Rovo Dev CLI

Add SpecStream to Rovo Dev CLI with one entry in ~/.rovodev/mcp.json, and Atlassian's coding agent can search the live web, read whole pages and build lists of records from your terminal.

SpecStream for Rovo Dev CLICoding agents

What you need

Rovo Dev CLI, installed through ACLI, on a site with Rovo Dev activated.
A SpecStream account. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

1
1. Create a SpecStream API key
Rovo Dev's MCP docs show remote servers authenticating with a header, so SpecStream's key goes in one. In your SpecStream workspace, open Agents & API, choose API keys, then Create API key, and set a total spending limit.

2. Add SpecStream to mcp.json

Run acli rovodev mcp to open ~/.rovodev/mcp.json in your default editor. Add the specstream entry under mcpServers, keep any servers already there, and put your key in place of YOUR_SPECSTREAM_API_KEY.

SpecStream uses Streamable HTTP, so the transport is http. Atlassian's sample entry is missing a comma after "transport": "http". The entry below is valid JSON.

~/.rovodev/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "specstream": {
      "url": "https://api.specstream.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"
      },
      "transport": "http",
      "enable_instructions": true
    }
  }
}

3
3. Start Rovo Dev and check the server
Exit any session that was open before the edit, then run acli rovodev run. In the session, type /mcp. SpecStream is listed with its status and its tools.
Terminal
acli rovodev run

4. Ask Rovo Dev

Ask for something current and name SpecStream. Rovo Dev calls search_web for a quick answer and read_pages for the full text of the pages it found:

In a Rovo Dev session

Use SpecStream to find the current stable release of Node.js and read its release notes.

What Rovo Dev gets

SpecStream's server at https://api.specstream.ai/mcp adds these tools to Rovo Dev.

search_web answers a question from the live web, with up to 10 results for $5 per 1,000 searches. A search that returns nothing costs nothing.
read_pages returns the main text of up to 20 pages or documents (PDF, Word, Excel) in one call, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. A page that gives no text is not charged.
Deep Search builds a list from a request in plain words. compile reads the request, quote_capacity_work prices it for free, and authorize_capacity_work starts it only after you approve the maximum. get_find and list_find_rows read the rows, each with its source.

Server instructions

Rovo Dev passes a server's instructions into the agent's system prompt unless the entry sets enable_instructions to false. Leave it on for SpecStream. Its instructions tell the agent which tool fits a question, and that nothing paid starts before you approve the quote.

Approvals in Rovo Dev

The first time Rovo Dev uses a tool, it asks for permission: Once, Session or Always. Always saves the choice to ~/.rovodev/config.yml. YOLO mode (acli rovodev run --yolo) does not change this: MCP tools keep their configured permissions.

Searches and page reads are charged per call with no quote. Answer Once for authorize_capacity_work, so you see every Deep Search run before it starts. SpecStream adds its own gate there: nothing paid starts until you approve the price it quotes.

Keep the key out of your repositories

~/.rovodev/mcp.json sits in your home folder, outside your repositories. Give the key its own spending limit. If it leaks, revoke it under Agents & API and create a new one.

Search quality

SpecStream's Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks. The method is on benchmarks.

Cost

Connecting SpecStream to Rovo Dev CLI is free, and new accounts start with $10 of credit. A search of up to 10 results costs $5 per 1,000, and a page read costs $0.80 per 1,000. Deep Search is priced per delivered row and quoted before it runs, and a run can't cost more than the maximum you approved. See pricing and how billing works.

Turn it off or remove it

To pause SpecStream, type /mcp in a session and disable it, or list specstream under disabledMcpServers in the mcp section of ~/.rovodev/config.yml. To remove it, delete the entry from ~/.rovodev/mcp.json and revoke the key under Agents & API in your SpecStream workspace. Questions: [email protected].

SpecStream for Rovo Dev CLI covers what it does in Rovo Dev CLI on one page. Every other tool has its guide in Connect your tools. You see the most a request can cost before it starts, and the matches are paid from your balance. Billing has the details. For help, email [email protected].