Connect Sanity Context with LangChain
Connect Sanity Context to a Python or TypeScript agent using LangChain and its MCP adapters.
LangChain is a framework for building LLM agents in Python and TypeScript. This guide shows you how to connect a LangChain agent to Sanity Context with LangChain's MCP adapters: langchain-mcp-adapters for Python and @langchain/mcp-adapters for TypeScript. The adapters convert MCP tools to LangChain tools. You'll build a script that loads your schema or Knowledge Base outline into the system prompt, connects to your Context MCP endpoint, and answers a question about your content.
The same code works whether the endpoint uses Knowledge Base sources, a dataset source, or both. With Knowledge Base sources only, the tools are knowledge_base_search and knowledge_base_read instead of the dataset source tools, and the initial context is the Knowledge Base outline instead of your schema. With both source types, the endpoint serves the dataset source tools and the Knowledge Base source tools, and its initial context contains both the schema overview and the Knowledge Base outline. See Context MCP source types.
Prerequisites
To follow this guide, you need:
- Context MCP endpoint URL: Shown on the MCP endpoint in the Context app in the Sanity Dashboard. To create an MCP endpoint, see Configure a Context MCP endpoint, or expand Create the endpoint with the Sanity CLI (optional) at the end of this section.
- Organization API token: Create one in Manage under API > Tokens at the organization level. Under Organization permissions, select Context with the Viewer role. Project tokens are refused.
- Anthropic API key:
ChatAnthropicreads it fromANTHROPIC_API_KEY. - Python 3.10 or later for Python, or Node.js 22.18 or later for TypeScript. Node.js 22.18 and later run
.tsfiles directly.
Create the endpoint with the Sanity CLI (optional)
You can create a Knowledge Base and an MCP endpoint from the Sanity CLI instead of the Dashboard. If you haven't signed in, run npx sanity@latest login. You still create the organization token in Manage. Replace ORGANIZATION_ID, PROJECT_ID, and KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID with your own values:
# Create a Knowledge Base. The command prints its ID.
npx sanity@latest context create --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --title "Support" --description "Answers to customer support questions"
# Add sources: a dataset query, files, or a website to crawl (--url)
npx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --sanity-project-id PROJECT_ID --sanity-dataset-id production --query '*[_type == "article"]'
npx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --file ./returns-policy.pdf
# Build it, then review anything the build flagged
npx sanity@latest context build KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --watch
npx sanity@latest context issues list KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --status open
# Create the MCP endpoint and check that it's ready
npx sanity@latest context mcp create support --title "Support" --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --knowledge-base KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID
npx sanity@latest context mcp status support --organization ORGANIZATION_ID# Create a Knowledge Base. The command prints its ID.
pnpm dlx sanity@latest context create --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --title "Support" --description "Answers to customer support questions"
# Add sources: a dataset query, files, or a website to crawl (--url)
pnpm dlx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --sanity-project-id PROJECT_ID --sanity-dataset-id production --query '*[_type == "article"]'
pnpm dlx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --file ./returns-policy.pdf
# Build it, then review anything the build flagged
pnpm dlx sanity@latest context build KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --watch
pnpm dlx sanity@latest context issues list KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --status open
# Create the MCP endpoint and check that it's ready
pnpm dlx sanity@latest context mcp create support --title "Support" --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --knowledge-base KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID
pnpm dlx sanity@latest context mcp status support --organization ORGANIZATION_ID# Create a Knowledge Base. The command prints its ID.
yarn dlx sanity@latest context create --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --title "Support" --description "Answers to customer support questions"
# Add sources: a dataset query, files, or a website to crawl (--url)
yarn dlx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --sanity-project-id PROJECT_ID --sanity-dataset-id production --query '*[_type == "article"]'
yarn dlx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --file ./returns-policy.pdf
# Build it, then review anything the build flagged
yarn dlx sanity@latest context build KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --watch
yarn dlx sanity@latest context issues list KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --status open
# Create the MCP endpoint and check that it's ready
yarn dlx sanity@latest context mcp create support --title "Support" --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --knowledge-base KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID
yarn dlx sanity@latest context mcp status support --organization ORGANIZATION_ID# Create a Knowledge Base. The command prints its ID.
