Agentic Data Plane

Use an MCP Server from an AI Client

Add a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that your organization runs in Agentic Data Plane to the AI client you already use, so its tools appear in your conversations with Redpanda governing every call. The server’s Connection tab generates the setup for your client, and the same sign-in works whether the client is a desktop app, an IDE, or a terminal tool.

After reading this page, you will be able to:

  • Add an MCP server to your AI client from the server’s Connection tab

  • Complete the sign-in and connect your account to the upstream system when a server requires it

  • Confirm the connection and clear the common sign-in blockers

If you administer the gateway and need to register OAuth clients, allow clients to register themselves, or accept client metadata documents, see Connect Remote MCP Clients. This page covers what you do after that setup is in place.

Prerequisites

  • An MCP server in Agentic Data Plane that you can open. If the server isn’t listed for you, ask your administrator for access. See Manage Access Policies.

  • One of the supported AI clients, installed and signed in with its own account: Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Visual Studio Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, Zed, Windsurf, Antigravity, OpenCode, Cline, Warp, or Pi with the community MCP adapter.

  • An account with the upstream system the server connects to, when the server uses user-delegated OAuth. See Connect your account to the upstream system.

Open the install guide

  1. Open MCP Servers in the sidebar and select the server.

  2. Open the Connection tab.

  3. In the Install in an AI client card, choose your client from the AI client list. The list opens on Claude Code. The Recommended group holds the clients with the most direct setup, and More clients holds the rest.

The card rewrites itself for the client you pick. It links to that client’s own MCP documentation, then walks through adding the server, signing in, and checking the result, with this server’s URL and name already filled in. Copy from the card rather than typing.

Add the server to your client

How you add the server depends on the client:

  • One-click install: Visual Studio Code shows an Add to VS Code button. Cursor shows an Add to Cursor button when the gateway lets clients register themselves. Click the button, and the client opens with the server ready to add.

  • Command-line install: Claude Code and Codex CLI show a command that adds the server. Copy it into a terminal. Where a Manual tab appears, it holds the equivalent configuration-file entry for anyone who prefers to edit the file or script the setup.

  • Configuration file: Cursor, Visual Studio Code, Windsurf, Antigravity, OpenCode, Cline, Zed, and Pi show a configuration block and the path of the file it belongs in. Add the block to that file. Pi also needs its community MCP adapter installed first, and the card shows that command.

  • In the app: Claude, ChatGPT, and Warp take the server URL through their own settings. The card names the setting to open and shows the URL to paste.

The card also tells you, before you start, how sign-in works for your client:

What the card says What it means for you

Your client can register an OAuth client dynamically, with no OAuth client pre-registration or token needed

Add the server and complete the browser sign-in. You don’t need to configure anything else.

Initial access token required

Your administrator gates self-registration behind a one-time token. Ask them for one and enter it when the client prompts for it.

Register the Claude, Cursor, or Visual Studio Code OAuth client, then configure the client with that client ID

Your administrator registers that client in Agentic Data Plane first. The configuration the card generates already carries the client ID. For Claude, the card tells you where to enter the client ID and client secret.

Sign-in may not complete yet

Your client isn’t one of the pre-registered clients, and self-registration is off for this gateway. Ask your administrator to turn on self-registration or to register a custom OAuth client for your client.

Sign in

The first time the client connects, it opens your browser at the Agentic Data Plane sign-in page. Sign in with your Redpanda account and approve access. The approval screen names the client that is asking, the MCP server it reaches, and the permissions it requests. You approve once per client. The client stores a token and refreshes it on its own. For the full sequence, see The OAuth flow.

Clients differ in how they start this step:

  • Claude, ChatGPT, Visual Studio Code, Windsurf, Zed, and Warp open the browser on first use.

  • Claude Code, Cursor’s agent CLI, Codex CLI, and OpenCode each have a login command that takes the server name, and Pi uses a slash command inside the session. The card shows the exact command.

  • Antigravity and Cline start sign-in only when you select Authenticate in their MCP settings. The card notes where.

Some clients add their own prompts on top of this sign-in, such as asking whether to allow a tool the first time the server offers it. Those prompts belong to the client and don’t involve Agentic Data Plane.

Connect your account to the upstream system

If the server uses user-delegated OAuth, it acts as you against the upstream system, so it needs your permission there as well. The first tool call that requires it returns a link instead of a result. Open the link, approve access at the upstream system, and run the tool again.

You can also connect ahead of time. Open Connections in the sidebar, select the provider, and click Connect. The same page shows the status of each connection and lets you reconnect or disconnect. See Configure User-Delegated OAuth.

A server that uses a service account instead of user-delegated OAuth skips this step. The gateway calls the upstream system with one shared identity.

Verify the connection

  • In a terminal client, run the check command the card shows, such as a list command that reports the server as connected.

  • In a desktop or IDE client, open its list of tools or connectors. The server’s tools appear under the server name, and a prompt that needs one of them runs.

  • In Agentic Data Plane, open the server’s Inspector tab to confirm that the server lists tools. If the Inspector shows none, the problem is on the server, not in your client. See Test an MCP Server’s Tools with the Inspector.

Troubleshooting

Symptom What to check

The card warns that sign-in may not complete, but your administrator says self-registration is on

The page could not read the gateway’s self-registration settings for your session, for example because your account lacks permission to view them, so it fell back to the guidance for a pre-registered client. Try the sign-in anyway. If it fails, ask your administrator to check your access.

The browser never opens

For a terminal client, run the login command the card shows. For Antigravity or Cline, start authentication from the client’s MCP settings. For Cursor or Claude Code without self-registration, confirm that the client ID and secret in the generated configuration match the OAuth client your administrator registered.

Sign-in fails with a redirect error

The client’s callback address isn’t registered on the OAuth client your administrator created. Send them the error. The fix is on their side. See Troubleshooting on the administrator page.

Connected, but no tools appear

Open the server’s Inspector tab. If it lists no tools either, the server has none or failed to discover them.

A tool call returns a link instead of a result

The server needs your account at the upstream system. Open the link, approve, and retry. See Connect your account to the upstream system.

Every call fails with 401 after working before

Your token expired and the client couldn’t refresh it, or your administrator revoked tokens or replaced the OAuth client. Remove the server from the client and add it again.

Next steps