MCP Connections for Custom Agents 📶
MCP (Model Context Protocol) connections let your Custom Agents securely reach into external apps — reading information and taking actions through pre-configured or custom server connections. Once connected, your Agent can interact with those tools as part of any automated workflow.
What Are MCP Connections?
MCP connections give Custom Agents the ability to work with external tools and services through a standardized protocol. They work across all trigger types — scheduled runs, Closot or Slack event triggers, and manual runs from chat or @mentions.
Key capabilities:
- Pre-configured servers — Connect to a supported app quickly, without any custom setup
- Custom servers — Point your Agent at any tool that exposes a hosted MCP endpoint via a public URL
- Granular tool control — Enable or disable individual tools within each connection, and choose whether each tool runs automatically or requires confirmation before executing
Unique Ownership
Each MCP connection belongs to a single Custom Agent and uses the credentials of the person who set it up. Connections are not shared across agents — even when two Agents connect to the same service.
This means:
- If you set up a GitHub connection for Agent A, Agent B needs its own separate GitHub connection
- You must authenticate into each MCP server for each Agent you configure
- Revoking a connection in one Agent has no effect on any other Agent
Available Pre-Configured MCP Connections
The following apps can be connected without any additional configuration:
- GitHub — Connect to repositories, issues, pull requests, and code discussions
Additional custom MCP connections can be configured for any service that exposes a hosted MCP endpoint.
How to Add a Pre-Configured MCP Connection
- Open your Custom Agent's Settings
- Go to Tools & Access
- Click Add connection → Add
- Choose the pre-configured server (e.g., GitHub)
- Follow the authentication prompts to authorize access
- Select which tools from that server you want your Agent to use — available tools vary by service
- Click Save
How to Add a Custom MCP Connection
Use this approach to connect to any external service that isn't in the pre-configured list but exposes a hosted MCP endpoint.
A workspace admin must first enable custom MCP connections before they can be used. Go to Settings → Closot AI → AI connectors → toggle on Enable Custom MCP servers.
- Once enabled by an admin, open your Custom Agent's Settings
- Go to Tools & Access
- Click Add connection → Custom MCP server
- Enter the MCP server URL
- Provide a display name for the connection
- Add any required authentication details
- Click Save
Authentication for Custom MCP Connections
Custom MCP servers may support one or both of the following authentication methods:
- OAuth — Standard browser-based authorization flow
- Header-based authentication — API keys or bearer tokens passed directly
Some OAuth servers don't support dynamic client registration (DCR), which means Closot must be pre-registered as a client application with that service before OAuth can work. If the server you're connecting to doesn't support DCR, check its documentation for API key or bearer token options. If neither is available, that server cannot be used with Custom Agents.
Managing Available Tools
Once a connection is established, you can control how individual tools within it behave. Expand the MCP connection entry in your Agent's Tools & Access settings to see and configure each available tool.
Read Tools vs. Write Tools
| Tool type | Examples | Default behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Read tools | search, fetch, list, view | Run automatically — they retrieve information without making changes |
| Write tools | create, update, delete, send, post | Require confirmation by default — they modify data in external systems |
Run Automatically vs. Always Ask
- Run automatically — The tool executes without prompting the user. Best for read tools where no data is modified.
- Always ask — The user must approve or cancel the action before it executes. This is the default for write tools to prevent unintended changes.
You can change either setting per tool in Tools & Access.
Remove an MCP Connection
- Open your Agent's Settings
- Go to Tools & Access
- Find the MCP connection and click Remove
- Click Save
Removing a connection immediately affects any scheduled or triggered runs that depend on it — those runs may fail. Always test your Agent after removing a connection. You can reconnect at any time by authenticating again.
Permissions and Security for MCP Connections
MCP tools respect the permission levels set on your Custom Agent.
Full Access & Can Edit
Users with Full Access or Can Edit on an Agent can:
- Add new MCP connections to the Agent
- Use all connected tools when chatting with the Agent — even tools they don't have personal access to outside the Agent
- View the Agent's activity log, including MCP tool usage
- Remove existing MCP connections
- Reconnect or update MCP server credentials
For MCP connections they personally authenticated, they can additionally:
- Enable or disable individual tools
- Change tool execution settings (run automatically vs. always ask)
Only the person who authenticated an MCP connection can configure its tool settings — even if another user has Full Access or Can Edit permissions on the Agent. The Agent uses that person's credentials and access rights when interacting with the external service.
Can View and Interact
Users with Can View and Interact on an Agent can:
- Chat with the Agent and use all connected tools, including tools they don't have personal access to outside the Agent
- Trigger both read and write actions through the Agent
- Approve or cancel write actions when confirmation is required
- See which MCP servers are connected (in Agent settings, read-only)
They cannot:
- Add or remove MCP connections
- Enable or disable individual tools
- Change tool execution settings
- View the full activity log
Write actions (creating, updating, or deleting records) require confirmation by default. Users will see a preview of exactly what the Agent is about to do before it executes.
Troubleshooting
Tools aren't appearing after connecting:
- Refresh the Agent settings page
- Check that authentication completed successfully — look for a "Connected" status or green checkmark
- Verify the MCP server is online and returning tool metadata
- Try disconnecting and reconnecting the server
Agent runs are failing with MCP errors:
- Open the Activity tab and look for specific error messages
- Check that the connection is still valid — authentication tokens may have expired
- Verify the connection is still enabled in the Agent's settings
- Reconnect the MCP server to refresh credentials
- Update the Agent's instructions to explicitly reference the server or tool: e.g., "Use the GitHub MCP to retrieve open pull requests for this repository."