Custom MCP servers in Replit

Quick Overview

Replit Agent supports connecting to custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, enabling users to integrate private or self-hosted context sources like the demonstrated "Context Awesome" server or the Amplitude MCP server, which requires OAuth authorization, by adding the server details in the Integrations settings.

Key Points: Replit Agent now supports connecting to custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers via the Integrations page by clicking "Add Custom MCP". A self-hosted example, "Context Awesome," which provides access to over 8,500 curated lists, is configured using its URL and API key authentication. The process for custom MCP servers involves adding a Display Name and the MCP Server URL, followed by testing and saving. For OAuth-based servers, like the Amplitude MCP server shown, the connection process requires authorization via a pop-up window after clicking "Authorize with OAuth". Once connected, the custom MCP server appears in the list alongside built-in options like Figma MCP and is immediately available for use by the Replit Agent. The agent successfully utilized the custom "Awesome List" MCP integration to find curated resources for technical writing upon request (01:39).

Context: This video tutorial demonstrates how to extend the capabilities of the Replit Agent by integrating custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers beyond the pre-configured options like Figma. MCP servers provide external context, data, or resources to the AI agent to improve its responses, and Replit now allows users to connect their own private or third-party MCP endpoints, which can use either API key authentication or OAuth.

Detailed Analysis

The video walks through adding custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to Replit Agent via the Integrations settings page (00:01). The presenter first shows the existing integrations list, which includes services like Outlook, Zendesk, and GitHub providers. The key feature demonstrated is the ability to add custom MCP servers by clicking the "+ Add Custom MCP" button (00:23). The presenter first uses a publicly available example called "Context Awesome," a hosted MCP server providing access to over 8,500 curated lists, by inputting its URL and configuring it as an API key authenticated server (00:37-00:57). After adding and testing the connection, this server appears in the list (01:13). Next, the presenter demonstrates connecting an OAuth-required server, specifically the Amplitude MCP server, which is used for data analysis context (02:33). This requires clicking "Authorize with OAuth," which triggers a browser pop-up prompting the user to authorize Replit's MCP Connector to access their Amplitude account (02:41-02:48). Upon successful authorization, the Amplitude server is added to the active list (02:51). Finally, the presenter confirms that the Replit Agent can immediately use these newly added custom servers, showing the agent successfully querying the custom "Awesome List" MCP for resources on technical writing (01:39-01:48). The presenter concludes by mentioning that deploying your own custom MCP server with OAuth authentication from within Replit is coming soon.