Support documentation

MCP Broker: connect AI tools to T-IA Connect

Use the stable T-IA Connect MCP broker as the single entry point for AI tools. The broker then routes commands to the correct open project.

MCP Setup Assistant firstStable broker entry pointLocal, VM, WSL and dev container

Recommended: use MCP Setup Assistant

The default support answer is to open T-IA Connect, go to MCP Setup Assistant, and click Configure recommended. The introduction modal is one-shot, so the assistant remains the reliable place to migrate existing clients after the modal has been closed.

Open T-IA Connect and go to MCP Setup Assistant.
Click Configure recommended.
The assistant detects supported AI clients, creates backups of existing MCP configuration files, then updates the canonical tia-connect entry to the stable broker setup.
Use manual configuration only when your AI client is not detected, when an administrator manages the file, or when you connect from a VM, WSL or dev container.

Expected states in the assistant include Direct broker URL and Not configured. When the assistant writes a config, it backs up the existing file before replacing or adding the recommended broker entry.

What changed

Before

Some MCP configurations depended on a fixed project port. That worked for simple single-project setups, but it became fragile when several projects or dynamic project instances were involved.

Now

AI tools connect to the T-IA Connect MCP broker. The broker keeps one stable entry point for the AI client and routes commands to the correct open project instance.

Important port rule

Port 9000 is the default broker port. It is not a guaranteed absolute value: the active broker port can be different when 9000 is already occupied or when T-IA Connect is configured to use another Server/API port or port range.

Do not configure direct project ports such as http://localhost:9001/mcp/sse or http://localhost:9002/mcp/sse. Project ports are implementation details and may change. Use the active broker URL shown by T-IA Connect or written by MCP Setup Assistant.

Local setup

For a local AI client running on the same Windows workstation, prefer launching TiaPortalApi.McpBridge.exe without --url. This keeps broker auto-discovery active, so the setup remains stable when project ports or the broker port change.

Local MCP config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tia-connect": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\FeelAutomCorp\\TiaConnect\\TiaPortalApi.McpBridge.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Remote, VM, WSL and dev container setup

For a remote VM, WSL or dev container, use the Windows host or VM IP reachable from that environment, and point to the active broker port only: http://<windows-host-ip>:<active-broker-port>/mcp/sse. If an API key is required, pass it through an environment variable with --api-key-env rather than writing the secret directly with --api-key.

Remote/container MCP config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tia-connect-vm": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\FeelAutomCorp\\TiaConnect\\TiaPortalApi.McpBridge.exe",
      "args": [
        "--url",
        "http://<windows-host-ip>:<active-broker-port>/mcp/sse",
        "--api-key-env",
        "TIA_CONNECT_MCP_API_KEY"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TIA_CONNECT_MCP_API_KEY": "<your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Multiple projects and instance selection

With several open projects, the broker can list and select the target project instance. Mutating project commands may require selecting the live target first.

broker_list_project_instancesbroker_get_selected_project_instancebroker_select_project_instancebroker_clear_selected_project_instancebroker_start_project_instance

Migration from old configs

1. Run MCP Setup Assistant and click Configure recommended.
2. Remove direct project-port entries such as 9001 or 9002 from old client configs.
3. For local stdio clients, prefer no --url.
4. For VM, WSL or dev container clients, use the active broker URL only.
5. Restart or reload the AI client after the config update.

Troubleshooting

Dev container cannot reach T-IA Connect

Use the Windows host or VM IP that is reachable from inside the container. In many Docker or WSL setups, localhost inside the container is not the Windows host.

Port 9000 is already used by another engineering agent

Port 9000 is the default broker port, not a guaranteed value. If another service such as Siemens EigenEngineerAgent already uses it, change the T-IA Connect Server/API port or let the configured port range choose a free port, restart T-IA Connect, then run MCP Setup Assistant again.

API key or remote access fails

For remote, VM, WSL or dev container access, check Remote/LAN access, firewall rules, URL ACLs and the API key. Prefer --api-key-env over --api-key so secrets stay outside the MCP config file.

Support needs logs

Collect T-IA Connect logs from %LOCALAPPDATA%\FeelAutomCorp\T-IA-Connect\logs and include the AI client name, the MCP URL used and whether the setup was local or remote/container.