Connecting to MCP servers and using MCP tools in action flows (EAP)

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets admins connect Zendesk to external MCP servers, discover the tools those servers provide, and use those tools as steps in action flows. This extends your Zendesk workflows to interact with third-party systems—such as project management tools, e-commerce platforms, or internal knowledge systems—without building custom API integrations.


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access and accept the EAP terms.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets admins connect Zendesk to external MCP servers,
discover the tools those servers provide, and use those tools as steps in action flows.
This extends your Zendesk workflows to interact with third-party systems—such as project
management tools, e-commerce platforms, or internal knowledge systems—without building
custom API integrations.
MCP connections are created and managed in Admin Center. After you create a connection,
Zendesk retrieves the available MCP tools from that server and displays them in the
action builder so you can use them in action flows and, optionally, surface those flows
to agents through auto assist.
This article contains the following topics:

Considerations for using the MCP tools
Creating an MCP server connection
Using MCP tools in action flows



Considerations for using the MCP tools

Before you begin, keep the following in mind:

Authentication
OAuth is the only supported authentication method for MCP server
connections. Only HTTP servers are supported. Stdio transport is not
supported.


Data residency and retention
External MCP connections may transmit data outside your selected
region.
Step execution outputs are retained for seven days.


Action credits
During the EAP, MCP tool actions won't consume action credits. However, when
the MCP actions become generally available, they will consume action
credits.


Connection and tool limits
There are no limits to the number of MCP servers you can connect to your
Zendesk account.
Action builder can only expose the first page of tools returned by an
MCP server for use in action flows.
During the EAP, there is no way to re-discover or refresh the list of an
MCP server's tools. To reflect tool changes in action builder, you must
delete the MCP server connection and recreate it.
Note: When you delete an MCP server connection, any
action flows that use tools from the server stop working. To fix
them, you must replace any MCP tool actions associated with the
deleted server within the action flow.







Creating an MCP server connection

Admins can add MCP server connections. Connected MCP servers appear on the MCP
connections page in Admin Center. When a server is connected, Zendesk automatically
discovers the tools exposed by the MCP server and makes the first page of identified
tools available for use in action flows.

To create an MCP server connection

In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > MCP
connections. You must be a Zendesk admin to create an MCP server connection.
Click Create MCP connection.
Under Basics, enter the connection's Name and
Description.
Click Next.
In MCP server, enter the URL of your MCP server.
Click Test URL to validate the connection to the MCP server.
If prompted, enter the Client ID and Client Secret for the MCP server.
When prompted, use the MCP server's authentication popup to complete the
OAuth authentication flow for the external service. If your MCP server requires you to create an OAuth app in an external service, such as Github or HubSpot, when prompted for a Redirect or Callback URL, enter https://zis.zendesk.com/api/services/zis/connections/oauth/callback.

Click Save.




Examples of MCP servers

Here are some examples of MCP servers you can connect to. Many other vendors
provide MCP servers, and you can also connect to your own organization's MCP
server.

Asana

MCP server URL:
https://mcp.asana.com/v2/mcp


Client details: Follow the directions at Create your OAuth app to
generate a Client ID and Secret.



Stripe

MCP server URL:
https://mcp.stripe.com


Client details: Not required. The Client ID and Secret will be
detected automatically when you test the connection.



GitHub

MCP server URL:
https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/


Client details: Follow the directions at Creating an OAuth app to
generate a Client ID and Secret.






Using MCP tools in action flows

After you create an MCP server connection, the discovered tools are available for use
in the action builder. MCP connectors are considered external actions and are
identified by the connection name you provided and an MCP tag. For more information
about action flows, see Understanding the action builder and action
flows.
When the action flow runs, Zendesk calls the selected MCP tool on the external server
using your configured inputs, then returns the tool’s output so you can use it in
later steps.
MCP servers aren’t required to define an output schema. If no output schema is
provided and the output is an object or array, it converts to a string. If needed,
use custom code steps in action flows to
transform it into another form, such as an object.
To add an MCP tool as a step in an action flow

Open the action builder and create or edit an action flow.
In the action builder, beneath an existing step, click the Add step icon
( ).
In the step sidebar, under External actions, click the menu options to
select the connected MCP server and then the specific action.
In the step sidebar, enter the required inputs for the selected action. See
Providing inputs for actions and
steps.


Note: Defining an output schema is optional for MCP servers. If no
output schema is defined and the tool returns an object, you can reference the
entire object as a variable in subsequent steps, but you cannot select individual
key-value pairs from within it. To extract specific key-value pairs, use a custom code step. For a step-by-step
guide, see Using custom code to process objects output from
MCP actions




Troubleshooting



Servers with restricted access: Zendesk does not support servers that
restrict access by client during the EAP. However, in some cases you may be able
to ask the MCP server owner to add the Zendesk MCP client to their allowlist. In
that case, the server owner may ask for the following details:

Zendesk IP ranges for your account:
https://yoursubdomain.zendesk.com/ips

Zendesk MCP client redirect URL: https://zis.zendesk.com/api/services/zis/connections/oauth/callback




PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange): MCP servers that use PKCE with the
S256 challenge method are supported. Servers that only support the plain
challenge method are not supported for security reasons.

Execution timeout and rate limits: MCP tool calls are subject to a
30-second timeout. Long-running tool operations may time out before completing.
For rate limits, see Considerations for using action
flows.

Authentication: MCP servers that require no authentication aren't
supported. Zendesk's MCP client supports servers that implement OAuth 2.0 with
auto-discovery using the standard well-known endpoints. To troubleshoot
authentication issues with public MCP servers or set up your own
organization's MCP server, try the following:


Initiate the handshake. When the MCP client first attempts to
connect, the server responds with 401 Unauthorized
and includes a reference to a Protected Resource Metadata document
in the WWW-Authenticate
header. HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
WWW-Authenticate: Bearer realm="mcp",
resource_metadata="https://your-server.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource"

This
tells the client that authorization is required and where to
retrieve the information needed to begin the authorization
flow.


Discover the protected resource metadata. The client fetches
the Protected Resource Metadata document to learn about the
authorization server, supported scopes, and other resource
details.
Request:
https://your-mcp-server.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource

Example
response (200
OK):
{"resource":"https://your-mcp-server.com","authorization_servers":["https://your-auth-server.com"],"scopes_supported":["mcp:read","mcp:write"]}


Discover the authorization server. The client discovers the
authorization server's capabilities by fetching its
metadata.
Request: https://your-auth-server.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server

This
endpoint may be hosted on the same domain as the MCP server if your
OAuth server runs there.
Example response (200
OK):
{
"issuer": "https://your-auth-server.com",
"authorization_endpoint": "https://your-auth-server.com/oauth/authorize",
"token_endpoint": "https://your-auth-server.com/oauth/token",
"registration_endpoint": "https://your-auth-server.com/oauth/register",
"code_challenge_methods_supported": ["S256"],
"token_endpoint_auth_methods_supported": ["client_secret_basic", "none"],
"scopes_supported": ["mcp:read", "mcp:write"]
}


Register the client. Once discovery is complete, the client
must be registered with the authorization server using one of the
following methods:


Pre-registered client: The client is already registered
with the authorization server. You manually provide the client
details to complete the authorization flow when creating the MCP
connection.

Dynamic Client Registration (DCR): The client registers
itself dynamically with the authorization server. If the
authorization server supports DCR, the client sends a
registration request to the
registration_endpoint with its client
information.







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