Skip to main content
q-ai supports three MCP transport types for connecting to servers. Each module accepts a --transport flag to select the connection method.

​
stdio

Spawns the server as a child process and communicates over stdin/stdout. Best for local testing where the server runs on the same machine. When to use: Local development, CI pipelines, testing servers you can run directly. Configuration: Provide the server command via --command (audit/proxy) or run the inject server directly. 
qai audit scan \
  --transport stdio \
  --command "python my_server.py"

​
SSE (Server-Sent Events)

Connects to a remote server over HTTP using the legacy SSE transport. The server must already be running and listening for SSE connections. When to use: Remote servers using the older SSE-based MCP transport protocol. Configuration: Provide the server URL via --url. 
qai audit scan \
  --transport sse \
  --url "http://localhost:3000/sse"

​
Streamable HTTP

Connects to a remote server over the current MCP Streamable HTTP transport standard. The server must already be running and listening for HTTP connections. When to use: Remote servers using the current Streamable HTTP MCP transport (recommended for new deployments). Configuration: Provide the server URL via --url (audit/proxy) or --port (inject). 
qai audit scan \
  --transport streamable-http \
  --url "http://localhost:3000/mcp"

​
Module support matrix

Transportauditproxyinject serve
stdioYesYesYes
SSEYesYesNo
Streamable HTTPYesYesYes