# Custom MCP servers & APIs

> Connect anything the directory doesn't list: an external MCP server whose tools join the runner, or a raw HTTP API fenced to its host.

When the product you need isn't in the [directory](/docs/integrations/overview), the Connections tab has a "**Something we don't list yet**" path with two options.

## Connect an MCP server

Give it a name, the server URL, and an auth header. OpenAgent speaks the MCP protocol as a client: it initializes, lists the server's tools, and folds them into the [back office's](/docs/backoffice/overview) toolset. Tools the server marks read-only run freely; the rest pause for [approval](/docs/backoffice/runs-approvals) like any write.

```text
Name:    Internal ops server
URL:     https://mcp.yourcompany.com/mcp
Header:  Authorization: Bearer <token>
→ its tools appear in back-office runs alongside the directory's
```

## Connect a raw API

For a plain HTTP API: name it, set the base URL and auth header, and the back office gets a request action for it — **fenced to that host**. The AI can compose calls against your API, and only your API; the credential can't be steered anywhere else.

## The other direction

This page is about plugging *other systems into OpenAgent*. For pointing an external AI at OpenAgent itself — Claude or Cursor running your whole front office — see the [hosted MCP server](/docs/mcp/overview).