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MCP servers

MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets you extend your agents with live tools from an external server, beyond what ships with the platform or comes bundled with a connected integration. It is the fifth entry in the Agents page's Workspace rail group.

What are the two kinds of "MCP tool"?​

It is easy to conflate these, but they are separate mechanisms:

  • Integration-contributed MCP tools. A connected integration (GitHub, for example) can contribute provider-prefixed tools (github_search_code) straight into the shared tool pool. These show up in the normal Tools tab, filed under a category like "GitHub (MCP)". They go dormant, not missing, if the integration is later disconnected.
  • Custom MCP servers. A server you connect here, pointing at your own or a third party's MCP endpoint. Its tools appear in their own MCP tools section, grouped by server, underneath the main tool grid on every agent's Tools tab, separate from the categorized pool above.

Both end up assignable to any agent through the same Tools tab; the distinction only matters for where the tool came from and how it is managed.

How do I connect a server?​

  1. Open Manage → Agents → Workspace → MCP.
  2. Click Connect server.
  3. Enter a Display name.
  4. Choose a Transport:
    • Streamable HTTP: enter the server's URL.
    • stdio: enter the Command to run, and optional space-separated Arguments.
  5. Optionally enter an Auth reference: a pointer to a key already stored in Secrets (for example the key name), never the secret value itself. The value is never sent to or stored against the server here.
  6. Click Connect server. Tools are discovered automatically; this can take a moment if the server has not been queried yet ("Discovery runs on first use").

Managing connected servers​

Each connected server shows its transport, connection status, and (if the server has not advertised any tools yet) a note that discovery runs on first use.

To disconnect a server:

  1. Click Disconnect on its row.
  2. Click Disconnect again to confirm (or Keep to cancel).

Disconnecting removes the server and its tools from the pool; any agent that had those tools checked loses access to them.

Errors​

If you do not have permission to manage MCP servers on the project, the section shows that explicitly instead of the server list. A failed connection attempt shows the server's own error message inline in the Connect dialog.

Who can do this: Viewing connected servers and their tools needs project access; connecting or disconnecting a server needs agent management access, same as the rest of the Agents page.

How this connects to the rest of the platform​

  • Secrets. The auth reference on a server points at a key in your project's Secrets vault; connect the secret first if the server needs one.
  • Tool assignment. Once connected, a server's tools only actually do anything for an agent once you check them on that agent's Tools tab. See Configuring agents.
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