bunx sanity@latest context create --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --title "Support" --description "Answers to customer support questions"
# Add sources: a dataset query, files, or a website to crawl (--url)
bunx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --sanity-project-id PROJECT_ID --sanity-dataset-id production --query '*[_type == "article"]'
bunx sanity@latest context sources create KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --file ./returns-policy.pdf
# Build it, then review anything the build flagged
bunx sanity@latest context build KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --watch
bunx sanity@latest context issues list KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID --status open
# Create the MCP endpoint and check that it's ready
bunx sanity@latest context mcp create support --title "Support" --organization ORGANIZATION_ID --knowledge-base KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID
bunx sanity@latest context mcp status support --organization ORGANIZATION_IDmcp create prints the endpoint URL to use as SANITY_CONTEXT_MCP_URL. To serve a live dataset through a dataset source instead, replace --knowledge-base KNOWLEDGE_BASE_ID with -p PROJECT_ID -d production. See the Context CLI command reference for every flag.
Install dependencies
In a new project directory, install LangChain, the MCP adapters, and the Anthropic provider for your language:
npm install langchain@^1 @langchain/mcp-adapters@^2 @langchain/anthropic@^1 @langchain/core@^1pnpm add langchain@^1 @langchain/mcp-adapters@^2 @langchain/anthropic@^1 @langchain/core@^1yarn add langchain@^1 @langchain/mcp-adapters@^2 @langchain/anthropic@^1 @langchain/core@^1bun add langchain@^1 @langchain/mcp-adapters@^2 @langchain/anthropic@^1 @langchain/core@^1The example uses version 2 of @langchain/mcp-adapters, which includes its own MCP client, so you don't install the MCP SDK separately. Set the module type in package.json so Node.js loads agent.ts as an ES module:
npm pkg set type=moduleIf you type-check with tsc, set "skipLibCheck": true in tsconfig.json. Recent @langchain/anthropic releases fail library checks against newer @anthropic-ai/sdk types.
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install langchain langchain-mcp-adapters langchain-anthropic httpx python-dotenvSet environment variables
Create a .env file next to agent.ts or agent.py. In TypeScript, Node.js reads it with --env-file; in Python, load_dotenv() reads it. Replace each placeholder with your own value:
SANITY_CONTEXT_MCP_URL=YOUR_MCP_ENDPOINT_URL
SANITY_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN=YOUR_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEYCreate the agent
Create agent.ts or agent.py next to .env. The script works in three stages:
- Fetch initial context from the
/initial-contextHTTP endpoint and add it to the system prompt. The agent starts with a compressed schema or Knowledge Base outline, which saves a tool call on every conversation. For details, see Inline initial context into your system prompt. - Connect to the MCP endpoint and load its tools, authenticating with your organization API token.
MCPAdapter(TypeScript) orMultiServerMCPClient(Python) converts the MCP tools to LangChain tools. The script removes theinitial_contexttool, since its content is already in the system prompt. - Create the agent and call the model with
createAgent(TypeScript) orcreate_agent(Python). The agent calls tools as it explores your content, then writes its answer.
import {createAgent} from 'langchain'
import {ChatAnthropic} from '@langchain/anthropic'
import {MCPAdapter} from '@langchain/mcp-adapters'
const MCP_URL = process.env.SANITY_CONTEXT_MCP_URL
const API_TOKEN = process.env.SANITY_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN
if (!MCP_URL || !API_TOKEN) {
throw new Error('Set SANITY_CONTEXT_MCP_URL and SANITY_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN')
}
const headers = {Authorization: `Bearer ${API_TOKEN}`}
// 1. Fetch the initial context and inline it in the system prompt.
async function fetchInitialContext(): Promise<string | null> {
const url = new URL(MCP_URL!)
url.pathname = `${url.pathname.replace(/\/$/, '')}/initial-context`
try {
const res = await fetch(url, {headers})
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`)
return await res.text()
} catch (err) {
console.warn(`Could not fetch initial context: ${err}`)
return null
}
}
const initialContext = await fetchInitialContext()
let systemPrompt =
'You are a helpful assistant that answers questions using the Sanity Context tools.'
