> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.paradime.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect external MCP servers

> Connect MCP servers outside Paradime, such as Looker, so DinoAI agents can call their tools, and choose which tools each environment and agent can use.

DinoAI agents can call tools from MCP servers outside Paradime, next to their built-in tools. Connect a server once for your workspace, then choose which of its tools your agents can use.

<Note>
  MCP tools are available to DinoAI agent runs. The copilot in the Code IDE doesn't use them yet.
</Note>

## Before you start

* Access to **Settings** > **Integrations** in your workspace.
* The server's URL. Paradime connects over MCP's Streamable HTTP transport, to `https://` addresses on the public internet only.
* For an OAuth server that doesn't support dynamic client registration, such as Looker, a client ID registered for Paradime on that server. See [Register Paradime with the server first](#register-paradime-with-the-server-first).

## Add a server

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open MCP Servers">
    Go to **Settings** > **Integrations**. Under the DinoAI agent integrations, find **MCP Servers** and select **Add MCP Server**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the server details">
    Enter the **Server URL**, and optionally a **Display name** (for example GitHub, Linear, or Sentry). The display name also names the server's tools: see [Tool names](#tool-names).

    Under **Authentication**, choose:

    * **Public (no auth)** for a server that needs no credentials.
    * **OAuth 2.1** for a server that asks you to sign in. Leave **Client ID (optional)** empty to register Paradime automatically, or enter the client ID registered for Paradime on that server.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect">
    Select **Connect** for a public server, or **Connect & Authorize** for an OAuth server and approve access in the window that opens. The dialog shows each stage, from validating the URL to discovering the server's tools.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Check>
  The server shows as **Connected** under **MCP Servers**, and its page lists the tools it offers. If the dialog says the server doesn't support dynamic client registration, register Paradime with it first and enter the client ID.
</Check>

### Register Paradime with the server first

Some OAuth servers, such as Looker, only accept clients registered in advance. On the server, register an OAuth client for Paradime with this redirect URI, using the address you open Paradime at:

```text theme={"system"}
https://<your Paradime host>/mcp-client/callback
```

For example, `https://app.paradime.io/mcp-client/callback`. Then enter the client ID it gives you in **Client ID (optional)** when you add the server. For Looker, see Google's [Looker MCP server](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/admin-panel-platform-mcp) documentation for registering the client and choosing which tools to expose.

## Choose which tools agents can use

Three layers decide which of a server's tools an agent gets. Each one can only narrow the one before it:

| Layer | Where | By default |
| - | - | - |
| **Server** | The server's page in **Settings** > **Integrations**: a toggle for each tool, **Refresh tools** to re-read the list, and **Disconnect** | Every tool on |
| **Agent environment** | **Settings** > **Environments**, under **Agent**: the environment's **MCP tools** list, to turn off a server or single tools for agents in that environment | Every connected server, every tool |
| **Agent** | The agent builder's **MCP tools** card, or `mcpTools` in the agent's YAML | Every tool the server and environment allow |

To restrict one agent, use **Allowed MCP tools** (only these, everything else is refused) or **Denied MCP tools** (everything the environment allows, except these). In YAML:

```yaml theme={"system"}
mcpTools:
  mode: allowlist         # "allowlist" or "denylist"
  list:
    - mcp__looker__*
```

<Warning>
  The agent's [`tools`](/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/yaml-configuration) setting applies to MCP tools too. If it's an allowlist, add the MCP tools you want there as well, for example `mcp__looker__*`, because an allowlist refuses any tool it doesn't name.
</Warning>

## Tool names

An MCP tool's name is `mcp__<server>__<tool>`. The server part is the server's display name in lowercase, with anything other than letters and digits replaced by `_`: a server named "My GitHub" gives `mcp__my_github__<tool>`. To match every tool from one server, use `mcp__<server>__*`.

## Keep a connection working

Paradime refreshes a server's OAuth tokens before each agent run. If access is revoked on the server's side, the connection shows an error and its tools are left out of agent runs until you reconnect it.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Creating agents in the app" href="/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/creating-agents-in-the-app" icon="bot">
    Build an agent and choose its tools in the builder.
  </Card>

  <Card title="YAML configuration" href="/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/yaml-configuration" icon="file-code">
    Every key in an agent's YAML, including `tools`.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


## Related topics

- [Connect your own MCP servers to DinoAI agents](/changelog/2026-09-28/custom-mcp-servers.md)
- [YAML Configuration](/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/yaml-configuration.md)
- [Connect any MCP client to the Paradime MCP server](/products/dino-ai/mcp-server/other-clients.md)
- [Connect Claude Code to the Paradime MCP server](/products/dino-ai/mcp-server/claude-code.md)
- [Connect GitHub Copilot to the Paradime MCP server](/products/dino-ai/mcp-server/github-copilot.md)