Create and manage MCP servers

Create custom MCP servers tailored to specific use cases. Each server has its own URL and can be configured with a specific set of tools.

Default MCP server

Glean automatically provides a default MCP server for new deployments and deployments that haven't overridden Glean's suggested default server. The default server includes the Glean managed toolset:

• search
• read_document
• code_search
• employee_search
• user_activity
• memory
• memory_schema
• web_search

Glean owns this toolset and updates it automatically, so you can't remove its tools from the default server. Glean serves each tool only when the deployment supports it. For example, code_search requires at least one connected code repository. See View available tools.

The default server can search and read Library content, including Canvas, through search and read_document. To upload new content to the Library, update an existing artifact or share one from an MCP host. Then, add the Artifacts managed toolset.

You can customize the default server with broadly useful write tools, such as tools for creating Google Docs or sending Slack messages. Create additional servers when specific teams need their own tools, such as code search and Jira tools for engineering, or Salesforce tools for sales.

Prerequisites

Before you create or manage MCP servers, complete the following prerequisites:

• Turn on the Glean MCP server for your workspace. See Set up Glean MCP server.
• Sign in as an Admin, or as a user with the MCP Server Moderator role.

Users with the MCP Server Moderator and Admin roles can create and manage individual Glean MCP servers. The MCP Server Moderator role does not grant permission to manage third party MCP host connections. Glean requires the Admin role to turn on MCP servers for your workspace. See MCP Server Moderator.

Create an MCP server

Design each MCP server for a single, specific purpose. Glean recommends adding the Dynamic skills and tools managed toolset when users need connected tools, rather than enabling a large fixed set. Hosts can discover tools on demand, and Glean automatically makes a small set of each user's recently used tools available for direct calls. This personalized tool list requires no separate configuration in supported hosts. See Personalized tool list.

Some hosts cap the number of tools available per server. Keep the fixed set focused, since Glean adds recently used tools alongside the tools you configure.

Use these examples as starting points:

• Company knowledge: search, chat, read_document, employee_search, user_activity, memory, memory_schema
• Engineering: search, read_document, code_search, employee_search, Jira write tools
• Sales: search, chat, read_document, employee_search, Salesforce write tools

Avoid creating one server with all tools enabled. One server with all tools enabled can overwhelm the LLM in the host application, make tool selection less accurate, and hit host-specific tool limits.

1

Navigate to MCP servers

Go to Admin console → Platform → Glean MCP servers, select the MCP servers tab, and click Create server.

2

Configure server details

Fill in the server configuration form:

Server name: Choose a short, user-friendly name to easily identify this server. Use descriptive names that indicate the server's purpose, such as "Engineering tools" or "Product research". This name is visible to users when they connect MCP host applications.

Server path: Define a simple path identifier for the server.

• Use simple names like sales or engineering-tools
• Avoid special characters or spaces

Server URL: This is automatically generated based on your path and cannot be edited.

• Format: https://{your-backend-domain}/mcp/[your-path]. Find your backend domain at app.glean.com/admin/about-glean under Server instance (QE). It typically follows the pattern company-be.glean.com, but may be different if your organization uses a custom domain.

3

Select tools

Choose which built-in Glean tools, agents, and managed toolsets to enable for this server. You can add:

• Built-in Glean tools, such as search, chat, and code search
• Glean agents as tools
• Managed toolsets, which are Glean-maintained sets of built-in tools, such as Dynamic skills and tools, Memory, Artifacts, and Image generation

Glean preselects a starting set of tools for a new server: chat, search, read_document, code_search, employee_search, user_activity, and the Artifacts and Image generation managed toolsets. Clear the tools that don't fit the server's purpose.

See the sections below for details on available tools.

4

Select external tools

After you add connectors, remote MCP servers, or custom OpenAPI endpoints to Glean, you can add their external tools to your Glean MCP servers.

We recommend adding only external write tools that match the server's audience and purpose. For guidance, see MCP server best practices.

If you need to add external read tools for a specific workflow, click Show read tools and add the read tools you want to include.

5

Enable the server

Toggle the server status to Enabled to make it active and available for connections.

For more design guidance, see MCP server best practices.

View available tools

The tool picker shows only the tools your deployment supports, so your list may be shorter than the full set of built-in Glean tools. Glean also checks availability again when it serves a tool, so a server can serve fewer tools than it lists.

If a tool you expect is missing, confirm its requirements using this table. Contact your Glean representative if requirements are met but the tool is still missing.

Tool	Requirement
chat	Glean Assistant enabled for the user
code_search	At least one connected code repository
gmail_search, outlook_search	The matching connector, plus federated search
memory, memory_schema	Memory or personalization enabled for the user
knowledge_graph_query, knowledge_graph_schema	Knowledge Graph setup complete, plus Knowledge Graph access for the user
data_analysis	An eligible BI tool or data warehouse for the user
gemini_web_search	Gemini web search setup complete
Artifacts, Image generation	The matching managed toolset setting. share_artifact also requires Chat Sharing, and image tools require image generation eligibility
Dynamic skills and tools	Skill tools enabled for the deployment

Manage existing MCP servers

To modify an existing server:

1. Go to Admin console → Platform → Glean MCP servers and select the MCP servers tab.
2. Click on the server name to view its configuration
3. Make your changes, such as adding tools, removing tools, or renaming the server.
4. Changes take effect immediately for new connections.

note

Existing connections: Users with active MCP connections may need to refresh or reconnect their host application to see updated tool availability.

Search for a MCP server

When your deployment has many MCP servers, search with Search by server name box in the MCP servers tab of Admin console → Platform → Glean MCP server and filter the list by name.

Add agents as tools

Add a Glean agent to a server as a tool, so any connected MCP host can invoke it. Agents let you offer company-specific capabilities that go beyond search and retrieval.

See the following example use cases:

Analyze pull requests and provide structured feedback on code quality, patterns, and best practices.

Research competitors and synthesize insights from internal documents, market data, and customer feedback.

Help new hires find relevant docs, team contacts, and setup guides tailored to their role.

See the Agents as tools guide for:

• How to add an agent as a tool
• Agent constraints and limitations
• Best practices for agent design

Find MCP server URLs

This URL is displayed in the configuration form (read-only) after you enter the server path. Share this URL with users who need to connect to this specific server from their MCP host applications.

Each server has a unique URL that is automatically generated based on the server path you provide:

https://{your-backend-domain}/mcp/[server-path]

Find your backend domain at app.glean.com/admin/about-glean under Server instance (QE). It typically follows the pattern company-be.glean.com, but may be different if your organization uses a custom domain.

For example, a server with path engineering would automatically generate a URL like:

https://acme-be.glean.com/mcp/engineering

See also

• Built-in Glean tools for the tools and managed toolsets you can add to a server
• Write action approval for MCP servers to choose how users approve write actions through run_tool
• Configure agents as tools to add custom capabilities to your servers
• Review MCP server best practices for optimal configuration
• Share the end-user guide with your team