if (initialContext) {
systemPrompt += `\n\n# Data reference\n\n${initialContext}`
}
// 2. Connect to the Sanity Context MCP server over Streamable HTTP.
const mcpClient = new MCPAdapter({
// Keep the server's own tool names (groq_query, not sanity_groq_query).
prefixToolNameWithServerName: false,
servers: {
sanity: {
transport: 'http',
url: MCP_URL,
headers,
},
},
})
try {
// Drop initial_context only if its content is already in the prompt.
const tools = (await mcpClient.listTools()).filter(
(t) => !(initialContext && t.name === 'initial_context'),
)
// 3. Create the agent and call the model.
const agent = createAgent({
model: new ChatAnthropic({model: 'claude-sonnet-5-5'}),
tools,
systemPrompt,
})
const result = await agent.invoke({
messages: [{role: 'user', content: process.argv[2] ?? 'What content do we have?'}],
})
console.log(result.messages.at(-1)?.text)
} finally {
await mcpClient.close()
}A few details differ in LangChain.js:
MCPAdapterreplacesMultiServerMCPClient, which is now a deprecated alias, andlistTools()replacesgetTools().- Version 2 of
@langchain/mcp-adaptersprefixes tool names with the server key by default (sanity_groq_query). The example setsprefixToolNameWithServerName: falseso the names match the server's and theinitial_contextfilter works. If you keep the prefix, filter onsanity_initial_contextinstead. - If the initial context fetch fails, the TypeScript example logs a warning and keeps the
initial_contexttool, so the model can still load the schema or outline itself. The Python example stops with an error instead.
Run it with a question. Node.js reads the .env file with --env-file:
node --env-file=.env agent.ts "Do you price match?"The agent calls the Context MCP tools to explore your content, then prints its answer to the terminal. If the run fails, match the message against the list in Troubleshoot common errors.
Remember the conversation with LangGraph
createAgent runs on LangGraph, so a LangGraph checkpointer gives the agent memory across turns. @langchain/langgraph is already installed as a dependency of langchain. Add it to your own dependencies, since the example imports it directly:
npm install @langchain/langgraphpnpm add @langchain/langgraphyarn add @langchain/langgraphbun add @langchain/langgraphThen replace the agent and the invoke call in the try block:
import {MemorySaver} from '@langchain/langgraph'
// ...connect and filter tools as in the full example, then:
const agent = createAgent({
model: new ChatAnthropic({model: 'claude-sonnet-5-5'}),
tools,
systemPrompt,
// Keeps each conversation's messages, keyed by thread_id
checkpointer: new MemorySaver(),
})
const config = {configurable: {thread_id: 'support-session-1'}}
for (const question of ['What content do we have?', 'Tell me more about the first one.']) {
const result = await agent.invoke({messages: [{role: 'user', content: question}]}, config)
console.log(`> ${question}\n${result.messages.at(-1)?.text}\n`)
}The second question works because the checkpointer carries the first answer forward on the same thread_id. MemorySaver keeps state in memory; use a persistent checkpointer, such as Postgres, in production.
To use the agent inside a larger graph, add agent.graph as a node, for example new StateGraph(MessagesAnnotation).addNode('sanity', agent.graph). Put the checkpointer on the parent graph, not on the agent.
import asyncio
import os
from urllib.parse import urlparse, urlunparse
import httpx
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from langchain.agents import create_agent
from langchain_anthropic import ChatAnthropic
from langchain_mcp_adapters.client import MultiServerMCPClient
load_dotenv()
MCP_URL = os.environ["SANITY_CONTEXT_MCP_URL"]
API_TOKEN = os.environ["SANITY_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN"]
async def main():
# 1. Fetch initial context over HTTP
parsed = urlparse(MCP_URL)
initial_context_url = urlunparse(
parsed._replace(path=parsed.path.rstrip("/") + "/initial-context")
)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as http:
resp = await http.get(
initial_context_url,
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_TOKEN}"},
)
resp.raise_for_status()
initial_context = resp.text
# 2. Connect to Sanity Context MCP and load tools
mcp_client = MultiServerMCPClient({
"sanity": {
"transport": "http",
"url": MCP_URL,
"headers": {"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_TOKEN}"},
},
})
tools = [t for t in await mcp_client.get_tools() if t.name != "initial_context"]
# 3. Create the agent and call the LLM
system_prompt = (
"You are a helpful assistant.\n\n"
"# Data reference\n\n"
"Use this to understand what's available and write better queries.\n\n"
+ initial_context
)
llm = ChatAnthropic(model="claude-sonnet-5-5")
agent = create_agent(llm, tools, system_prompt=system_prompt)
result = await agent.ainvoke(
{"messages": [("user", "What content do we have?")]}
)
print(result["messages"][-1].text)
asyncio.run(main())Run the script with the virtual environment active. load_dotenv() reads the .env file:
python agent.pyThe agent calls the Context MCP tools to explore your content, then prints its answer to the terminal. If the run fails, match the message against the list in Troubleshoot common errors.
