# Add external MCP servers

> Connect Kaitoi to an external MCP tool server, configure authentication, inspect its capabilities, and troubleshoot missing or expired access.

Source: https://kaitoi.io/docs/integrations/mcp-servers/
Section: Kaitoi Studio / Models and integrations
Written for: Anyone adding tools for Penny or MCP-capable nodes to use.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-24

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This guide connects **Kaitoi to another MCP server**. To connect an external AI
assistant to Kaitoi itself, use [Connect an AI client with MCP](/docs/core/mcp/).

## Check the connection direction


When adding an external MCP server, Kaitoi acts as the client and the external service supplies tools. Configure this under Settings → MCP → MCP Servers. When an external assistant controls Kaitoi, that assistant is the client and Kaitoi is the server; use the Core connection guide. Authentication does not guarantee every tool is exposed in the current session. Stdio commands run on the permitted host, not automatically your laptop.

Example tool inventories return toward the client: document tools toward Kaitoi, or graph/result tools toward an external assistant. The offered inventory remains separate from an authenticated connection.

*Figure: Distinguish adding tools to Kaitoi from controlling Kaitoi through MCP.*

## Add a remote server

Open **Settings → MCP → MCP Servers**, add a server, and enter its documented name, URL, and
authentication type. Use the provider's actual MCP endpoint. A website address
or REST API base is not automatically an MCP endpoint.

For OAuth, complete the sign-in and permission flow. For token or header
authentication, use the configuration fields intended for those credentials.
Test the server and inspect its offered tools, resources, and prompts.

## Make it useful to a workflow

The connection must expose the capability your workflow needs. A successful
connection test does not prove that every tool has the right permissions or
that an agent has selected it for the current task.

Try a small read-only operation first. Before using a write tool, check the
destination, inputs, and consequence of that particular action. A remote server
can have its own pricing and rate limits.

## Local command servers

Servers using stdio run a command rather than an HTTP endpoint. Their
availability depends on the installation's local-command policy and runtime.
Use the supported configuration controls only when that option is available;
a command on your laptop is not automatically executable by hosted Studio.

## Recover a broken connection

Check the endpoint, enabled state, credentials, and server availability. An
expired OAuth grant may need a fresh sign-in. If a server's authentication
requirements are unsupported, use its documented supported setup rather than
guessing token endpoints or weakening its authentication.

Disable or remove a connection when it is no longer needed. Provider-side
authorization can also need revocation in the external account.

## Distinguish server access from tool availability

**Outgoing tools:** configure another server under Settings → MCP → MCP
Servers; Kaitoi acts as its client and needs MCP Client capability. **Incoming
client:** use Kaitoi's own MCP Access configuration for an external assistant.
**Stdio:** runs on the permitted server/bridge host, not automatically the
user's laptop. A successful connection does not guarantee every tool is
available to every assistant profile. No connection is created or tested here.

## Checks and next steps

This feature requires the **MCP Client** capability. A connection may be
configured but disabled, fail authentication, expose a different capability,
or be unavailable to the current assistant profile. Inspect those states
before concluding that a named tool is ready for the current request.

For stdio, the configured command runs on the installation's server or bridge
host under its command policy. It is not automatically a process on the
computer displaying Studio. Use the documented supported local connection
path when you need software on your own machine.

Keep remote credentials in the authentication fields and review where a tool
sends data. Test read-only access first. Removing a server from Studio and
revoking a provider's OAuth grant are separate operations.