• bulk_manage_object_tags — Add or delete tags on objects selected by server-side criteria
• objects_relationships — Find relationships between multiple objects
• pathfinder_hierarchy_details — Find execution paths, call chains, and hierarchy details
• source_files — Find source files that define code objects matching file path criteria
• source_file_details — Get detailed information about source files and their code elements (inventory, intra, inward, outward, testing)
• transactions_using_object — Get transactions that use objects matching specified criteria
• data_graphs_involving_object — Get data entity interaction networks (data graphs) that involve specific objects

Structural Search (intents profile)

• get_structural_search_function_syntax — Get syntax and usage details for structural search functions
• run_structural_search_function — Execute a structural search function through the generic dispatcher

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	What to do
ECONNREFUSED from client	Server not running	docker ps, then ./run.sh --install to start
Auth errors	Wrong/expired Imaging API key	Regenerate key from Imaging profile
Empty answers	Imaging‑APIs unreachable	Recheck HOST_CONTROL_PANEL / PORT_CONTROL_PANEL, health endpoint
HTTPS handshake/error	Private/self-signed Control Panel certificate	Set CONTROL_PANEL_SSL_ENABLED=true and configure SSL_CA_BUNDLE
VS Code not prompting for key	Missing inputs in mcp.json	Add the inputs block (see setup)

Logs & Checks

# Server logs
docker logs <mcp-container-id>

# Re‑verify Imaging‑APIs
curl -H "x-api-key: <your-key>"      http://{CONTROL_PANEL_HOST}:8090/imaging/apis/rest/ready

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Security Notes

• IMAGING_CODE = False by default: enabling allows MCP clients to access source code → restrict by policy, network, and credentials.
• SSL_CA_BUNDLE for private CAs: prefer a CA bundle over disabling TLS verification.
• Principle of least privilege: limit who can obtain/enter Imaging API keys in MCP hosts.

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Package Contents

com.castsoftware.imaging.mcpserver.docker.__MCP_VERSION__/
├─ config/app.config
├─ docker-compose.yml
├─ run.sh
├─ .env                      # hidden
├─ README.md                 # original docs
└─ copilot-instructions.md   # optional, copy to .github/

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Support

• Check container logs and the Imaging‑APIs health endpoint
• Validate app.config, .env, mcp.json paths and values
• Ensure network reachability between client ↔ server ↔ Imaging‑APIs

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License

This repository contains documentation only.
The project’s source code is proprietary and is not published under an open-source license.

• The source code is licensed separately under a commercial license and is not included in this repository.
• No rights are granted to the source code through this repository.
• You may view and share this documentation freely, but it may not be used to infer or imply rights to the proprietary software.

For commercial licensing inquiries, please contact your local CAST representative (https://www.castsoftware.com/overview).

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