Connect MCP servers

An MCP server is a box of extra tools that someone else built: one talks to your issue tracker, another to your database, another to your design files. Think of Pando as a workbench with a power strip, and of each MCP server as something you plug into it. At the end of this guide you will have one plugged in and working.

You need Pando open in the Web UI (the desktop app is the same interface) and the details of the server you want to add: either the command that starts it or its web address.

Open the MCP servers screen

Go to Settings > MCP Servers. The first time the list is empty.

Press Add Server.

Add a server that runs on your machine

Many servers are small programs that Pando starts for you. For these, leave Type on stdio.

Name: a short name you will recognise, such as files.
Command: the program to run, exactly as the server’s instructions say. For example npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem.
Arguments: anything that goes after the command, written as you would in a terminal.
Environment variables: if the server needs a key or a setting, type its name on the left, its value on the right, and press Add.
Press Save.

Add MCP Server dialog for a program on your machine

Add a server that lives on the internet

Other servers are already running somewhere and you only need their address. Set Type to SSE or Streamable HTTP; the server’s instructions say which one.

Name: again, something short.
URL: the address they gave you.
Headers: only if the instructions ask for one.
Leave Auth Type on None for now and press Save.

Add MCP Server dialog for a server on the network

Sign in, if the server asks for it

A server on the internet usually wants to know who you are, the way a building asks for a badge at the door. Open the server again and pick the kind of badge in Auth Type:

Pick	When	What you fill in
Bearer token	They gave you an API key. The most common case	The key
Basic (username/password)	They gave you a user and a password	Both
Custom header	The key must travel in a header with its own name	The header name and the key
OAuth 2.1 (authorization code)	You sign in through the browser, like “Sign in with…” on a website	Usually nothing: leave Client ID empty unless they gave you one

Save. For the first three, that is all.

For OAuth, there is one more move the first time: open a terminal and run

pando mcp login my-server

Your browser opens, you approve, and Pando keeps the pass for next time. You do this once per server.

Use its tools

Open Chat and ask for something the new server can do, in plain words: “list the open issues assigned to me”, “what tables does the sales database have?”. You do not name the tool. Pando sees what is plugged in and picks it.

The first time a tool wants to do something, Pando asks your permission, as it does for any action.

Keep your favourites close

Go to Settings > MCP Gateway. With Enable MCP Gateway on, Pando notices which tools you really use and keeps those within easy reach, the way you leave your favourite screwdriver on the bench instead of in the drawer.

The defaults are sensible: a tool becomes a favourite after 3 uses in 7 days, there are 10 favourites at most, and one you have not touched for 30 days steps down. Change the numbers only if you plug in many servers.

Check it works

In Settings > MCP Servers the server is in the list.
In a chat, ask “which tools do you have from my-server?”. Pando names them.
Ask for something real and watch the tool run in the conversation.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What to do
The server is in the list but Pando never uses it	Check Command by running it yourself in a terminal. If it fails there, it fails for Pando too
“MCP server requires authorization” in the chat	Run `pando mcp login <name>` in a terminal. Pando notices and tries again by itself
The browser sign-in never finishes	Something is blocking local port 19876. Try `pando mcp login <name> --no-browser` and open the link yourself
A company server rejects the connection	It probably wants a certificate. See company certificates
The key stopped working	Open the server, paste the new key, Save

Prefer the terminal?

Everything above can be written in .pando.toml:

[MCPServers.files]
Type    = 'stdio'
Command = 'npx'
Args    = ['@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem', '.']

[MCPServers.tracker]
Type = 'streamable-http'
URL  = 'https://mcp.example.com/mcp'

[MCPServers.tracker.Auth]
Type  = 'bearer'
Token = 'your-api-key'

And these commands tell you how each server is doing:

pando mcp list
pando mcp status tracker
pando mcp logout tracker

In the terminal interface, the same screen is under Settings (Ctrl+G) > MCP Servers.

The full list of options, including company certificates, is in the MCP reference. To do it the other way round and offer Pando’s own tools to another program, see MCP Server.