MCP

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for exposing tools to AI agents. If you run an MCP server, for example in front of an internal metrics API, a ticketing system, or a legacy service, you can add it as a custom connection and every tool it serves becomes a tool agents can call.

Prerequisites

An MCP server that speaks Streamable HTTP or Server-Sent Events (SSE), reachable from the internet. To limit who can reach it, allowlist CloudThinker’s egress IPs. These docs don’t publish CloudThinker’s egress IP list: ask your CloudThinker contact, or contact us.
The server’s endpoint URL, for example https://mcp.example.com/mcp.
A credential for your server, if it requires one. Issue one only for CloudThinker (see Required permissions).
Permission to edit connections in your workspace.

CloudThinker reaches your server over the public internet and authenticates with static HTTP headers you set on the connection, usually an Authorization header with a token your server checks. The MCP form has no OAuth sign-in, so a server that only accepts OAuth can’t be connected.

Setup

Open the MCP form

In the sidebar, click More → Workspace settings → Connections, select the MCP Connections tab, and click + (New MCP connection). The Create MCP Connection dialog opens.

Fill in Basic Information

Connection Name: a name your team will recognize, such as Internal metrics.
Description: optional, up to 500 characters.
Prefix: a short handle for this server, such as metrics. Tools appear as metrics__tool_name, and you’ll see the prefix in approval requests and Rules.
Transport Type: Streamable HTTP or Server-Sent Events, whichever your server speaks.

Add headers

Under Headers Configuration (Optional), add each header your server needs as a Key and Value, for example Authorization and Bearer <your-token>. CloudThinker sends these headers on every request. Header keys must be unique.

Fill in Connection Configuration

URL: the server endpoint, such as https://mcp.example.com/mcp. See Server URL rules.
Timeout (seconds): how long to wait for the server to respond. Default 30, allowed 0.1 to 300. Keep 30 unless your tools run long queries, then raise it.
SSE Read Timeout (seconds): how long to wait on the event stream. Default 300, allowed 1 to 600.

Create

Click Create. CloudThinker contacts the server and loads its tool list.Success state: the connection shows Connected in the MCP Connections list, and its detail panel shows the transport and URL under Server config. If it fails, a Connection error alert explains why. See Troubleshooting.

Don’t put credentials in the URL (https://user:password@host/mcp). The form rejects it. For basic auth, add a header with key Authorization and value Basic <base64 of user:password>.

Connection details

Field	Required	Description	Example
Connection Name	Yes	A name your team will recognize	`Internal metrics`
Description	No	Up to 500 characters	`Internal metrics API`
Prefix	Yes	Short handle. Tools appear as `prefix__tool_name`	`metrics`
Transport Type	Yes	Streamable HTTP or Server-Sent Events	Streamable HTTP
URL	Yes	The server endpoint. See Server URL rules	`https://mcp.example.com/mcp`
Headers Configuration	No	One Key and Value per header, sent on every request	`Authorization` / `Bearer <your-token>`
Timeout (seconds)	Yes, prefilled	Wait for a response. Default 30, allowed 0.1 to 300	`30`
SSE Read Timeout (seconds)	Yes, prefilled	Wait on the event stream. Default 300, allowed 1 to 600	`300`

Server URL rules

URL	Result
`https://mcp.example.com/mcp`	Recommended. The certificate must come from a public certificate authority. Self-signed certificates are rejected.
`http://203.0.113.10:8000/mcp`	Accepted, with the warning “Not encrypted. Headers and tool results are sent as plain text.” Your token travels unencrypted.
`http://localhost:8000/mcp`, `http://10.0.0.5/mcp`, `http://192.168.1.20/mcp`	Rejected. CloudThinker can’t reach loopback, private, or cloud metadata addresses.
A host name that resolves to a private address	Rejected, even if it looks public.

There’s no workspace setting that blocks http:// URLs. Use https:// for any server that takes a token, and add HTTPS if it only speaks HTTP.

Add HTTPS with a reverse proxy

If your server only speaks HTTP, put a reverse proxy in front of it. With Caddy:

Point DNS at the server

Create a DNS A record, such as mcp.example.com, that points to the server’s public IP.

Configure Caddy

Save this as your Caddyfile, replacing the port with the one your MCP server listens on:

mcp.example.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8000
}

Start Caddy

Open ports 80 and 443 and start Caddy. It requests a public certificate on its own.Success state: https://mcp.example.com loads in a browser with a valid certificate. Enter https://mcp.example.com/mcp as the URL.

Required permissions

Your server decides what the connection can do. CloudThinker only holds the header values you give it.

Issue a token used only by CloudThinker, so you can revoke it without affecting anything else. Scope it to the least access the exposed tools need, start with read tools only, and have the server validate the token on every request.

Agent capabilities

After you connect, CloudThinker loads the server’s tool list. Each tool is available to agents as prefix__tool_name, where the prefix is the one you set on the connection. A server with prefix weather that exposes get_forecast gives agents a tool called weather__get_forecast. Agents can only call tools your server serves. MCP connections have no Allow writes switch, so choose Manual and a person then approves every write tool call. Taking a tool off the server is the other control that always holds, and it is the only way to stop a read: reads always run without asking. Once CloudThinker turns on Rule enforcement for your workspace, a Deny Rule can refuse one write tool outright while the rest keep asking.

