MCP Server Setup

📘

A Model Context Protocl (MCP) server for Rollbar. - This software is under active development.

https://github.com/rollbar/rollbar-mcp-server

Features

This MCP server implements the stdio server type, which means your AI tool (e.g. Claude, Cursor) will run it directly; you don't run a separate process or connect over http.

Configuration

Account access token

Configure a single Rollbar Account Access Token and let every tool work across all projects in that account:

• ROLLBAR_ACCOUNT_ACCESS_TOKEN (env var), or
• accountToken (a top-level key in .rollbar-mcp.json, alongside projects/token/apiBase)

To create one: in Rollbar, go to your account settings → Account Access Tokens, create a new named, enabled token, and choose read (or read and write, if you plan to use update-item) scope. Copy the full generated secret right away, Rollbar only shows it once, and store it securely (a secrets manager or your shell's env config, not committed to source control).

{
  "accountToken": "acct_tok_abc123"
}

If you want tighter controls on some projects, give the account token read scope so you can read every project, then explicitly list the few projects that need update-item with their own read+write project tokens. Those override the account token for that project only, per the precedence rule below (explicit project token always wins).

{
  "accountToken": "acct_tok_abc123",
  "projects": [
    { "name": "backend", "token": "tok_backend_readwrite" }
  ]
}

Project-token configs are completely unchanged by this feature: if you don't set an account token, nothing about existing single- or multi-project setups behaves any differently. The two modes can also coexist: if a project name matches an explicitly configured project that has its own token, that project's own token is always used for that project, even when an account token is also present.

Per-project configuration for more secure access

Single Project: Environment variable

• ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN: access token for your Rollbar project.
• ROLLBAR_API_BASE (optional): override the API base URL (defaults to https://api.rollbar.com/api/1).

Multiple Project: Config file

Create .rollbar-mcp.json in your working directory or home directory, or set ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE to point to a custom path. A checked-in template is available at rollbar-mcp-example.json; copy it to .rollbar-mcp.json and fill in your real tokens.

Single project shorthand:

{ "token": "tok_abc123" }

Multiple projects:

{
  "projects": [
    { "name": "backend",  "token": "tok_abc123" },
    { "name": "frontend", "token": "tok_xyz789" }
  ]
}

Config file lookup order:

1. ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE env var
2. .rollbar-mcp.json in current working directory
3. ~/.rollbar-mcp.json in home directory
4. ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN or ROLLBAR_ACCOUNT_ACCESS_TOKEN env var (single project or account-wide, backward compatible)

If a config file exists but is invalid, the server exits with an error instead of falling back to a lower-priority config source.

Required scopes:

• Read-only tools (get-item-details, get-deployments, get-version, get-top-items, list-items, get-replay, list-projects, list-occurrences) work with a read-scope account token.
• update-item requires an account token with both read and write scope: every account-token call resolves the target project via GET /projects first (read), then makes the PATCH request (write). A write-only token will fail at the project-resolution step before ever reaching the update.
• As with project tokens, prefer a read-scope token unless you specifically need update-item.

If the server detects only ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN is set (no explicit account token), it makes a one-time, cached check against GET /projects to see whether that token is actually an account token; if so, account mode activates automatically. A single project-scoped token continues to work exactly as before.

Tools

list-projects(): See which Rollbar projects this server can talk to. If you're using a single project token, this just confirms the one project you've configured. If you're using an account token that can reach multiple projects, this is how you find the project name or id to pass into the other tools' project parameter.

get-item-details(counter, max_tokens?, project?): Get the full picture on a single Rollbar item: its details plus its most recent occurrence, so you don't have to look up the item and then separately fetch the latest error. Give it the item's counter (the number you see in the Rollbar UI).

max_tokens (default 20000) caps how large the occurrence data in the response can get. Some occurrences carry a lot of detail (long stack traces, request data), so this keeps a single item lookup from ballooning the response. Optional project selects which project to use, by configured name or by real project name/id in account-token mode. Example prompt: Diagnose the root cause of Rollbar item #123456

get-deployments(limit, project?): List recent deploys for a project, so you can line up when a deploy went out against when errors started or stopped happening. Optional project when multiple projects are configured or in account-token mode. Example prompt: List the last 5 deployments or Are there any failed deployments?

get-version(version, environment, project?): Look up how a specific version (like a git SHA) has performed in an environment, including when it first and last showed up in occurrences. Useful for checking whether a particular release introduced or fixed an issue. Optional project when multiple projects are configured or in account-token mode.

get-top-items(environment, project?): See what's actually breaking right now. Returns the items with the most occurrences in the last 24 hours for the given environment, so you can triage what to look at first instead of scanning the full item list. Optional project when multiple projects are configured or in account-token mode.

list-items(status?, level?, environment?, page?, limit?, query?, project?): Search and filter Rollbar items instead of pulling the whole list. Filter by status (default active, so resolved and muted items stay out of your way), level, and environment, or search by query text. Use page and limit to control how much comes back at once. Optional project when multiple projects are configured or in account-token mode.

list-occurrences(counter, limit?, page?, last_id?, max_tokens?, project?): Look up the actual occurrences behind a Rollbar item, not just the item summary. Give it the item's counter and it returns the individual instances, each with its own timestamp, environment, and error detail.

