Mendix MCP Power

This Kiro Power enables AI-assisted Mendix development by connecting directly to the Studio Pro MCP Server — Mendix's built-in MCP server that exposes the same capabilities as Maia, Mendix's own AI assistant.

Instead of using a CLI binary or scripting language, all model changes (entities, microflows, pages, security, OQL, and more) are made through structured MCP tool calls against the live .mpr project file, with changes reflected in real time inside Studio Pro.

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How It Works

Kiro ──MCP tools──▶ Studio Pro MCP Server (localhost:7782) ──▶ .mpr project file
                                                               ◀── live updates in Studio Pro

1. Studio Pro runs an MCP server locally on a configurable port (7782 unless taken; the status bar shows the active port)
2. Kiro connects to it via the MCP configuration in .kiro/settings/mcp.json
3. Kiro uses the MCP tools to read and write directly to the Mendix model
4. Every change appears live in Studio Pro — no restart or sync needed

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MCP or MxCLI?

There are two Mendix Kiro Powers — pick the one that matches how your project talks to Mendix:

	This power — MCP	Mendix MxCLI Power
Approach	Studio Pro MCP server	CLI binary + MDL scripts
How it works	Kiro calls Mendix Studio Pro directly through MCP	Write .mdl files, validate and execute via ./mxcli
Setup	Studio Pro MCP server running	mxcli binary in project root

If you're not sure which to use: if Studio Pro is running with its MCP server enabled, you're in the right place. If your project root contains an mxcli binary, use the MxCLI power instead.

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Prerequisites

1. Use Studio Pro 11.10 or later

The Studio Pro MCP Server shipped in 11.10. Earlier versions have no server to connect to. Page-editing tools arrived in 11.11, so 11.11+ is recommended.

Studio Pro must be signed in and have an internet connection for the MCP server to work.

2. Enable the MCP Server in Studio Pro

Navigate to Preferences → AI → MCP Server and check Enable MCP Server.

You can configure the port in the same tab. From 11.13 onward Studio Pro picks a free port automatically when the configured one is taken, so two instances can run side by side. Read the active port from the Studio Pro status bar rather than assuming 7782.

For full details, see the official docs: Studio Pro MCP Server

3. Open your project in Studio Pro

The MCP server only runs while Studio Pro is open with your project loaded. Kiro cannot connect if Studio Pro is closed.

4. Verify the MCP config in this workspace

The power ships an mcp.json at its root. Kiro merges it into your workspace config at .kiro/settings/mcp.json, which is the file Kiro actually reads. Both hold the same content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "localhost-7782": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://localhost:7782/mcp",
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": [
        "list_modules",
        "read_skill",
        "ped_list_folder",
        "ped_find_document",
        "ped_read_document",
        "ped_get_schema",
        "ped_check_errors",
        "pg_read_page",
        "glob",
        "read_file",
        "search_mendix_knowledge_base"
      ]
    }
  }
}

autoApprove covers read-only tools only. Writes still prompt: ped_create_document, ped_create_module, ped_update_document, pg_patch_page, write_file, install_marketplace_module.

If Studio Pro reports a different port in its status bar, update the url in .kiro/settings/mcp.json to match.

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What You Can Build

Tool names below are verified against Studio Pro 11.14.

Capability	Tools Used
Domain model — entities, attributes, associations, enumerations	ped_read_document, ped_update_document
Microflows and nanoflows	ped_create_document, ped_update_document
Workflows	ped_create_document, ped_update_document
Pages and widgets	pg_read_page, pg_patch_page
Security — access rules, module roles	ped_update_document
Navigation — menus, home pages	ped_update_document
View entities and OQL	read_skill (view-entities) plus ped_*
REST API integration	ped_create_document, ped_update_document
OData inter-app data sharing	ped_create_document, ped_update_document
Business Events (Kafka pub/sub)	ped_create_document, ped_update_document
JavaScript actions	glob, read_file, write_file
Theme and design properties	glob, read_file, write_file
Java actions	Kiro file tools (Read, Edit, Write)
Mendix AI agents	ped_create_document, ped_get_schema
Custom pluggable widgets	npm / widget build tools
Marketplace module install	install_marketplace_module
Version control history	glob, read_file on /version-control
Mendix knowledge lookup	search_mendix_knowledge_base

Pages use their own tools. pg_read_page and pg_patch_page work on a "LightPage" structure with JSON Patch (RFC 6902), not the PED document format. The ped_* tools do not handle pages.

