data-cowork-plugin-mcp-discovery-and-connection

name	Data: Cowork plugin MCP discovery and connection
description	Reference guidance for finding MCP connectors during plugin customization, using search and suggestion tools, mapping categories to keywords, and writing .mcp.json entries
ccVersion	2.1.163
allowed-tools	Read Write Edit Bash
license	BSD-3-Clause license
metadata	{"skill-author":"Lord1Egypt"}

MCP Discovery and Connection

How to find and connect MCPs during plugin customization.

Available Tools

search_mcp_registry

Search the MCP directory for available connectors.

Input: { "keywords": ["array", "of", "search", "terms"] }

Output: Up to 10 results, each with:

• name: MCP display name
• description: One-liner description
• tools: List of tool names the MCP provides
• url: MCP endpoint URL (use this in .mcp.json)
• directoryUuid: UUID for use with suggest_connectors
• connected: Boolean - whether user has this MCP connected

suggest_connectors

Display Connect buttons to let users install/connect MCPs.

Input: { "directoryUuids": ["uuid1", "uuid2"] }

Output: Renders UI with Connect buttons for each MCP

Category-to-Keywords Mapping

Category	Search Keywords
project-management	["asana", "jira", "linear", "monday", "tasks"]
software-coding	["github", "gitlab", "bitbucket", "code"]
chat	["slack", "teams", "discord"]
documents	["google docs", "notion", "confluence"]
calendar	["google calendar", "calendar"]
email	["gmail", "outlook", "email"]
design-graphics	["figma", "sketch", "design"]
analytics-bi	["datadog", "grafana", "analytics"]
crm	["salesforce", "hubspot", "crm"]
wiki-knowledge-base	["notion", "confluence", "outline", "wiki"]
data-warehouse	["bigquery", "snowflake", "redshift"]
conversation-intelligence	["gong", "chorus", "call recording"]

Workflow

1. Find customization point: Look for ~~-prefixed values (e.g., ~~Jira)
2. Check earlier phase findings: Did you already learn which tool they use?
   • Yes: Search for that specific tool to get its url, skip to step 5
   • No: Continue to step 3
3. Search: Call search_mcp_registry with mapped keywords
4. Present choices and ask user: Show all results, ask which they use
5. Connect if needed: If not connected, call suggest_connectors
6. Update MCP config: Add config using the url from search results

Updating Plugin MCP Configuration

Finding the Config File

1. Check plugin.json for an mcpServers field:

   {
     "name": "my-plugin",
     "mcpServers": "./config/servers.json"
   }
   

   If present, edit the file at that path.

2. If no mcpServers field, use .mcp.json at the plugin root (default).

3. If mcpServers points only to .mcpb files (bundled servers), create a new .mcp.json at the plugin root.

Config File Format

Both wrapped and unwrapped formats are supported:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
    }
  }
}

Use the url field from search_mcp_registry results.

Directory Entries Without a URL

Some directory entries have no url because the endpoint is dynamic — the admin provides it when connecting the server. These servers can still be referenced in the plugin's MCP config by name: if the MCP server name in the config matches the directory entry name, it is treated the same as a URL match.

Example: Fully Configured .mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
      }
    },
    "asana": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://mcp.asana.com/sse"
    },
    "slack": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://slack.mcp.claude.com/mcp"
    },
    "figma": {
      "type": "http",
      "url":