Use limit to control how many occurrences come back (default 3, max 100), and page or last_id to move through more of them. last_id is cursor-based pagination: pass the id of the last occurrence you got back, and you'll get the next batch after it. We added this because plain page numbers can skip or repeat results if occurrences shift around between calls, and last_id doesn't have that problem, so use it when you're paging through a lot of occurrences. If you pass both, last_id wins. Occurrences within a page are always ordered by timestamp (newest first), so the last one you see is reliably the right one to hand back as last_id.

Occurrence data can get big fast, especially for errors with large stack traces or request payloads. max_tokens (default 20000, minimum 100) caps roughly how large the whole response can get, in about max_tokens * 4 characters. We built this because without a cap, a handful of occurrences could blow way past what fits in a conversation. Every occurrence you asked for still shows up in the response, though. Instead of dropping any of them to stay under budget, the tool shrinks the biggest ones down step by step, keeping the most useful fields (level, environment, exception message, and similar) for as long as it can before falling back to just an id and timestamp. A top-level _truncation field tells you when this happened. If your limit and max_tokens genuinely can't fit even a minimal version of every occurrence, you'll get a clear error telling you to lower limit or raise max_tokens, instead of a silently incomplete page.

Some Rollbar items are actually groups of several items bundled together. Rollbar's public API can't correctly list occurrences for these yet, so calling this tool on a group item returns an explicit group_item_not_supported message saying so, instead of quietly showing you an empty list that looks like the item has no occurrences at all.

Optional project when multiple projects are configured. Example prompt: Show me the last 3 occurrences of item #24265

get-replay(environment, sessionId, replayId, delivery?, project?): Fetch a session replay's metadata and payload for a specific session, so you can see what a user actually did leading up to an error.

By default (delivery="file"), the replay JSON is written to a temp file on disk and the tool returns the file path. This works everywhere, but the file sticks around until you clean it up yourself. Set delivery="resource" instead to get back a rollbar:// link that MCP-aware clients can read directly, with no file left behind, but this only works when the server only ever talks to a single project (either single-project-token mode, or account-token mode with exactly one project). If you're set up for multiple projects, stick with delivery="file" and pass project explicitly.

Optional project when multiple projects are configured or in account-token mode. Example prompt: Fetch the replay 789 from session abc in staging.

update-item(itemId, status?, level?, title?, assignedUserId?, resolvedInVersion?, snoozed?, teamId?, project?): Change an item's status, level, title, assignee, resolved version, snooze state, or owning team, so you can act on an item directly instead of switching to the Rollbar UI.

This needs write access: a project token with write scope, or an account token with both read and write scope. A read-only token will fail here even though it works fine for every other tool. Optional project when multiple projects are configured or in account-token mode. Example prompt: Mark Rollbar item #123456 as resolved or Assign item #123456 to user ID 789.

How to Use

Claude Code

Configure your .mcp.json as follows.

Using an environment variable (single project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<project read/write access token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Optionally include ROLLBAR_API_BASE in the env block to target a non-production API endpoint.

Using an account access token (every project on the account, no per-project tokens needed):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_ACCOUNT_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<account access token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using a config file (single or multiple projects):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE": "/path/to/.rollbar-mcp.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex CLI

Add to your ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.rollbar]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"]
env = { "ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN" = "<project read/write access token>" }

Or with a config file:

[mcp_servers.rollbar]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"]
env = { "ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE" = "/path/to/.rollbar-mcp.json" }

Junie

Configure your .junie/mcp/mcp.json as follows (env var or ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE for config file):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<project read/write access token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Configure Cursor’s MCP servers (Cursor Settings → Features → MCP, or search for “MCP” in settings). Use either an environment variable or a config file.

With an environment variable (single project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<project read/write access token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

With a config file (single or multiple projects):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE": "/path/to/.rollbar-mcp.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor (or reload the window) after changing MCP settings. To use a local build instead of npx, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

VS Code (including GitHub Copilot)

Configure your .vscode/mcp.json as follows (env var or ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE for config file):

{
  "servers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<project read/write access token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or using a local development installation, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

This is the same file GitHub Copilot's agent mode reads in VS Code. Put it in .vscode/mcp.json to share the server with everyone on the repo, or in your user-profile mcp.json (Command Palette → MCP: Open User Configuration) to keep your token out of the repository. After saving, start the server with MCP: List Servers → rollbar → Start, then pick the tools via the 🛠️ icon in the Copilot Chat agent-mode toolbar.

GitHub Copilot CLI

Add to ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json. Note that Copilot CLI uses mcpServers (not VS Code's servers) and spells the stdio transport as "type": "local":

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<project read/write access token>"
      },
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

Or with a config file, swap the env block for ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rollbar": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rollbar/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "ROLLBAR_CONFIG_FILE": "/path/to/.rollbar-mcp.json"
      },
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

tools: ["*"] enables every Rollbar tool; narrow it to specific tool names if you'd rather opt in explicitly. To scope the server to one repository instead of your whole account, put the same JSON in .mcp.json or .github/mcp.json at the repo root — Copilot CLI loads project-level config only after you confirm folder trust on first launch, and project definitions take precedence over ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json.

Run /mcp inside an interactive session (or copilot mcp list from your shell) to confirm the server is connected.