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Save artifacts to your Library with MCP

When an AI host such as Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT produces content like an HTML dashboard or a document, that output usually stays trapped in the host with no stable link and no way to share it. Glean's MCP artifact tools let you save that content to your Glean Library as an artifact, so it gets a stable URL, respects your permissions, and appears in search for the people you share it with.

How artifact tools work​

The Artifacts toolset adds three tools that a connected host can call on your behalf:

  • upload_artifact — saves content the host produced to your Library as a new artifact and returns a shareable link
  • update_artifact — saves a new version of an existing artifact at the same Library URL
  • share_artifact — grant people view access by email to an artifact you own

These tools save content the host already produced. They don't generate new content from a prompt. To generate images, see Generate images with MCP.

Prerequisites​

  • A host connected to a Glean MCP server — see Configure the Glean MCP server.
  • The Artifacts toolset on that server, which your admin adds when they create or edit an MCP server.
  • search and read_document enabled on the server so the host can find and read an artifact before it updates one. The default Glean MCP server includes both tools.
  • Chat Sharing enabled for your organization to use share_artifact.

Save content to your Library​

Ask the host to produce the content, then ask it to save the result to Glean. The host calls upload_artifact and returns the Library link.

Build an HTML status dashboard for the Q3 launch, then use Glean to save it to my Library
and give me the link.

The artifact is created in your Library with you as the owner. upload_artifact supports documents and interactive artifacts such as HTML.

Update an existing artifact​

Have the host read the current version immediately before it makes a change, so it preserves everything outside your requested edit. For a link that ends with /library/{artifact-id}, the artifact ID that update_artifact needs is the final segment.

Use Glean to read https://app.glean.com/library/{artifact-id}.
Add a "Risks" section at the end, keep everything else unchanged, and save it back to the same artifact.

The host calls read_document, makes the change, and passes the artifact ID and updated content to update_artifact. The update creates a new version at the same Library URL.

Preserve the current content

For documents and other text-based content, update_artifact replaces the full body. Ask the host to read the current version immediately before editing and preserve everything outside the requested change.

update_artifact rejects an update when someone saves another change after the tool reads the current version and before it saves yours. It doesn't compare against a version from an earlier read_document call, so it doesn't detect a change saved between those two calls.

Share an artifact​

When your organization enables Chat Sharing, ask the host to share an artifact you own. The host calls share_artifact to grant view access to the people you name by email.

Use Glean to share https://app.glean.com/library/{artifact-id} with taylor@example.com and jordan@example.com.

Permissions and sharing​

Your MCP connection uses your Glean identity and permissions:

  • search and read_document return only content you can view
  • upload_artifact saves new content to your Library, with you as the owner
  • update_artifact requires you to own the artifact
  • share_artifact requires you to own the artifact and grants view access by email when your organization enables sharing

An MCP host can't use these tools to bypass Glean permissions.

Troubleshoot artifacts​

See also​

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