decision-mcp-server MCP Server

What is IBM ODM?

IBM Operational Decision Manager (ODM) is a business rules management system that helps organizations automate, manage, and govern business decisions. ODM allows you to define, deploy, and update decision logic outside of application code, making your business more agile and responsive.

Why Connect MCP Server to IBM ODM?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) server acts as a bridge between IBM ODM and modern AI assistants or orchestration platforms. By connecting MCP to ODM Decision Server Runtime, you can:

• Expose decision services as tools and prompts for AI assistants
• Enable dynamic decision automation in workflows
• Simplify integration with Watson Orchestrate and other platforms
• Centralize business logic and make it accessible to end users and bots

Features

• Decision Storage: Demonstrates resource management with a local storage system
• Tools: Add and invoke ODM decision services as tools

Configuration of the Decision MCP Server

The Decision MCP Server can be configured using command-line options or environment variables.
All configuration parameters can be set via CLI arguments or environment variables—CLI arguments take precedence.

Supported Authentication Methods

Depending on your IBM ODM deployment, you may need to use different authentication methods:

1. ODM on Cloud Pak for Business Automation

• Authentication: Zen API Key (recommended)
• How to configure:
  • CLI: --zenapikey <your-zen-api-key>
  • Env: ZENAPIKEY=<your-zen-api-key>
• Example:

  uv run decision-mcp-server --url=https://<cpd-odm-url>/odm/res --zenapikey=<your-zen-api-key>

2. ODM on Certified Kubernetes

• Authentication: Basic Auth (username/password) or OpenID Connect (Bearer token)
• How to configure:
  • Basic Auth:
    • CLI: --username <user> --password <pass>
    • Env: ODM_USERNAME=<user> ODM_PASSWORD=<pass>
  • OpenID Connect:
    • CLI: --bearertoken <token>
    • Env: BEARER=<token>
• Example (Basic Auth):

  uv run decision-mcp-server --url=http://<odm-k8s-url>/res --username=odmAdmin --password=odmAdmin

• Example (OIDC):

  uv run decision-mcp-server --url=http://<odm-k8s-url>/res --bearertoken=<your-oidc-token>

3. ODM for Developers (Docker/Local)

• Authentication: Basic Auth (username/password)
• How to configure:
  • CLI: --username <user> --password <pass>
  • Env: ODM_USERNAME=<user> ODM_PASSWORD=<pass>
• Example:

  uvx run decision-mcp-server --url=http://localhost:9060/res --username=odmAdmin --password=odmAdmin

Tip: You can mix CLI arguments and environment variables as needed. CLI arguments always take precedence.

---

Parameters Table

CLI Argument	Environment Variable	Description	Default
--url	ODM_URL	ODM service URL	http://localhost:9060/res
--runtime-url	ODM_RUNTIME_URL	ODM runtime service URL	http://localhost:9060/DecisionService
--username	ODM_USERNAME	ODM username for basic authentication	odmAdmin
--password	ODM_PASSWORD	ODM password for basic authentication	odmAdmin
--zenapikey	ZENAPIKEY	Zen API Key for authentication (Cloud Pak for Business Automation)
--bearertoken	BEARER	OpenID Bearer token for authentication (Kubernetes)
--verifyssl	VERIFY_SSL	Whether to verify SSL certificates (True or False)	True

---

ODM Offering & Authentication Summary

ODM Offering	Authentication Method(s)	CLI/Env Example(s)
Cloud Pak for Business Automation	Zen API Key	--zenapikey / ZENAPIKEY
Kubernetes	Basic Auth, OpenID Connect	--username, --password, --bearertoken / ODM_USERNAME, ODM_PASSWORD, BEARER
Developer (Docker/Local)	Basic Auth	--username, --password / ODM_USERNAME, ODM_PASSWORD

---

Quickstart

Prerequisites

• Python 3.13+
• Docker
• Watson Orchestrate ADK

Installation in Watson Orchestrate ADK Integration

Clone the repository

git clone <repo-url>
cd decision-mcp-server

To use this MCP server as a Watson Orchestrate tool:

1. Install Watson Orchestrate ADK

   Follow the official guide.

