Connect a Custom MCP

A Custom MCP connection lets type.com use tools from any service that offers a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. This includes MCP servers documented for Claude or ChatGPT that aren’t in the type.com catalog.

Before you start

You need:

• The MCP server URL from your service. It must be a publicly accessible HTTPS endpoint that uses Streamable HTTP.
• The access details the service requires: an OAuth sign-in, a bearer token, or a custom header name and secret. Some servers need none.

Only enter tokens and secrets in the connection form. Do not put them in Space instructions, skills, or messages.

Connect an MCP server

Add a Custom MCP connection from Connections in the sidebar. It isn’t available from Space settings → Connections. AI can also show a connection card in chat when it needs one.

1. Open Connections in the sidebar and select Add connection.
2. Search for Custom MCP and select it. It isn’t listed under Popular or any category, so search for it.
3. Enter a Connection name.
4. Paste the MCP server URL from your service.
5. Choose the Authentication method the service requires. The default is Bearer token.
6. Under Who can use this connection?, choose Team or Personal. On the Connections page, Team is selected first. In a chat connection card, Personal is selected first.
7. Complete the steps for your authentication method below.

You can’t change the connection name or the Team / Personal choice later. To change either, create a new connection.

After you connect, give the connection access in the Spaces that need it. See Space Connections.

Sign in with OAuth

1. Select OAuth under Authentication.
2. Leave Manual sign-in setup (optional) closed unless your service administrator gave you connection details.
3. Select Sign in.
4. Sign in to the service and approve the access you want to give type.com. In the web app this opens a pop-up window. In the desktop app it opens your default browser, then returns you to type.com. To stop, select Cancel sign-in.
5. Select Test connection.
6. Review the available tools.
7. Select Connect with these tools.

If the pop-up doesn’t open, allow pop-up windows for type.com, then select Sign in again.

type.com sets up sign-in automatically for services that support it. If it can’t, ask the service administrator for help with Manual sign-in setup (optional). They must register the exact Redirect URI shown in type.com and give you a Client ID and, if required, a Client secret (optional). The Redirect URI appears under Manual sign-in setup (optional) after you select Sign in.

Connect with a token or custom header

Use the access details your service requires:

• For Bearer token, enter the token in Token or secret.
• For Custom header, enter the Header name and the secret value in Token or secret.
• Select No authentication only if the server doesn’t require access details.

Then select Test connection, review the tools, and select Connect with these tools.

Connect Lightfield

Lightfield is a CRM with an official MCP server. In the catalog, Lightfield is a shortcut that fills in the Custom MCP form for you:

1. Open Connections in the sidebar, select Add connection, and search for Lightfield.
2. type.com fills in the name Lightfield, the server URL https://mcp.lightfield.app/mcp, and OAuth.
3. Choose Team or Personal, then follow Sign in with OAuth. Sign in with the Lightfield account you want type.com to use.

The result is a regular Custom MCP connection. You can also select Custom MCP and enter the same name, URL, and OAuth yourself.

Lightfield’s MCP guide lists these tools. Review the tools type.com shows before you connect, because they come from Lightfield’s server.

Tool	What it does
get_current_user	Reads your Lightfield user’s name, email, and role.
search_lightfield_api_docs	Finds available API endpoints and resources.
get_lightfield_api_details	Reads detailed documentation for an endpoint.
read_from_lightfield	Reads data from your Lightfield workspace.
write_to_lightfield	Creates or updates records, using your account’s Lightfield permissions.

write_to_lightfield can change CRM records. For read-only use, connect a Lightfield account whose permissions prevent writes. See Full and Read-only access.

Full and Read-only access

With Read-only access, AI can use only tools the server marks as read-only and not destructive. Tools the server doesn’t label are blocked, and so is Lightfield’s write_to_lightfield.

type.com applies this rule in automations, the type.com CLI, and the type.com MCP server. Don’t rely on it as the only safeguard, because it depends on how the server labels its tools. For data that must never change, also connect an account that has read-only permissions in the service itself.

Update a Custom MCP connection

Open the connection’s settings to change its server URL or access details. Select Refresh tools to test the connection and get the latest tools, review them, and select Save these tools.

• Leave Token or secret blank to keep the saved secret. Switching from OAuth to a token or header needs a new secret.
• For OAuth, changing the server URL means signing in again. Select Sign in again if needed.
• If you don’t manage the connection, ask someone who does to update it or refresh its tools.

Troubleshoot a Custom MCP connection

What you see	What to do
Asked to sign in again	type.com tries to renew expired access automatically. If that fails, open the connection and select Sign in again.
A message asks you to allow pop-up windows	Allow pop-up windows for type.com, then select Sign in again.
A message says the service offers more tools than are supported per connection	The server must offer 250 or fewer tools.
A message says the tools require background tasks	The server’s tools require MCP background tasks, which type.com doesn’t support.
”The tool “name” requires Full access to this connection. Ask someone who manages the connection for access.”	The connection is Read-only where you’re using it, and the server doesn’t mark that tool as read-only. Ask someone who manages the connection for Full access.
”The tool details changed. Get the latest tool list before you run the tool.”	The server’s tools changed since type.com last saved them. Select Refresh tools, review them, and select Save these tools.
Permission error	The account can’t perform the requested action, and signing in again might not fix it. Ask the service administrator to check the account’s permissions.
Action failed partway	The action might still have completed. Check the connected service before you retry, because a retry can repeat the action.

Technical details for administrators

Sign-in and registration

• type.com uses manually entered client credentials first. Otherwise, it tries a reusable saved registration, client metadata, then dynamic client registration (DCR).
• Automatic DCR supports public clients with PKCE and no client secret. It doesn’t support registration that requires existing credentials or creates a confidential client.
• A public client doesn’t mean public account data. Users must still sign in and approve account access.
• type.com reuses automatic registrations only when the authorization server, callback URL, and requested permissions match.
• type.com uses the first authorization server advertised by the MCP server. There is no server-selection control.
• Sign-in attempts and connection reviews expire after ten minutes. Start the affected step again if it expires.
• type.com doesn’t automatically request additional OAuth permissions after a permission error.

Supported features

• type.com rejects redirects and private network addresses. Use the direct public HTTPS endpoint. Legacy SSE discovery isn’t supported.
• type.com supports MCP tools, but not MCP background tasks, prompts, resources, or server requests for sampling or elicitation. A server whose tools require background tasks fails the connection test.
• Tool results include text and structured content. Images and resource links are dropped.
• Before each call, type.com checks the server’s tool definitions against the saved list. If they changed, the call fails until the tools are refreshed. Listing the server’s tools again can save the new list without a separate review. This check can’t prove that the service’s behavior is safe or unchanged.

Limits

Limit	Value
Tools per connection	100
Discovery pages	101
Incoming data per operation, including initialization, discovery, and results	2 MiB
Tool description	4,000 characters
Tool schema	64 KiB, 24 levels, 5,000 nodes
Tool input	64 KiB
Initialization and each discovery request	10-second timeout
Complete operation	30-second deadline
Rate per workspace	Bursts of 10 operations, recovering 1 per second

Frequently asked questions

Can I add a Custom MCP connection from a Space?
No. Add it from Connections in the sidebar, then give the Space access to it.

Can I switch a Custom MCP connection between Personal and Team?
No. Create a new connection and choose the other type.

Does Read-only stop changes in the connected service?
Not on its own. See Full and Read-only access.

Do I need a separate connection for Lightfield?
Lightfield connects as a Custom MCP connection. Use the Lightfield catalog shortcut or enter its server URL in Custom MCP.