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Remote MCP Server

Connect an MCP host to your organization's Glean knowledge graph and the tools your administrator has enabled. The Remote MCP Server is tenant-specific and permission-aware. Each person uses their own Glean access.

note

This is different from the public Docs MCP Server, which gives a coding assistant access to Glean developer documentation. Use the Remote MCP Server for your organization's indexed knowledge and configured tools.

Connect a host​

Glean enables the OAuth Authorization Server and Remote MCP Server by default for eligible tenants. Administrators can disable MCP or hide the end-user Configurator. If the Configurator is unavailable, ask an administrator to confirm that at least one MCP server is enabled and that the Configurator is visible.

Done when:

In a new conversation, an explicit request such as "Search Glean for our engineering onboarding guide" calls a Glean tool and returns content you can access in Glean.

You need:
  • A Glean account at your company. Check: you can sign in to Glean.
  • An MCP host: the AI assistant or agent you want to connect.
1

Open the MCP Configurator

Open the MCP Configurator, choose the server you want to connect, and copy its URL. Selecting a host is optional; do it when you want setup instructions tailored to that application. See the MCP Configurator user guide if the navigation in Glean differs.

Check:

You have the URL of the server you want, copied from the Configurator.

2

Add the server to the host

Check Supported MCP Hosts to see whether your host is user-configurable or organization-managed. For a host the Configurator lists, follow its tailored setup instructions there. One server URL connects any MCP host, including hosts the Configurator does not list. For an unlisted host, use that URL with the host's own MCP setup instructions.

Check:

The host's MCP settings list the Glean server with the URL from the Configurator.

3

Sign in with OAuth

Complete the host's OAuth flow in your browser: sign in with your organization's SSO if prompted, then grant the host access. Use a Glean-issued API token only when the host cannot complete OAuth. See How sign-in works.

Check:

The host shows the Glean server as connected.

4

Verify the connection

After the host reports that it is connected, start a new conversation and ask something explicit, such as "Search Glean for our engineering onboarding guide." Confirm that the host shows the Glean server and tools, asks for authorization when required, and returns only content you can access in Glean. Hosts choose which tools to call, so name the data or action you want when you test.

Check:

The host calls a Glean tool and returns content you can access in Glean.

If the server is connected but tools do not load, or a verification request fails, follow Remote MCP troubleshooting.

How sign-in works​

The host opens Glean's OAuth flow in your browser. If you're already signed in to Glean there, Glean knows who you are and there's nothing to enter; otherwise, sign in with your organization's SSO. The first time a host connects, Glean then asks you to grant it access. SSO establishes who you are; the OAuth grant is what lets the host act for you, with only your Glean access.

Dynamic Client Registration (DCR) is the usual path for MCP hosts. A tenant can allow any DCR-capable application, restrict registration to approved applications, or turn DCR off. Glean provisions new and previously unconfigured default-on MCP tenants with the Glean-managed list of approved applications; tenants with existing MCP or OAuth configuration keep their settings. If DCR is disabled, your tenant does not allow the host to register, or the host needs scopes DCR does not grant, an administrator can register a static OAuth client. See OAuth authentication for the DCR versus static model.

Use a Glean-issued API token only when the host cannot complete OAuth. Do not assign API Token Creator in bulk as an MCP rollout.

Install individually or manage centrally​

Individual installation

Use the MCP Configurator to connect a user-configurable host for yourself.

Organization-managed setup

Configure hosts that your organization manages through administrator controls.

MDM deployment

Deploy a Glean Remote MCP server to managed devices through MDM.

Supported hosts

See configuration ownership, transport, and authentication for each listed host.