2. Run the Operational Decison Manager for Developers image

docker run -e LICENSE=accept --network wxo-server -p 9060:9060 -p 9443:9443 --name odm -e SAMPLE=true icr.io/cpopen/odm-k8s/odm:9.5

3. Import the sample material

• Open the Decision Server Console Decision Server Console

• Login - odmAdmin / odmAdmin
• Click Explorer
• Deploy button
• Select the file in <DIRECTORY>/samples/hr_ruleapps.jar
• Click Deploy button

4. Register the MCP Server

Use the Waston orchestrate command line

orchestrate toolkits import  --kind mcp  --name DecisionServer --description "A MCP IBM Decision Server" --package-root $PWD  --command "uv run decision-mcp-server --url=http://odm:9060/res"

This should return something like that

[INFO] - ✅ The following tools will be imported:
  • vacation
[INFO] - Successfully imported tool kit DecisionServer

Notes:

• If you have issue to import the mcp server verify you have not .venv directory. If so remove it by using rm -R .venv

5. Use Waston Orchestrate with ODM

   • Start the Watson Orchestrate Chat UI

orchestrate chat start

• Click Create a new Agent

  • Name : Decision Agent
  • Description : A Decisional Agent Click Create button

• Click Manage Agents

• Select the Decision Agent

• Click Toolset

• Click Add tools

• Click Add from Local instance

• Check DecisionServer:vacation

• Click Add Agents button

Now we are ready to use this agent. Select the Decision Agent chat

Then ask this question : John Doe is an Acme Corp employee who was hired on November 1st, 1999. How many vacation days is John Doe entitled to each year? This should return

John Doe is entitled to 43 days per year.

Installation in Claude Desktop

Prerequisites for Claude Desktop

• Python 3.13+
• uv
• Rancher Docker - [Optional if you will used ODM deployed on Kubernetes]
• Claude Desktop

Check the pre-requisites :

• Check uv and Python

uv python list

...
cpython-3.13.3-macos-aarch64-none                   /opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/bin/python3.13 -> ../Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/bin/python3.13

• Check docker installation (Optional if you will used ODM deployed on Kubernetes)

docker search ibmcom/odm

NAME                                                 DESCRIPTION                                     STARS     OFFICIAL
ibmcom/odm                                           Official IBM Operational Decision Manager fo…   31
...

Register the MCP Decision Server in Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop Settings Start by accessing the Claude Desktop settings. Click on the Claude menu in your system’s menu bar (not the settings within the Claude window itself) and select “Settings…”On macOS, this appears in the top menu bar.

2. Access Developer Settings

In the Settings window, navigate to the “Developer” tab in the left sidebar. This section contains options for configuring MCP servers and other developer features.

Click the “Edit Config” button to open the configuration file:

Developer settings showing Edit Config button This action creates a new configuration file if one doesn’t exist, or opens your existing configuration.

The file is located at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

3. Configure the decision-mcp-server Server

Replace the contents of the configuration file with the following JSON structure. This configuration tells Claude Desktop to start the Decison MCP Server with access:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "decision-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/DecisionsDev/decision-mcp-server",
        "decision-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude Desktop

Support

For more details on IBM ODM, see IBM Documentation. For Watson Orchestrate ADK, see Getting Started.

✅ Development Checklist (By Priority)

• Support configuration via CLI and environment variables
  Allow configuration of the MCP server (host, port, etc.) through command-line arguments and environment variables.

• Verify Zen authentication support
  Ensure compatibility with IBM Zen-based authentication flows.

• Support multiple Decision Server endpoints
  Verify connection when the Decision Server Console and Runtime are hosted on different URLs.

• Test and document Claude Desktop integration
  Ensure compatibility with Claude Desktop and provide integration instructions.

• Record demo video for Claude Desktop integration
  Capture a short video showcasing the MCP server in action with Claude Desktop.

• Test Cursor AI integration

• Document the integration process

• Record demo video for Cursor AI integration
  Capture a short walkthrough of Cursor AI usage with the MCP server.

• Implement Notification Context
  Add support for the MCP notification context to handle asynchronous updates or events.

• Store and expose Decision Trace executions as MCP resources
  Persist decision traces and make them available as MCP resources for querying or analysis.

• Expose a tool to explain decision Write a tool that extract rules from DC and explain the decision base on the trace.

• Verify OpenID Connect authentication
  Confirm proper behavior with OIDC identity providers and document setup.