MCP
Connect other apps and data to Multilo with MCP servers: add a server by URL or command, choose where it's available, use it in chat, and keep it safe.
MCP servers let Multilo’s assistant use tools and data from other apps — a reference service, a notes app, a lab database, or your own scripts. Once a server is connected, you ask in chat and the agent can look things up or act there for you, without you copying data back and forth.
A power-user feature
An MCP server can read and act on your data on your behalf. Add only servers from sources you trust.What is MCP?
MCP (the Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that many apps use to offer their tools and data to AI assistants. A service that supports MCP runs an MCP server; Multilo connects to it, and the agent can then use what that server offers:
- Tools — actions the agent can take, such as searching a database or saving a note;
- Prompts — ready-made prompts the server provides;
- Questions — a server can ask you for a choice or a detail during a task.
Two kinds of server
| Kind | Where it runs | You add it with | Sign-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web service | On the service’s own servers | The address (URL) the service gives you | If the service needs it, a sign-in page opens in your browser |
| Program on your computer | On your computer | The command that starts it | Usually none |
Add an MCP server
Open the server list
In the chat box, open the + menu, choose Connectors, then MCP servers → Add server.Enter the address or the command
For a web service, paste the URL it provides. For a program on your computer, enter the command that starts it.Choose where it's available
Pick All projects or This project only. See below.Approve it
A server must be approved before it runs. Check what it is, then approve it.Sign in if asked
If the web service needs an account, a sign-in page opens in your browser. Sign in there, and you’re connected.
Choose where it’s available
| Scope | What it means | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| All projects | The server is available wherever you work | Tools you use everywhere, like your notes app |
| This project only | The server is saved with the project, so it travels with it | Tools for one piece of work, like a lab’s database |
A project-only server reaches a co-author who opens the project, but it runs on their computer only after they trust the project folder and approve it themselves.
Use MCP in chat
You don’t call MCP tools by name. Ask for the outcome, and the agent uses a connected server when it helps:
- “Find my notes from the March lab meeting and summarize the decisions.”
- “Look up sample 42 in the lab database and add its values to the Results table.”
A server can also ask you a question while a task runs — answer it in the chat. For how approvals, modes, and rules work in Multilo, see permission modes and permissions.
Manage your servers
- Turn a server off at any time.
- Sign out of a web service when you no longer want Multilo connected to your account there.
- Review now and then which servers are on, and turn off the ones you don’t use.
Trust and security
- Approval first. No server runs until you approve it.
- Trusted folders only. A project’s own servers run only after you trust the project folder. A project you opened from somewhere else starts in Restricted Mode, with its servers off.
- No borrowed approvals. A project can’t reuse an approval you gave for another location.
- Least access. Give a server only the account access it needs, and prefer This project only for tools tied to one piece of work.
See security for how Multilo protects your work more broadly.
MCP, extensions, or skills?
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| The agent to use another app’s tools or data | An MCP server |
| A new editor, viewer, command, or panel in Multilo | An extension |
| To teach the AI reusable know-how, like a style guide | A skill |
| A tool Multilo already connects to, like Zotero or Word | A built-in integration |
Troubleshoot
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| The agent never uses the server | Check it’s approved and turned on, then ask in a way that names what you need from that app. |
| A project’s server doesn’t run | The project folder may not be trusted yet. Choose Trust This Folder, then approve the server. |
| A web service keeps asking you to sign in | Sign out of the service, then sign in again. |
| A program-on-your-computer server won’t start | Check the command is right and the program is installed on this computer. |