MCP Servers

Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers extend your assistants with external tools and data sources. This guide covers how to add MCP servers, manage tools, understand the sync and approval flow, and make tools available in spaces.

Overview

MCP is an open protocol that lets AI assistants call external tools — such as searching a database, creating tickets, or fetching live data. Eneo connects to MCP servers over Streamable HTTP transport and acts as a proxy between assistants and the remote server.

Key concepts:

Concept	Description
MCP Server	A remote service that exposes tools via the MCP protocol
Tool	A single function the server provides (e.g. `search_tickets`, `create_issue`)
Tool Sync	Discovering tools from the remote server and detecting changes
Approval	Admin review step before new or changed tools become active
Space	Where you enable MCP servers so assistants can use their tools

Adding an MCP Server

MCP servers are managed in Admin → MCP Servers. Only admins can add, edit, or remove servers.

Steps

Click Add MCP Server
Fill in the required fields:
- Name — A display name for the server
- Server URL — The Streamable HTTP endpoint (e.g. https://example.com/mcp)
Configure optional settings:
- Description — What the server does
- Authentication — Choose between Public (no auth) or Bearer Token
- Documentation URL — Link to the server’s documentation
- Security Classification — Restrict which spaces can use this server
Click Add MCP Server

Eneo will test the connection before saving. If the URL is unreachable or returns an error, the server is not created and you get an error message.

On successful creation, Eneo automatically connects to the server and discovers all available tools. These initial tools are added as enabled by default without requiring approval, since the admin is explicitly adding a trusted server.

Authentication

If the MCP server requires authentication, select Bearer Token and enter the token. The token is encrypted at rest using Fernet encryption (AES-128-CBC + HMAC-SHA256) and is never shown in the UI after saving.

When editing a server, leave the token field empty to keep the existing token.

Tools and Tool Discovery

Each MCP server exposes a set of tools. When you first add a server, its tools are discovered automatically. After that, you can re-discover tools by clicking Sync Tools.

Viewing Tools

In the MCP servers table, click the expand arrow on a server row to see its tools. Each tool shows:

Name — The tool’s function name (e.g. search_documents)
Description — What the tool does
Enabled/Disabled toggle — Whether the tool is available to assistants

Enabling and Disabling Tools

Use the toggle switch on each tool to enable or disable it. You can also use the All on / All off buttons for bulk changes.

The header shows the count of enabled tools, e.g. 2 / 5 enabled.

Disabling a tool in admin removes it globally for all spaces. To control tools per-space, manage them in the space settings instead.

Syncing Tools

Over time, an MCP server may add new tools, change existing tool descriptions, or remove tools. To detect these changes, click Sync Tools in the tools panel.

What Happens During Sync

Eneo connects to the remote server, fetches the current tool list, and compares it against what is stored locally:

Scenario	What happens
New tool	Created with `pending` status — requires approval before it becomes active
Changed tool (description or schema updated)	Change is stored as pending — the tool continues using its previous version until the change is approved
Removed tool (no longer on remote server)	Marked as `removed from server` — requires approval to delete
Unchanged tool	No action needed

Why approval? The approval step is a security measure. It prevents a compromised or misbehaving MCP server from silently injecting or modifying tool definitions. An admin must review and explicitly approve every change before it takes effect.

Pending Changes Banner

When there are pending changes, a banner appears:

1 pending update — Tool uses previous version until update is approved

This means the tool is still active and usable — it simply runs on the previous approved version. Nothing is blocked; the update just waits for your review.

Reviewing Changes

For each pending tool, you can see:

Description changes — Side-by-side comparison of the current and proposed description
Removed from server — The tool no longer exists on the remote server

Use the approve (checkmark) or reject (X) buttons on individual tools, or use Approve all / Reject all for bulk actions.

What Approve and Reject Do

Action	New tool	Changed tool	Removed tool
Approve	Tool becomes active with the proposed description and schema	Pending values replace current values	Tool is deleted from the database
Reject	Tool is deleted (never activated)	Pending values are discarded, current values remain	Removed flag is cleared, tool stays active

Adding MCP Servers to Spaces

After configuring MCP servers in the admin panel, you make them available to assistants by enabling them in individual spaces.

Steps

Go to Space → Settings
In the MCP Servers section, toggle the servers you want to enable
Optionally expand a server to enable/disable individual tools for that space

When a server is added to a space, all its tools are enabled by default. You can then disable specific tools you don’t need.

Security Classification

If your organisation uses security classifications, an MCP server must meet the space’s classification level to be selectable. Servers that don’t meet the requirement are greyed out with a tooltip explaining why.

For example, if a space is classified as “Confidential” (level 3), only MCP servers with a security classification at level 3 or higher can be enabled in that space.

How It Works (Architecture)

When an assistant uses a tool during a conversation, the following happens:


User message → Assistant (LLM) → Tool call decision
                                       ↓
                                  Eneo Proxy
                                       ↓
                              MCP Server (remote)
                                       ↓
                                 Tool result
                                       ↓
                              Assistant (LLM) → Response to user

The LLM decides to call a tool based on the conversation context
Eneo proxies the tool call to the remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP
The MCP server executes the tool and returns a result
The result is fed back to the LLM, which formulates a response

The proxy handles authentication, connection management, and error handling transparently.

Troubleshooting

Connection Failed on Create

Symptoms: Error message when adding a server

Solutions:

Verify the URL is correct and the server is running
Check that the URL is reachable from the Eneo backend (firewall, DNS)
If using authentication, verify the token is correct
The server must support Streamable HTTP transport

Sync Shows No Tools

Symptoms: After syncing, no tools appear

Solutions:

Verify the MCP server actually exposes tools (check its documentation)
Check backend logs for connection errors
Try removing and re-adding the server

Tools Not Available in Space

Symptoms: Assistants can’t use tools even though the server is enabled

Solutions:

Verify the server is enabled in the space settings (not just in admin)
Check that individual tools are toggled on in the space
If using security classifications, verify the server meets the space’s classification level
Check that pending tool changes have been approved — new tools are inactive until approved

Pending Changes Won’t Clear

Symptoms: Tools stuck in pending state

Solutions:

Approve or reject all pending changes
If the issue persists, try syncing again to refresh the state