There are no OQL tools. oql_generate and oql_read existed in earlier releases and are gone. OQL now runs through the view-entities server skill plus the ped_* tools.

Newer document types (server-side support, no steering guide yet)

Studio Pro added these to Maia Make after this power was written. The MCP tools reach them, but there is no dedicated steering file, so expect to hand-hold Kiro more:

Document type	Available from
Data Transformers	11.12
JSON Structures	11.13
Change Data Capture	11.14

See Maia Make Capabilities for the current list.

Studio Pro features this power does not cover

• Agent Skills (11.11+): SKILL.md files under skillssource/, loaded by Maia inside Studio Pro
• AGENTS.md instructions (11.12+): project-level and module-level custom instructions Maia reads automatically
• AI Agent Task workflow element (11.14)
• Custom LLM providers (11.12, public beta): OpenAI-compatible or AWS Bedrock, configured per project

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Steering Guides

This power includes steering files that Kiro loads based on what you're working on:

Steering files are deliberately thin. Studio Pro ships 19 skills of its own, reachable with read_skill, and those are the primary source. Each steering file carries only the delta.

File	Carries
steering/conventions.md	Microflow prefixes, entity/attribute/page naming, reserved words
steering/domain-model.md	Entity, association, and enumeration mechanics
steering/patterns-crud.md	CRUD microflow and page patterns
steering/create-custom-widget.md	Building custom pluggable widgets (React/TypeScript)
steering/security.md	Access rules, module roles, XPath constraint quoting
steering/navigation.md	Role-based home pages and menu item roles
steering/oql-queries.md	OQL syntax, and the oql_generate trap
steering/odata-data-sharing.md	OData inter-app data sharing
steering/rest-integration.md	Calling external REST APIs from microflows
steering/rest-sparql-integration.md	Complex REST (SPARQL, special auth, nested JSON)
steering/business-events.md	Event-driven messaging via Business Events / Kafka
steering/javascript-actions.md	Catalogue of JS actions already shipping in a default project
steering/java-actions.md	Java actions, which the MCP server cannot reach at all
steering/agents.md	Mendix AI agents (unverified against 11.14)
steering/system-module.md	System module entity reference
steering/assess-quality.md	Auditing Mendix project quality

Handled entirely by server skills, so this power ships nothing for them: XPath syntax (microflow-xpath), microflow construction (microflow-common), page construction (page-gen-common), theming and design properties (theming, design-properties), workflows, Data Importer, database connections, send-email, unit tests, and version control.

Key Rules Kiro Follows

• Always checks before creating — runs ped_find_document to avoid duplicates
• Always gets schemas — runs ped_get_schema before constructing any new element
• Always validates — runs ped_check_errors after every change; stops and reports if errors persist
• Never uses System.User — always targets Administration.Account for user associations
• Reads before writing — understands current model state before making changes

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Troubleshooting

Kiro can't connect to the MCP server

• Make sure Studio Pro is open with your project loaded
• Check that the MCP server is enabled: Preferences → AI → MCP Server
• Confirm you are on Studio Pro 11.10 or later. Earlier versions have no MCP server
• Verify the port in .kiro/settings/mcp.json matches the port shown in the Studio Pro status bar

The port keeps changing

• From 11.13 Studio Pro takes the next free port when 7782 is busy, usually because another Studio Pro instance already holds it. Close the other instance or point .kiro/settings/mcp.json at the port in the status bar.

Checking which tools the server actually exposes

• Tool names can change between Studio Pro releases. To list what your version offers, with <port> from the status bar:

curl -s -X POST http://localhost:<port>/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json, text/event-stream' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

Changes aren't appearing in Studio Pro

• The MCP server reflects changes in real time — if you don't see them, try clicking into the affected document in Studio Pro to refresh the view

"Module not found" errors

• Module names are case-sensitive. Use ped_list_folder to confirm the exact module name

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Further Reading

• Studio Pro MCP Server — Official Docs
• Maia Make Capabilities
• Mendix AI Assistance (Maia)
• Studio Pro Release Notes