MCP Server
An MCP server is the application side of Model Context Protocol, exposing a fixed set of named tools over an authenticated endpoint that a compatible AI assistant can call.
In short
BalanceMCP's own role in the protocol: the thing exposing nineteen named tools — import_statement, post_journal_entry, and the rest — over a bearer-authenticated endpoint. There's no unrestricted database access behind it, and no separate dashboard either; every view goes through a tool call.
Also called: tool server
An MCP server is the half of Model Context Protocol that actually does the work — the application exposing a defined menu of named tools that a compatible AI client can call. BalanceMCP is an MCP server: it exposes nineteen specific tools, each scoped to a narrow action, over an authenticated endpoint secured by a bearer API key tied to one user's own books.
What an MCP server deliberately doesn't expose matters as much as what it does. There's no raw database access behind the tool layer, and no way to call something outside the fixed menu of nineteen named actions. A tool named reconcile_account does reconciliation and nothing else; there's no general-purpose "run arbitrary query" capability hiding behind the interface.
Worth being honest about a real, current limitation on the server side: there isn't a separate web dashboard today for browsing books visually. Every view a person gets — a report, a list of transactions — comes from an AI client calling the same tools a dashboard would use behind the scenes, not from a page someone logs into directly.
Every tool call an MCP server accepts runs under the same database-level guarantees as anything else touching the books: entries must balance, the journal is append-only, nothing can post into a locked period, and row-level security enforces tenant isolation regardless of which tool is called or which client is calling it.
What people get wrong
- Assuming an MCP server exposes unrestricted database access behind its tools — it exposes exactly the nineteen named actions and nothing beyond them.
- Expecting a separate dashboard behind the server — there isn't one yet; every view goes through a tool call from a connected client.
- Assuming the server's rules could differ tool by tool — balance checks, the append-only journal, and tenant isolation apply uniformly across every tool.
Common questions
- Does BalanceMCP's MCP server expose a general database query tool?
- No — it exposes exactly nineteen named, narrowly scoped tools. There's no general-purpose "run anything" capability behind them.
- Is there a dashboard behind the MCP server I can browse directly?
- Not today — every view comes from a connected AI assistant calling the same tools a dashboard would use, since there's no separate web interface yet.
Machine-readable: /api/knowledge/concept:mcp-server