Chroma MCP server: setup & sharing

Embedding store search for remote teammates — collection writes need your approval.

Run on your machine

Start the server on your host machine. Tools not listed in --allow are completely hidden from the agent.

Terminal · Host machine

npx -y @mcpwire/cli share \
  --name chroma \
  --allow "chroma_list_collections,chroma_get_collection_info,chroma_get_collection_count,chroma_get_documents,chroma_peek_collection,chroma_query_documents" \
  --redact-secrets \
  -- uvx chroma-mcp==0.2.6

Exposes 6 default tools with pattern-based secret redaction. Optionally set an expiry with --ttl 30m, prompt for approvals with --confirm, or limit calls with --max-calls 20.

Connect your teammate’s agent

MCPWire prints a unique wire://... ticket in your terminal. Send it privately to your teammate to paste into their MCP client:

Claude Desktop · Cursor · Windsurf config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chroma": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@mcpwire/cli",
        "join",
        "wire://<TICKET_FROM_HOST>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace <TICKET_FROM_HOST> with the active session ticket. The agent can only discover and call the tools exposed above.

Scoped tool permissions

MCPWire acts as a Layer 7 JSON-RPC firewall. Requests for blocked tools are dropped on the wire before ever touching your machine.

Tool	Default Policy	Notes
`chroma_list_collections`	Allowed	Lists collections.
`chroma_get_collection_info`	Allowed	Reads collection metadata.
`chroma_get_collection_count`	Allowed	Counts records in a collection.
`chroma_get_documents`	Allowed	Reads stored documents — their contents flow to the guest.
`chroma_peek_collection`	Allowed	Previews records in a collection.
`chroma_query_documents`	Allowed	Semantic search over a collection.
`chroma_create_collection`	Blocked (High risk)	Creates collections.
`chroma_modify_collection`	Blocked (High risk)	Renames or reconfigures collections.
`chroma_delete_collection`	Blocked (High risk)	Deletes collections.
`chroma_add_documents`	Blocked (High risk)	Writes documents into a collection.
`chroma_update_documents`	Blocked (High risk)	Updates stored documents.
`chroma_delete_documents`	Blocked (High risk)	Deletes documents.
`chroma_fork_collection`	Blocked (High risk)	Forks a collection.

Test and verify

Try these recommended prompts to confirm the agent receives expected outputs and that restricted actions fail safely.

Try Chroma

No setup is needed for a local persistent database — the server creates and uses a data directory (pin it with CHROMA_DATA_DIR). To share a running Chroma server or Chroma Cloud instead, set CHROMA_HOST, CHROMA_PORT, and CHROMA_API_KEY. This is the official server from Chroma.

Ask the agent what it can see with chroma_list_collections, then search with chroma_query_documents or read records with chroma_get_documents. Document contents flow to the guest while the session is open. All write tools (create, modify, delete, add, update documents) stay outside the default allowlist.

The generated command above contains the catalog’s explicit default allowlist. Check the guest’s tool list before making calls and use the server’s argument schema for required fields. See the CLI guide for guest configuration and session controls for approvals, redaction, and expiry.

Review the session in your browser: Add --record session.wirelog to your host command. Drop the resulting file into the Session Replay Viewer to inspect timestamps, latency, blocked attempts, and secret scrubbing.

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