How MCP Connections Work

Two connection types

Chase Agents supports two types of connections: API connections and MCP server connections. Both types give your agents and automations access to external services, but they work differently.

API connections

An API connection is a direct link to a REST API. You provide the base URL and credentials, and Chase Agents makes HTTP requests on your behalf using call_api_endpoint steps. API connections are the right choice for services that expose a standard REST interface.

MCP server connections

An MCP server connection links to a service that exposes tools via the Model Context Protocol. Instead of crafting raw HTTP requests, your steps call named tools with typed arguments using the use_mcp_tool step type. MCP servers define their own tool schemas, so Chase Agents can discover exactly what tools are available and how to invoke them.

How credentials work

When you add credentials to a connection, each credential is stored encrypted in the Chase Agents vault and assigned a variable name you choose. Automation steps reference that credential using the variable name wrapped in dollar-sign curly braces. At runtime the system replaces the reference with the actual credential value before making the request. Your automation logic — and the AI building that automation — never sees the raw credential value.

How connections are discovered

When building an automation, the AI first calls list_connections to see all available connections in the workspace. For API connections it reads full documentation and authentication details using read_resource. For MCP servers it reads all available tools and their input schemas. This discovery step ensures the AI uses the correct connection names and credential references in every step it writes.

Workspace-level access

Connections can be scoped to an individual user (Personal), shared with the entire workspace (Workspace Wide), or shared with specific team members. This lets you keep personal credentials private while sharing production API access across the team. All Workspace Wide connections are available to every member who builds automations or chats with agents.