> Source: https://builder.ema.ai/v2/integrations-data/mcp
> Title: MCP Servers

# MCP Servers

The **MCP servers** tab of the Integrations page lets you connect external [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) servers so the tools they expose become available to your AI Employees. You point Ema at an MCP-compatible server; Ema discovers the tools it advertises, an admin activates the server, and from then on those tools can be used like any other Tool.

The sequence is short: **add the server → Ema discovers its tools → an admin activates it → add a connection (credentials) → its tools are callable.**

## Add an MCP server

From the **MCP servers** tab, select **Add MCP server** and fill in:

-   **Name** — a display name for the server.
-   **Description** — what the server's tools do.
-   **Endpoint URL** — the MCP server's URL (for example `https://api.example.com/v1/mcp`).
-   **Authentication** — how Ema authenticates to the server (see below). Defaults to **None**.

Select **Add server**. Ema connects to the endpoint, **discovers the tools** it advertises, and sets the server to **Pending review** — no tools are usable until an admin activates it. Adding the server registers it and discovers its tools; you supply any credentials afterward, when you add a connection.

> [INFO]
> Ema connects to MCP servers over **Streamable HTTP**. The endpoint must be a Streamable-HTTP MCP server — SSE and stdio transports aren't supported.

### Authentication types

Pick how Ema authenticates to the server:

Type

What it is

**None**

The server needs no credentials.

**API key**

Ema sends an API key.

**Bearer token**

Ema sends a bearer token.

**Basic auth**

Ema sends a username and password.

**OAuth 2.1 (Authorization Code)**

Users sign in through the server's provider; Ema runs the OAuth flow and refreshes tokens automatically.

## Add a connection

Adding the server is metadata only — it holds no credentials. To supply them, add a **connection** under the server and choose a connection type:

-   **Shared** — one connection the whole workspace uses.
-   **User** — each user connects their own account.

Then enter the credentials for the server's authentication type — an API key, a bearer token, or a username and password. For **OAuth 2.1**, you don't paste a token: Ema discovers the server's authorization server, registers itself as a client automatically where the server supports it, sends each user through the provider's consent screen, and refreshes access tokens on its own.

## Activate and manage the server

An MCP server moves through a deliberate lifecycle:

-   **Pending review** → an admin selects **Activate** to move it to **Active**.
-   **Active** → its tools are callable. An admin can **Disable** at any time.
-   **Disabled** / **Discovery failed** → an admin can **Enable**, which re-runs discovery and returns the server to Pending review.

From the actions menu you can **View tools** (the discovered tool list), **Refresh tools** (re-discover from the server), and **Delete** the server — deletion is blocked while an active AI Employee still uses it. Editing the server's URL or credentials re-runs discovery and returns it to Pending review, so a changed endpoint never silently serves stale tools.

## Use a server in another workspace or environment

There's no export/import step for MCP servers. To use the same server in another workspace or another environment, just **add it again** there — with the same endpoint URL and authentication. Registration is lightweight, and its tools are re-discovered when you add it.

> [INFO]
> Ema can also expose its _own_ AI Employee tools to MCP-aware clients through a separate MCP gateway — the reverse direction (Ema _as_ an MCP server). That's documented with the MCP product, not here.

## What's next

-   [Data Connectors](/builder/v2/integrations-data/data-connectors) — sync external documents into Knowledge bases so an AI Employee can cite them.