Connecting External MCP Servers

This guide walks you through connecting external MCP servers to your Vendia workspace using the MCP Gateway feature.

Prerequisites

Before connecting external MCP servers, ensure you have:

• A Vendia account (Free Tier or Enterprise Tier)
• Access to your Vendia workspace
• An AI application configured to connect to your Vendia MCP Server (see Connect Your AI Agent)

Already Connected Your AI Application?

If you’ve already connected your AI application to Vendia MCP Server, any external MCP servers you add through the MCP Gateway will automatically become available — no reconfiguration needed!

Step 1: Access MCP Gateway

1. Log in to your Vendia console
2. Navigate to your workspace
3. In the left sidebar under Connected Data, click MCP Gateway

You’ll see the MCP Gateway page showing any servers you’ve already connected and options to add new ones.

Step 2: Choose an MCP Server

On the MCP Gateway page, you have two options:

Pre-Configured Servers

Vendia provides ready-to-use integrations for popular services to simplify authentication and connection setup. Available pre-configured integrations include Notion, Atlassian, Sentry, Neon, and Fireflies.

Click on any pre-configured server to begin the setup process.

Custom MCP Server

To connect a custom or unlisted MCP server:

1. Click Custom MCP Server at the end of the server selection list
2. You’ll be prompted to provide the server URL and authentication details

Step 3: Configure the MCP Server

After selecting a server, you’ll see the configuration form with the following fields:

MCP Server Name

Enter a friendly name to identify this MCP server in your workspace. This name helps you manage multiple connections.

Example: “Company Notion” or “Engineering Atlassian”

MCP Server URL

Enter the URL of the MCP server to connect to.

• Pre-configured servers: The URL is automatically filled in
• Custom servers: You must provide the complete MCP server URL

Example format: https://mcp.example.com/v1/sse

Authentication Configuration

Select the appropriate authentication method required by the MCP server. See the Authentication guide for detailed information about each authentication type.

Step 4: Authorize and Configure Tools

1. Review your configuration
2. Click Add MCP Server
3. If using OAuth authentication, complete the authorization flow:
   • A popup window will open
   • Sign in to the external service if required
   • Grant the requested permissions
   • The popup will close automatically on success
4. Select which tools to enable:
   • After authorization, you’ll see a list of available tools from the MCP server
   • Each tool shows its name and description
   • Use the checkboxes to enable/disable individual tools
   • Use Enable All or Disable All buttons for quick selection
   • Review the tool count (e.g., “2 of 15 tools selected”)
5. Click Enable X Tools to complete the connection

Step 5: Verify the Connection

After successfully connecting:

1. You’ll be returned to the MCP Gateway page
2. Your newly connected server will appear in the list
3. The connection status should show as active

Your AI application can now access tools from this external MCP server!

Using External MCP Servers in Your AI Application

Once connected, the external MCP server’s tools are automatically available through your Vendia MCP Server endpoint. You don’t need to reconfigure your AI application.

Example Prompts

With Notion connected:

"Search our Notion workspace for documentation about the API authentication process"

With Atlassian connected:

"Show me all open Jira issues assigned to the backend team and summarize the latest comments"

With Stripe connected:

"Show me all successful Stripe payments from the last 24 hours and their total amount"

With multiple servers connected:

"Find Sentry errors for the payment API, list slow queries in my Neon databases, and see if there are any open Jira issues about payment processing"

Your AI application will automatically use the appropriate MCP server to fulfill each request.

Managing Connected MCP Servers

Viewing Connected Servers

Navigate to Connected Data → MCP Gateway to see all connected external MCP servers with:

• Server name
• Connection status
• Enabled tools count
• Server type (pre-configured or custom)

Disconnecting an MCP Server

To remove an external MCP server:

1. Navigate to Connected Data → MCP Gateway
2. Find the server you want to disconnect
3. Click the disconnect or remove button
4. Confirm the action

Warning

Disconnecting an MCP server immediately removes its tools from your AI application. Any queries attempting to use those tools will fail.

Updating Configuration

To update an MCP server’s configuration (including authentication or enabled tools):

1. Disconnect the existing server
2. Add it again with the updated configuration
3. Select which tools to enable during the reconnection process

Example Configurations

Connecting Notion with Auto-Configure OAuth

1. Click Notion from the pre-configured server list
2. Enter name: “Company Notion Workspace”
3. Authentication Type: OAuth 2.0 (Auto-configure) (pre-selected)
4. Click Add MCP Server
5. Complete Notion’s OAuth authorization in the popup
6. Select the Notion tools you want to enable (e.g., notion-search, notion-create-pages)
7. Click Enable X Tools
8. Done!

Connecting Atlassian with Auto-Configure OAuth

1. Click Atlassian from the pre-configured server list
2. Enter name: “Engineering Atlassian”
3. Authentication Type: OAuth 2.0 (Auto-configure) (pre-selected)
4. Click Add MCP Server
5. Complete Atlassian’s OAuth authorization in the popup
6. Grant access to Jira and Confluence
7. Select the Atlassian tools you want to enable
8. Click Enable X Tools
9. Done!

Connecting Stripe (Custom MCP Server Example)

This example demonstrates how to connect an MCP server that is not pre-configured in Vendia’s list, using Stripe as an example.

1. Click Custom MCP Server
2. Enter name: “Company Stripe Account”
3. Enter server URL: https://mcp.stripe.com/sse
4. Authentication Type: OAuth 2.0 (Use app credentials)
5. Enter your OAuth credentials (Client ID, Client Secret, etc.)
6. Click Add MCP Server
7. Complete Stripe’s OAuth authorization in the popup
8. Grant the requested permissions
9. Select the Stripe tools you want to enable
10. Click Enable X Tools
11. Done!

Note

Stripe is used here as an example of connecting a custom MCP server. Stripe requires OAuth 2.0 authentication with your own OAuth app credentials.

Connecting a Custom MCP Server with API Key

1. Click Custom MCP Server
2. Enter name: “Internal Analytics Server”
3. Enter server URL: https://mcp.analytics.company.com/sse
4. Authentication Type: None / Headers
5. Click Add Header
6. Header name: X-API-Key
7. Header value: your-api-key-here
8. Click Add MCP Server
9. Select the tools you want to enable from the MCP server
10. Click Enable X Tools
11. Done!

What’s Next?

Now that you’ve connected external MCP servers, explore:

• Authentication Methods: Learn about authentication options
• Best Practices: Guidelines for managing connections
• Use Cases: Real-world examples and scenarios
• Troubleshooting: Common issues and solutions

Need Help?

Free Tier Support:

• Review the MCP Free Tier FAQ
• Submit questions via our contact form

Enterprise Tier Support:

• Contact Vendia Support
• Reach out to your account team for assistance