External MCP Servers

Connect external MCP servers to PlayerZero so AI agents can access third-party tools and data sources during investigations.

PlayerZero can connect to any remote MCP-compatible server, extending what AI agents can access during Player sessions. This lets you bring in data from observability platforms, log providers, internal tools, and any other service that exposes an MCP server.

What Remote MCP Servers Enable

• Extend agent capabilities — Give AI agents access to tools and data beyond your codebase, like monitoring dashboards, log search, or internal APIs
• Auto-discover tools — PlayerZero automatically detects available tools from the connected MCP server. No manual configuration of individual tools is required.
• Scoped access — Control which PlayerZero projects can use each connection
• Multiple connections — Connect as many MCP servers as you need, each with its own authentication and project scope

Public vs. Private MCP

There are two types of external MCP connections:

• Public MCP — The MCP server is managed and hosted by a third party (e.g., Datadog, Coralogix, Pylon). You connect to the provider’s endpoint directly; no infrastructure setup is required on your side.
• Private MCP — The MCP server is hosted by you (or within your infrastructure) and exposed externally so PlayerZero can reach it. This is common for internal tools, proprietary APIs, or custom-built MCP servers.

For private MCP servers, you may need to allowlist PlayerZero’s IP address. Contact support to request our IP address.

Requirements

The external MCP server must be remote and hosted — PlayerZero connects via SSE (Server-Sent Events) or Streamable HTTP transport. Local stdio-based MCP servers (like those used by desktop AI assistants) are not supported.

Example Use Cases

Use Case	MCP Server	Connection Type	What It Enables
Observability	Datadog	Public MCP	Query monitors, search logs, retrieve dashboards and traces
Log analysis	Coralogix	Public MCP	Search and analyze application logs during debugging
Support	Pylon	Public MCP	Access support conversations, tickets, and customer context
Internal tools	Custom MCP server	Private MCP	Access internal APIs, runbooks, or proprietary data sources

Setup

1. In PlayerZero, navigate to Settings → Context → MCP
2. Click New Connector
3. Fill in the connection details:
   • Name — A descriptive name for this connection (must be unique within your organization)
   • Description — Optional context about what this server provides
   • MCP Server URL — The remote MCP server endpoint (e.g., https://mcp.example.com/sse)
4. Under Project Access, choose which PlayerZero projects can use this connection:
   • All projects — Every project in your organization
   • Specific projects — Select individual projects
5. Under Authentication, choose the method that matches your MCP server:

Authentication Methods

Method	When to Use	What You Provide
Auth Token	Server requires a Bearer token	A single access token, sent as Authorization: Bearer <token>
OAuth	Server supports OAuth 2.0	Nothing for auto-registration — PlayerZero handles the OAuth flow automatically. For pre-configured OAuth, provide a client ID, client secret, and auth method. Optionally specify OAuth scopes — if left blank, PlayerZero uses the scopes advertised by the server.
No authentication	Server is publicly accessible or uses header-based auth only	Nothing

If the MCP server doesn’t support offline_access or requires specific scopes, use the OAuth Scopes field to provide them explicitly as a space-separated list (e.g., openid offline_access).

Custom Headers

Custom headers are a modifier that can be combined with any of the three authentication methods above. Use them when the MCP server requires API keys or custom headers — one or more key-value pairs sent with every request.

After selecting your authentication method, expand the Custom Headers section and add your key-value pairs. These headers are included in every request to the MCP server.

For Datadog, select No authentication and add two custom headers: DD-API-KEY and DD-APPLICATION-KEY. See the Datadog setup guide for step-by-step instructions.

6. Click Add

PlayerZero validates the connection by reaching out to the MCP server. If successful, tools from the server are automatically available in Player sessions for the selected projects.

If the connection fails, you’ll see an error message. Common issues:

• Authentication failed (401/403) — Verify your credentials are correct
• Connection timed out — Check that the MCP Server URL is correct and the server is reachable
• Could not resolve host — Verify the URL

Managing Connections

After setup, you can manage connections from the connection detail page:

• Edit name and description — Update the connection’s display name and description
• Edit project access — Add or remove projects that can use this connection
• Update server URL — Change the MCP server endpoint
• Change authentication — Switch authentication type or update credentials (token, OAuth, custom headers)
• Re-authorize OAuth — Re-run the OAuth flow with new credentials without recreating the connection
• Manage tools — Enable or disable individual tools from the connection
• Delete — Remove the connection entirely

Connection editing is split into two dialogs: one for metadata (name, description, project access) and one for authorization settings (server URL, authentication, credentials). This lets you update metadata without re-authenticating.

Recommended Providers

When creating a new connection, the MCP settings page shows a curated catalog of popular providers (including Datadog, Coralogix, and others). Selecting a recommended provider pre-fills connection settings like the MCP server URL and authentication hints, making setup faster.

Manage Available Tools

By default, all tools discovered from an MCP server are enabled. Editors and owners can disable specific tools to control what agents have access to.

1. Open the connection detail page
2. Click Manage in the Tools section
3. Use the search bar to filter tools by name or description
4. Uncheck tools you want to disable — disabled tools will not be available to agents
5. Use Select all or Deselect all for bulk changes
6. Click Save

Each tool shows its name and description. Tools that can modify data on the remote server are marked with a WRITE badge. Disabled tools display a DISABLED badge.

Tool changes apply to newly-created Player sessions only. Existing sessions continue to use the tool set that was active when they were created.

Viewers can see the list of enabled and disabled tools but cannot make changes.

Get Started

👉 Contact support