Apps (MCP Servers)
Connect outside apps to your agents over the Model Context Protocol (MCP): the Apps screen, its catalogue, and how their tools are trusted.
SynapseOrch implements MCP as both a client (connecting to external MCP servers) and a server (the native tools run as MCP servers internally).
The screens, step by step: Tools, in the Guides.
What MCP gives you
By connecting MCP servers, agents gain access to third-party systems. The Apps screen has presets for:
- GitHub Copilot — GitHub's MCP server: issues, pull requests, repositories
- Slack and Notion
- Jira — tickets, status, projects
- Zapier — trigger Zapier workflows
- Figma — design files and components
- Vercel — projects and deployments
- Fetch — fetch web pages
- Git — a local server for a repository on your machine
- Any other MCP-compatible server — the protocol is open
How it works
- You add an MCP server (a name, its type, and how to reach it). It is saved, then connected.
- SynapseOrch connects to the server and loads its tool list.
- You enable the tools you want on each agent in its Tools section — or give the agent an
alltool list. Connecting a server does not hand its tools to every agent. - The agent calls a tool → SynapseOrch routes it to the MCP server → the result comes back.
Tool Policy applies to MCP tools like any other. Each of a server's tools shows what it declares — Changes, Deletes, Reaches outside, or Says it only reads — read-only, since it is the server's claim. A server's own description of a tool is believed when it says the tool is destructive, but not when it says the tool is read-only — that claim is treated as undeclared. The tool list follows what runs see: each run's connection refreshes it.
Tool naming
Tools from external MCP servers are prefixed with the server's Unique ID: {unique_id}__{tool_name}. They are reachable only by that prefixed name, so an MCP server can never take over the name of a built-in tool.
For example, a GitHub server added with the Unique ID github has tools named github__create_issue, github__list_issues and so on. The presets use their own IDs — the GitHub Copilot preset's is Github, so its tools are Github__….
Two server types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Local (stdio) | A process on the SynapseOrch server, communicating over stdin/stdout |
| Remote (URL) | A server reached over HTTP, with OAuth or a bearer token |
Managing MCP servers
Self-hosted, open Apps in the menu. Servers you have added are listed under Connected Servers, with a status — Connected, Connecting, Re-Auth or Disconnected — that refreshes every 30 seconds. Refresh at the top checks them now. (On Cloud, see Remote servers on Cloud.)
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Connect Server | Save and connect the server described under Connect a server, below the list |
| Retry connection | Shown on a disconnected server |
| Re-authenticate | Shown on a remote server whose OAuth sign-in has lapsed |
| Force reconnect | Shown on hover on an active server — refreshes a stale session |
| Remove (trash icon) | Disconnect the server and delete its configuration and any stored OAuth tokens |
Servers are stored in SynapseOrch's database. To move them to another instance, use Import & Export.
MCP vs Custom Tools
| MCP Server | Custom Tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Protocol | MCP standard | HTTP (REST) or Python |
| Setup | Config + connection | Define schema + endpoint/code |
| Discovery | Auto (server announces tools) | You define the schema, or import it from an OpenAPI spec |
| Best for | Third-party integrations | Your own internal APIs |