# Integrate via MCP

Your employees are MCP-compatible servers. Any tool that supports the Model Context Protocol (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, ChatGPT, or your own agents) can talk to your employees directly.

## TL;DR

Generate an API key in Settings, Communications. Paste the config into your MCP client. Your employees show up as a `chat` tool. Send any prompt to any employee by ID.

## When to Use This

Use this when you want your AI coding tools (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, ChatGPT) to delegate work to your employees natively. Instead of copy-pasting between tools, your AI assistant calls your employees directly as a tool.

**API vs MCP Server:** The API is for your code calling employees. The MCP Server is for your AI tools calling employees natively, no code required.

> To connect your employees TO external MCP servers as tools, see Add Tools via MCP in the Tools and Capabilities section.

## How It Works

Your platform runs an MCP server at a single endpoint. External tools connect to it and discover a `chat` tool. When they call it, the message goes through the same execution pipeline as web chat: same skills, same memory, same tools, same billing.

- **One endpoint.** All employees accessible through one connection
- **One tool.** `chat(prompt, employee_id)` sends a message and returns the response
- **Same execution.** MCP messages run through the Dispatcher and execution pipeline, identical to every other channel
- **Same billing.** Credits are tracked and charged the same way

## Enable the Channel

The MCP channel is disabled by default. Enable it before connecting:

1. Go to **Settings, Technical, Communications**
2. Find **MCP Server** under the Inbound channels
3. Toggle it on

## Setup

### 1. Get Your API Key

1. Go to **Settings, Communications**
2. Expand the **Programmatic** group
3. Expand any channel card (MCP Server, API Access, etc.)
4. Click **"New Key"**, give it a name (e.g., "My Claude Desktop"), hit Enter
5. **Copy the key from the green banner.** It will not be shown again

You can create multiple keys, one per tool or environment. Keys are shared across all programmatic channels.

### 2. Connect Your Tool

Copy the config from the Quick Setup block on the MCP Server card, or use the examples below. Replace `<your-api-key>` with the key you copied.

### Claude Desktop

Add to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ai-employee": {
      "url": "https://api-sistava.com/api/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Restart Claude Desktop. Your employees appear as the `chat` tool.

### Claude Code

Run in your terminal:

```bash
claude mcp add ai-employee \
  --transport http \
  --url https://api-sistava.com/api/mcp/ \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>"
```

Claude Code will discover the `chat` tool automatically.

### Cursor

Add to your `.cursor/mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ai-employee": {
      "url": "https://api-sistava.com/api/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Restart Cursor. The `chat` tool appears in Cursor's MCP tools.

### Windsurf

Add to your Windsurf MCP config (`~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ai-employee": {
      "serverUrl": "https://api-sistava.com/api/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### ChatGPT

ChatGPT supports MCP connections in its desktop app. Add a new MCP server:

- **URL**: `https://api-sistava.com/api/mcp/`
- **Authentication**: Bearer token. Paste your API key

Your employees will show up as available tools in ChatGPT.

### Any MCP Client

The server uses **Streamable HTTP** transport (the modern MCP standard). Any client that supports MCP over HTTP can connect:

- **Endpoint**: `https://api-sistava.com/api/mcp/`
- **Auth**: `Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>` header
- **Transport**: Streamable HTTP (JSON-RPC)

## Using the Chat Tool

Once connected, your MCP client discovers one tool:

**`chat`** sends a message to any employee.

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|-----------|------|-------------|
| `prompt` | string | The message to send |
| `employee_id` | UUID string | Which employee to talk to |

The employee processes your message the same way they would in the web app, using their skills, duties, tools, and memory. The response is returned as text.

### Talk to a Team Leader

Send a prompt to a team leader's `employee_id` and they will delegate to their team members as needed. Same behavior as team chat in the web app.

## Managing Keys

| Action | How |
|--------|-----|
| **Create** | Any channel card, "New Key", name it, copy from green banner |
| **Rename** | Click the key name, type new name, Enter |
| **Revoke** | Hover over key row, trash icon, confirm with red "Revoke" button |
| **View** | Only the prefix is visible after creation (e.g., `sk-abc123...`) |

Revoking a key immediately blocks all connections using it across every channel.

## What Shows Up

MCP interactions appear everywhere other channels do:

- **Activity feed.** Shows as MCP channel
- **Chat history.** Messages appear in the employee's conversation
- **Credit usage.** Tracked and billed normally
- **Work journal.** Employee logs MCP work like any other

## Troubleshooting

- **Tool not appearing in your MCP client.** Verify the URL is exactly `https://api-sistava.com/api/mcp/` (trailing slash matters). Restart the client after adding the config. Make sure the MCP channel is enabled in Settings, Technical, Communications.
- **Auth errors.** Make sure the key is in the format `Bearer sk-...` in the headers. Some clients have a separate "auth" field; others require the full header object.
- **"Unsupported transport" error.** Your MCP client must support Streamable HTTP transport. Older clients that only support stdio or SSE will not work.
- **Timeout on long tasks.** The MCP call blocks until the employee responds (up to 5 minutes). For very long tasks, consider breaking the work into smaller prompts.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Do I need a separate API key for MCP?**
A: No. API keys are shared across all programmatic channels. The same key works for MCP, REST API, A2A, Webhooks, and Email.

**Q: Can I connect multiple MCP clients with the same key?**
A: Yes. A single key can be used in Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other tools simultaneously.

**Q: Can I talk to different employees from the same MCP connection?**
A: Yes. The `chat` tool takes an `employee_id` parameter. Pass a different ID to reach a different employee.

**Q: How is this different from connecting my employee TO an MCP server?**
A: This page covers inbound MCP (external tools talk to your employees). Connecting an employee to an MCP server is an outbound tool, letting the employee use external capabilities. See Add Tools via MCP in the Tools and Capabilities section.

**Q: What happens if the MCP channel is not enabled?**
A: The tool will return an error asking you to enable it in Settings, Technical, Communications.