Unstructured Transform MCP server installation for the IBM Bob IDE

Requirements

Before you begin, you must have the following:

An IBM Cloud account. To see if you have an account, log in to your IBM Cloud account. Create an IBM Cloud account.
An IBM Bob plan. To see if you have a plan, use the IBMid for your IBM Cloud account to log in to IBM Bob.
The IBM Bob IDE installed on your local development machine. Install the IBM Bob IDE.
Node.js installed on your local development machine. To see if it is, in your terminal, run node -v or node --version. Install Node.js.

Install the Transform MCP server

You should be able to instruct the IBM Bob IDE to install the Transform MCP server by asking the IBM Bob IDE the following:

Install the Unstructured Transform MCP server by using these instructions: 
https://docs.unstructured.io/transform/install/ibm-bob-ide.md

If this does not work, to install the Transform MCP server manually, complete the following steps.If you are able to successfully connect, skip ahead to parse your source files.

Open the IBM Bob IDE’s mcp.json settings file in a text editor. This file is typically located at:
- For macOS and Linux: ~/.bob/settings/mcp.json
- For Windows: %APPDATA%\Bob\settings\mcp.json

Add the following entry to the mcpServers object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unstructured-transform": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.transform.unstructured.io"],
      "alwaysAllow": [
        "request_file_upload_url",
        "start_transform_job",
        "check_job_status",
        "get_job_results",
        "start_extraction_job",
        "suggest_extraction_schema_for_file",
        "get_instructions"
      ],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Save and close the mcp.json file.
From your terminal, authenticate with the Transform MCP server:
npx -y mcp-remote https://mcp.transform.unstructured.io
A web browser tab will appear, prompting you to authenticate with Transform. Follow the on-screen directions to finish authenticating.
After you authenticate, back in your terminal, press Ctrl + C to exit and return to your terminal prompt.
Start the IBM Bob IDE.
If prompted, log in to Bob with your IBM Cloud account.
The Transform MCP server is ready for you to start using.

To confirm whether the Transform MCP server is indeed connected and all of its tools are available to you, do the following:

In the IBM Bob IDE, if the IBM Bob panel is not visible, open it (from the main menu, click View > Open View > IBM Bob).
In the IBM Bob panel’s title bar, click the gear icon (Settings).
In the Bob Settings editor tab, on the sidebar, click MCP.
In the list of MCP servers, the Unstructured Transform MCP server should show as Connected. If not, click the Connect button, and follow any on-screen directions to finish connecting. If the Unstructured Transform MCP server is not listed, use the MCP servers filter drop-down to choose All, or click the refresh icon (Refresh all servers).
Make sure that all of the Transform MCP server’s tools are available to you. To do this, click the Unstructured Transform list entry. In the Tools list, make sure that each tool has its Always allow box checked, and switch on its toggle labeled Enable or disable this tool for use in prompts.

Parse your source files

Parsing requests have the following limits:

Each file must be of a supported file type.
Each file must be 50 MB or less in size.
Each request must have 10 files or fewer.
Only 5 requests can be running at a time.

The Transform MCP server is designed to notify the IBM Bob IDE about these limits. Because of this, the IBM Bob IDE should notify you whenever it encounters a file that exceeds 50 MB in size. Also, the IBM Bob IDE should formulate strategies to send requests that are 10 files or fewer and not cause more than 5 requests to be running at a time.

After you install the Transform MCP server and start the IBM Bob IDE, open the folder that stores the files you want Transform to parse (from the main menu, click File > Open Folder).
If the IBM Bob panel is not visible, open it (from the main menu, click View > Open View > IBM Bob).
In the IBM Bob editor tab, enter the following prompt:
Use the Unstructured Transform MCP server to parse the files in this project. Provide the results as JSON files, one JSON file per source file.
As needed, adapt the phrase in this project in the preceding prompt to indicate a more specific project folder. Also, as needed, guide the IBM Bob IDE as to where to write Transform’s output into the project. Transform parses your input files and delivers its results to you as a set of output files, one output file per input file.

Next steps

Control Transform file parsing output: Control how the Unstructured Transform MCP server instructs Transform to partition, enrich, chunk, and embed the data based on your files.
Control Transform structured data extraction: Control how the Unstructured Transform MCP server extracts and formats structured data from your files.
Control Transform generated sample code: Control how the Unstructured Transform MCP server generates sample curl or Python code that demonstrates how to use Transform to partition, enrich, chunk, and embed the data based on your files.

Questions? Need help?

For technical support, request support.

​Requirements

​Install the Transform MCP server

​Parse your source files

​Next steps

​Questions? Need help?

Requirements

Install the Transform MCP server

Parse your source files

Next steps

Questions? Need help?