How to setup an SMS MCP server to receive SMS in Jan
This guide walks you through retrieving incoming SMS messages in Jan using the Ozeki SMS MCP server. By following this tutorial, you will learn how to verify the MCP tool connection, ask the AI model to list incoming messages in plain language, approve the tool use, and confirm the transaction through the gateway logs.
What is an MCP tool call?
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) tool call is how an AI model communicates with external systems. When the AI needs to retrieve data such as incoming SMS messages, it sends a structured request to the appropriate MCP server, which processes it and returns the result back to the model.
Example prompt
List all incoming SMS messages.
Steps to follow
We assume Ozeki SMS Gateway is already installed on your system, you have created an MCP user account with an API key, and you have already configured the Ozeki SMS MCP server in Jan.
How to setup an SMS MCP server to receive SMS in Jan video
The following video shows how to retrieve incoming SMS messages in Jan using the Ozeki SMS MCP server step-by-step.
Step 1 - Verify the MCP tool connection
Before retrieving messages, check the tools panel in the Jan chat interface to confirm that the Ozeki SMS tools are listed and available (Figure 1).
Step 2 - Use the list incoming messages tool
In the chat input, type your request in plain language and press the Send button. The AI model will interpret the request and invoke the appropriate MCP tool (Figure 2).
List all incoming SMS messages.
Jan may ask for your approval before invoking the tool. Review the proposed tool call and approve it to allow the AI model to proceed (Figure 3).
The tool result will appear in the Jan chat. Each entry includes the sender number, recipient number and the message text (Figure 4).
Step 3 - View the transaction in logs
Open Ozeki SMS Gateway in your browser and navigate to the MCP user details page by clicking on the MCP user entry in the Users and applications panel (Figure 5).
In the event log, you should see an entry for the incoming message retrieval request as well as the response, confirming that the API key authentication, tool call, and data retrieval were all processed correctly by the gateway (Figure 6).
Final thoughts
You have successfully retrieved incoming SMS messages in Jan using the Ozeki SMS MCP server. The AI model running in Jan can now list incoming messages from your gateway simply by being asked to do so in plain language, making it easy to add SMS inbox access to any Jan workflow.