How reads and writes are decided

CloudThinker sorts each tool into a read or a write when it loads the tool list:

Check, in order	Result
The tool declares `readOnlyHint: true`	Read
The tool declares `destructiveHint: true`	Write
The tool name contains a read word: `get`, `list`, `search`, `query`, `read`, `describe`, `show`, `find`, `fetch`, `check`, `count`, `view`, `lookup`, `browse`, `inspect`, `export`, `download`	Read
Anything else	Write

Name words are split on _ and -, so list_tickets and get-status are reads, while listTickets (one word) and close_ticket are writes. Reads run without asking. Writes go through your Rules and Approval mode.

Any read word anywhere in the name makes the tool a read, unless it declares destructiveHint: true. get_and_delete_user and check_and_fix count as reads and run without approval. Set destructiveHint: true on every tool that changes data.

CloudThinker reloads the tool list, and sorts every tool again, when you click Edit and save a change to the URL, headers, or transport. Changing only the name or description doesn’t reload it.

Verify the connection

Start a chat and type # to pick the connection, then ask:

#Internal metrics List the tools this connection exposes, then call the simplest read-only one and show me the result.

Success state: CloudThinker lists the tools by their prefix__tool_name names and returns output from one read tool, with no approval request.

Example prompts

Replace #Internal metrics with your connection’s name.

#Internal metrics What is the current status of the checkout service?
#Internal metrics Compare today's error counts with the last 7 days and flag anything unusual.
#Internal metrics Which tools here can change data? Describe what each one does before calling any of them.

Troubleshooting

This connection did not respond in time. Try connecting again.

The server didn’t answer within Timeout (seconds). Check that the server is running and that its firewall allows CloudThinker’s egress IPs, then raise the timeout and try again.

This server does not use HTTPS on this port.

The URL starts with https://, but the server speaks plain HTTP on that port. Change the URL to http://, or add HTTPS.

This server's TLS certificate is not trusted: it is self-signed, expired, or issued for another name.

Replace a self-signed certificate with one from a public certificate authority, such as Let’s Encrypt. Renew an expired one. Make sure the host name in the URL matches the certificate.

This server refused the connection.

Nothing is listening at that host and port. Fix the URL, or start the server.

URL points to a private or metadata IP address / URL resolves to a private or metadata IP address

The URL contains a private address, or DNS maps the host name to one. The message “URL points to a blocked internal hostname” covers names such as localhost. Use a public host name or IP address.

Could not resolve hostname

DNS has no record for the host name in your URL. Check the spelling. A name that only exists inside your network won’t resolve.

The provider rejected these credentials. Update them, then connect again.

Your server returned 401 or 403. Check the header key and value, confirm the token is still valid on your server, and check how the server expects it (for example Bearer versus a custom header).

The provider endpoint was not found. Check the connection settings.

The host answered but the path is wrong. Many servers serve MCP at /mcp or /sse. Check your server’s docs for the exact path.

Connected, but tools are missing

Check that the server returns its tools in the tool list response and look at the server’s own logs. Tools the server doesn’t list can’t be called.

SSE connection drops

Raise SSE Read Timeout (seconds), check that no proxy between CloudThinker and the server buffers or cuts long-lived connections, and have the server send keepalive events.

Security

Least privilege — grant only the permissions the agents need for your use case; start read-only and widen later.
Read-only by default — use read-only credentials unless you want agents to make changes through this connection.
Rotate credentials — rotate keys and tokens on your normal schedule; CloudThinker picks up the new value when you update the connection.
Revoke on offboarding — remove the credential at the provider when you delete a connection or a teammate leaves.

Use HTTPS. Over http://, headers, including your token, and tool results travel as plain text.
Mark tool hints. Set readOnlyHint and destructiveHint so CloudThinker treats each tool the way you intend.
Rotate header credentials. Replace the token on your server, then edit the connection and update the header value.

Set approval Rules

Decide which of your server’s write tools run, ask first, or are refused.

Connections overview

See every built-in connection before building your own server.

Connections

Customize

Approvals

Workspace settings

Admin Settings

Artifacts and sharing

Prerequisites

Setup

Connection details

Server URL rules

Add HTTPS with a reverse proxy

Required permissions

Agent capabilities

How reads and writes are decided

Verify the connection

Example prompts

Troubleshooting

Security

Set approval Rules

Connections overview

​Prerequisites

​Setup

​Connection details

​Server URL rules

​Add HTTPS with a reverse proxy

​Required permissions

​Agent capabilities

​How reads and writes are decided

​Verify the connection

​Example prompts

​Troubleshooting

​Security

​Related

Set approval Rules

Connections overview

Prerequisites

Setup

Connection details

Server URL rules

Add HTTPS with a reverse proxy

Required permissions

Agent capabilities

How reads and writes are decided

Verify the connection

Example prompts

Troubleshooting

Security

Related