Unstructured Transform MCP server installation for the IBM Bob Shell

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Requirements

• 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 Shell installed on your local development machine. Install the IBM Bob Shell.
• 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.

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Install the Transform MCP server

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

1. Open the IBM Bob Shell’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
2. 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
       }
     }
   }
   
3. Save and close the mcp.json file.
4. 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.
5. After you authenticate, back in your terminal, press Ctrl + C to exit and return to your terminal prompt.
6. The Transform MCP server is ready for you to start using.

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Parse your source files

• 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.

1. After you install the Transform MCP server, from your terminal, switch to the folder on your local machine that stores the files you want Transform to parse.
2. Start an IBM Bob Shell session by running the bob command.
3. If prompted, log in to Bob with your IBM Cloud account.
4. 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 Shell 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.

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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.

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Questions? Need help?

• For technical support, request support.