Start the server

Glyphs MCP runs inside Glyphs. Start it from the app before connecting your AI client.

Start in Glyphs

1. Launch Glyphs 3.
2. Choose Edit -> Start Glyphs MCP Server.
3. Open Edit -> Glyphs MCP Server Status....
4. Confirm the status is running.

Endpoint

The default local MCP endpoint is:

http://127.0.0.1:9680/mcp/

MCP clients connect with Streamable HTTP. If you open the endpoint in a browser, you may only see a small discovery response; that does not replace client setup.

Startup order

If a client cannot connect, use this order:

1. Quit or reload the client.
2. Relaunch Glyphs.
3. Start Glyphs MCP from the Edit menu.
4. Reopen or reconnect the client.

Tool profiles

Many MCP clients include tool names and JSON Schemas in model context. Glyphs MCP can expose a smaller tools/list through Tool Profile in the status panel.

Use the narrowest profile that fits the task:

Profile	Use when
Core (Read-only)	You only need inspection and want the smallest tool surface.
Kerning	You are doing kerning review or bumper work.
Spacing	You are reviewing or applying spacing.
Kerning + Spacing	You are switching between those two workflows.
Paths / Outlines	You are inspecting paths, selected nodes, smooth flags, stems, or italic first-pass previews.
Editing	You need glyph, component, anchor, metric, stem, or italic first-pass edits.
Full	You deliberately want the complete surface.

After changing a profile, restart the server and reconnect the client so it fetches the new tool list.

Auto-start

The status panel can enable auto-start on Glyphs launch. Auto-start is useful after your setup is stable. During troubleshooting, start manually so you can see errors clearly.

Next step

Continue to Connect a client.