Does /research use MCP?

[brentonklassen]

I'm using /research and it's great but I can't tell if it's using my connected MCP tools. Does /research use connected MCP tools?

[mike-mo]

The built-in research agent can use custom MCP tools in current CLI versions. I verified this in v1.0.107 by invoking the research subagent with a local stdio MCP server. The subagent called its tool successfully, and the returned value matched the server-side log.

That test covered the research subagent directly, rather than the full interactive /research command. The request for /research to inherit configured MCP servers, #3302, is also marked resolved.

Having access doesn’t mean the agent will automatically choose your server. Try naming it explicitly:

/research Use the <server name> MCP server to investigate <topic>.
Cite the records you retrieve and report if the server is unavailable.

The server still needs to be connected and authenticated, with its tools permitted by your session and organization policies. If it works in a normal prompt but not /research, include your CLI version and reproduction steps on the existing issue.