Installing MCP servers
MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers give your agents access to external tools: filesystems, databases, web search, GitHub, Figma, and more. Ironspire includes a built-in plugin browser for discovering and installing servers. For an overview of all supported integrations, see the integrations page.
Opening the plugin browser
Click Plugins in the sidebar navigation. The MCP Servers section is the first tab you see, with four views:
- Featured: curated servers from Anthropic and the community registry
- All Servers: the full searchable registry with pagination
- By Category: servers grouped by source (Anthropic Curated, Community Registry)
- Installed: servers currently active on your machine
Installing a server
- Browse or search for the server you want
- Click Install on its card
- A modal appears with the server name and install method
- Click Install to confirm
The server is added to your Claude configuration and becomes available to all agents immediately.
Some servers support both Remote (HTTP) and Local (npm) transports. Remote servers run on the vendor's infrastructure. Local servers run on your machine via npm. The install modal lets you choose when both are available.
Transport types
MCP servers connect via one of two transports:
| Transport | How it works | Example servers |
|---|---|---|
| Remote (HTTP) | Connects to a vendor-hosted endpoint. No local install needed. | GitHub, Figma |
| Local (stdio) | Runs locally via npx. Requires Node.js on your machine. | Filesystem, PostgreSQL, Sentry |
On Windows, local servers use cmd /c npx -y <package> internally. You do not need to configure this yourself; the installer handles it.
Removing a server
- Go to the Installed tab in the plugin browser
- Click the X button on the server card
- Confirm removal
The server is removed from your Claude configuration. Agents will no longer have access to its tools.
Preset recommendations
Each agent preset comes with a curated set of recommended MCP servers. When you create an agent from a preset, Ironspire shows which servers complement that role:
| Preset | Recommended servers |
|---|---|
| Developer | GitHub, Filesystem, Sentry, PostgreSQL, Web Fetch |
| Project Manager | GitHub, Linear, Slack, Filesystem, Sequential Thinking |
| Data Analyst | PostgreSQL, Filesystem, Google Sheets, Sequential Thinking, Web Fetch |
| UI/UX Designer | Figma, Puppeteer (browser preview), Filesystem, GitHub |
| DevOps Engineer | GitHub, Cloudflare, Sentry, Filesystem, PostgreSQL |
| QA Engineer | Puppeteer, GitHub, Sentry, Filesystem |
| Marketing Specialist | Marketing Skills, Web Fetch, Puppeteer, Google Sheets, Slack |
| Creative Director | Figma, Puppeteer, Filesystem, Web Fetch |
| Technical Writer | Filesystem, GitHub, Web Fetch, Sequential Thinking |
Recommendations are labeled Essential, Recommended, or Optional depending on how core they are to the role.
Authentication
Some servers require API keys or credentials (Sentry, Slack, Google Sheets, etc.). When a server needs authentication, the install modal will note this. You configure credentials in the server's own settings, not in Ironspire.
Ironspire does not store or manage third-party API keys for MCP servers. Each server handles its own authentication. Refer to the server's documentation for setup instructions.
Refreshing the registry
Click the refresh icon in the top-right corner of the plugin browser to reload the server list. This fetches the latest servers from both the Anthropic curated registry and the community registry.