Troubleshoot common errors
These are the most common errors and how to fix them:
[MODULE_TYPELESS_PACKAGE_JSON] Warning: Module type of file:///…/agent.ts is not specified and it doesn't parse as CommonJS.: The agent still runs, butpackage.jsondoesn't set the module type. Runnpm pkg set type=module. Editors andtscreport the same cause aserror TS1309: The current file is a CommonJS module and cannot use 'await' at the top level.Error: Set SANITY_CONTEXT_MCP_URL and SANITY_ORGANIZATION_TOKEN: The environment variables aren't loaded. Run with--env-file=.env.MCPClientError: Authentication failed for HTTP server "sanity", afterCould not fetch initial context: Error: HTTP 401: The token is missing, invalid, or belongs to another organization.- 403 from the MCP connection with JSON-RPC error
-32007on an endpoint with a dataset source, or-32006on an endpoint with only Knowledge Base sources, or the same 403 from the/initial-contextfetch with codecontextGrantRequiredorknowledgeBaseAccessDenied. The messages are "Serving a dataset requires an organization API token with Context access ('sanity.knowledge-base.read'). Create one under your organization's API settings in Manage." (dataset source) and "No access to knowledge base '<knowledge base ID>'. Requires one of: sanity.knowledge-base.read." (Knowledge Base sources only;<knowledge base ID>is a placeholder for the Knowledge Base's ID): On an endpoint with a dataset source, the token isn't an organization API token with Context Viewer permissions. On an endpoint with only Knowledge Base sources, the token has no read access to the Knowledge Base the message names. Project tokens are refused however broad their permissions. Create an organization token as described in Prerequisites. Error: Anthropic API key not found: AddANTHROPIC_API_KEYto the.envfile.ChatAnthropicthrows when it's created, before the agent runs.- A Zod error about
unrecognized_keysfromMCPAdapter: The config has an option from version 1, such asuseStandardContentBlocks. Remove it. Failed to put checkpoint ... missing a required "thread_id": Pass{configurable: {thread_id}}when the agent has a checkpointer.
KeyError: 'SANITY_CONTEXT_MCP_URL': The.envfile is missing, or isn't in the directory you run the script from.load_dotenv()returns without error when it finds no file.httpx.HTTPStatusError: Client error '401 Unauthorized'raised byresp.raise_for_status(): The value inSANITY_ORGANIZATION_TOKENisn't a valid organization API token.langchain_anthropic.chat_models.AnthropicConnectionError: Connection error., caused byIllegal header value b'Bearer ':ANTHROPIC_API_KEYisn't set, so the request goes out with an empty authorization header. Set it in the.envfile.ChatAnthropicconstructs without a key, so the error appears on the first model call, after the client's retries.httpx.HTTPStatusError: Client error '403 Forbidden'from the/initial-contextfetch, with codecontextGrantRequiredin the response body: The token isn't an organization API token with Context Viewer permissions. Project tokens are refused however broad their permissions. Create an organization token as described in Prerequisites. A 403 that names a Knowledge Base means the token can't read a Knowledge Base the endpoint serves.
Next steps
- Sanity Context patterns and best practices: Production patterns for public assistants, personalized agents, and multi-backend setups.
- Inline initial context into your system prompt: Control what the inlined payload contains and keep it fresh in long-running agents.
- Add insights to Sanity Context: Track and analyze agent conversations.
- AI shopping assistant walkthrough: A full reference implementation using Next.js and the Vercel AI SDK.
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