ibm-watsonx-gov-catalog-mcp-server

The ibm-watsonx-gov-catalog-mcp-server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP)-compliant server that seamlessly connects AI agents with tools hosted on watsonx governed agentic catalog.

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Overview

• Protocol: Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• Purpose: Acts as a bridge between agentic AI frameworks and tools on governance catalog
• Supported Environments: Watsonx SaaS (Envs Supported : Sydney , Toronto)
• Agent Compatibility: The agentic framework must support the MCP standard (via Stdio).
  Note: This server will not function with agents that do not support MCP.

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Prerequisites

• Python version 3.11 or later
• Access to your SaaS environment
• Ensure your Agent framework supports MCP protocol

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Setup

Step 1: Install Python

• Official Installer: https://www.python.org/downloads/

Step 2: Create a virtual environment

python -m venv .venv

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Running the Server

uv run ibm-watsonx-gov-catalog-mcp-server

Step 3: Activate the virtual environment

source .venv/bin/activate  # macOS/Linux
.venv\Scripts\activate     # Windows

Step 4: Install the uv package manager

pip install uv

• uv package: https://pypi.org/project/uv/

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Build the wheel file

uv pip install build
uv run python -m build 

Build and Run the server

uv run ibm-watsonx-gov-catalog-mcp-server

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Testing using MCP Inspector

Set the following environment variables

For Watsonx SaaS

If you have not already, provision an instance of IBM WatsonX Governance instance using the link in the Cloud catalog .

export WATSONX_APIKEY=<API KEY>
export WATSONX_REGION=<WATSONX_REGION>

NOTE:

• For WATSONX_APIKEY: This is required for IBM watsonx.governance capabilities. Your Cloud API key can be generated by going to the Users section of the Cloud console. From that page, click your name, scroll down to the API Keys section, and click Create an IBM Cloud API key. Give your key a name and click Create, then copy the created key and paste it below.

• For WATSONX_REGION: Set if you are using IBM watsonx.governance as a service in a regional data center other than default Dallas (us-south), in Texas US. Supported region values are "us-south", "eu-de", "au-syd", "ca-tor", "jp-tok".

Invoke MCP inspector

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv run ibm-watsonx-gov-catalog-mcp-server -e WATSONX_APIKEY=<WASONX_APIKEY> -e WATSONX_REGION=<WATSONX_REGION>

Limitations

• Environment credentials cannot be changed during runtime.
  • To change credentials, either:
    • Start a new server with new env variables
• Transport types supported : stdio
• Tool call is supported : OOTB tools , Tools created using custom code.