Obvious/Help Center

Connecting MCP Servers

Published March 26, 2026 · Last updated March 30, 2026 · 4 min read

Connect an MCP server to Obvious so the agent can call its tools.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for exposing tools and resources to AI assistants. When you add an MCP HTTP server to Obvious, the agent can call any tool that server exposes — database lookups, internal APIs, custom search endpoints, whatever your server provides.

What you'll need

  • An MCP-compatible HTTP server reachable over HTTPS. The server must accept MCP requests over HTTP (not stdio).

  • The server's URL.

  • Auth credentials if the server requires them — bearer token, API key, or a custom header.

Add an MCP server

  1. Open Settings → Connections.

  2. Click Add MCP Server.

  3. Paste the server's URL into the Server URL field.

  4. Under Authentication, select the type that matches your server:

  • None — no authentication required

  • Bearer token — sent as Authorization: Bearer <token>

  • API key — sent as X-API-Key: <key>

  • Custom header — enter your own header name and value

  1. Enter any required credentials for the auth type you selected.

  2. Click Connect.

Once saved, the modal stays open so you can optionally test the connection. Click Test connection to verify Obvious can reach the server. You'll see a confirmation or an error message inline. Click Close when you're done.

How the agent uses MCP tools

Once connected, the agent discovers the tools your server exposes and can call them in response to your requests. You don't need to configure anything in the project — the tools are available automatically in any project where the connection is in scope.

For example, if your MCP server exposes a search_product_catalog tool, you could ask:

Find all products in the catalog under $50

The agent calls the tool, formats the results, and responds — just like any other operation.

Note: The agent uses MCP tools when your request matches what they can do. If you're not seeing expected tool behavior, try being more specific — naming the data source or action often helps the agent pick the right tool.

Manage a connection

Open Settings → Connections at any time to:

  • Edit — Update the server URL or credentials. Click the ⋮ menu on the connection and select Edit.

  • Remove — Click the ⋮ menu and select Remove. The agent loses access to that server's tools immediately.

Troubleshooting

The server won't connect. Make sure the URL is correct and the server is running and reachable over HTTPS. Obvious requires a valid TLS connection — plain HTTP endpoints won't work. If the server is behind a firewall or VPN, it needs to be accessible from Obvious's infrastructure.

Authentication is failing. Check that you selected the right auth type and entered the credentials exactly as your server expects. If you're using a bearer token, make sure you're entering the raw token — Obvious adds the Bearer prefix automatically. For API key auth, the key goes in as-is. After updating credentials, remove and re-add the connection to force a fresh auth attempt.

The agent isn't using the server's tools. Confirm the connection shows as active in Settings → Connections. If it shows an error, try removing it and re-adding with the correct URL and credentials. If the connection looks healthy but the agent still isn't calling the tools, try asking explicitly — for example, "Use the [server name] tools to search for X."

The connection was working and stopped. If your server URL changed or the server restarted with a new endpoint, remove the existing connection and add it again with the updated URL. If only credentials changed, edit the connection and re-enter them.

If you're still running into issues, reach out to help@obvious.ai and include the server URL (minus any credentials) and a description of what you're seeing.

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