MCP servers

An MCP server is an external process that exposes tools to Tale's agents over the Model Context Protocol. Where an integration is a vendor-specific connector Tale ships, an MCP server is a generic bridge anyone can host — an internal API, a vendor without a connector, a script that computes something Tale's built-in tools cannot. You host the server; Tale only talks to it.

Registering a server

Open Settings > API > MCP and click Add MCP server. The form takes:

• Name and Display name — the identifier, and the label agents and approval cards show.
• Transport type — Streamable HTTP, SSE, or stdio. The HTTP transports take a URL — the form flags a malformed one inline before you can save; stdio takes the command Tale spawns.
• Authentication — None, API Key, or OAuth 2.0 (token URL, client ID and secret, scopes).
• Allowed agents — which agents may bind to this server. The default is no agents; reach for All agents only when the server is generic enough that every agent benefits.

Save server, then use Test connection on the row to verify the handshake — the row's status shows Connected, Disconnected, or Error with the upstream message.

The discovered tools

Once connected, Tale fetches the server's manifest and lists it as Discovered Tools — each tool's name, description, and whether the server flags it Requires approval. Flagged tools ask in chat every time an agent calls them, with the exact arguments shown on the card; unflagged tools run like any built-in tool.

Using it from agents

A registered, active server's tools join the toolbelt agents can call; the request travels through Tale to your server and the reply comes back into the conversation. The server can also expose resources and prompts where its author implements them — tools are the common surface.

Deactivating and removing

Each server row can be deactivated — its tools drop out of agent toolbelts until you activate it again, with the registration kept. Deleting the server removes the registration entirely after a confirmation; re-adding it later is a fresh registration with a fresh manifest fetch.

MCP server or integration

Both let an agent reach beyond Tale; the difference is who owns the connector. Integrations are vendor-specific, shipped, and maintained in the catalog; MCP servers are generic and yours to run. Reach for the integration when one exists for the target system; reach for MCP when you need the bridge to be your own code.

Where this fits

MCP is the open-ended extension surface of the agent toolbelt. The natural next reads are Agent tools for how tools surface on an agent, Configure approvals for the flags that hold risky calls, and the MCP server from scratch tutorial for building one end to end.