> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.summand.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MCP server overview

> What the Summand MCP server is and what it exposes.

The Summand MCP server implements the [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) and gives any MCP-aware client read access to your Summand connectors, datasets, and their semantic layer.

It's hosted by Summand at `https://mcp.summand.com/mcp` and uses the streamable-HTTP transport with OAuth 2.1 authentication. There's nothing to install — point your client at the URL, sign in, and start asking questions.

<Card title="Connect a client" href="/api-reference/mcp/connect">
  Wire up claude.ai, ChatGPT, or any other OAuth-aware MCP client.
</Card>

## What the server exposes

The server registers seven tools. All of them are read-only — the MCP server cannot mutate connectors or datasets, run pipelines, or change settings.

| Tool                   | Purpose                                                                                  |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `list_data_connectors` | Discover the data connectors (databases, file uploads, integrations) the caller can see. |
| `list_datasets`        | Discover what datasets the caller can see. Each dataset carries a `connectorId`.         |
| `describe_dataset`     | Full metadata for a dataset, including which semantic components are available.          |
| `get_columns`          | Column names and statistics.                                                             |
| `get_semantic_data`    | Specific semantic components: EBM graphs, feature metadata, embeddings, etc.             |
| `get_surprises`        | ML-generated surprise findings with explanations.                                        |
| `compare_schemas`      | Side-by-side column comparison between two datasets.                                     |

See the [tools reference](/api-reference/mcp/tools) for parameters and example outputs.

## Authentication model

<Note>
  Access is scoped to whatever the caller already has in Summand — owned resources plus anything explicitly shared with them. There is no way to access a connector or dataset over MCP that you couldn't access in the dashboard.
</Note>

Authentication uses OAuth 2.1 bearer tokens issued by Summand's identity provider. Standard MCP discovery is supported, so clients auto-discover the authorization server on a `401` and register themselves dynamically — no pre-registration required.

You'll typically only need to paste the endpoint URL into your client; everything else happens in the OAuth redirect.

## What's next

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect a client" href="/api-reference/mcp/connect">
    Step-by-step setup for claude.ai and ChatGPT.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tools reference" href="/api-reference/mcp/tools">
    Parameters and example prompts for every tool.
  </Card>
</Columns>