Set up the MCP server
This guide walks you through creating a hosted MCP server. Setup is a few clicks, but two of the choices, the subdomain and the authentication type, are fixed once the server is created, so decide them before you start.
Before you start
Decide who the server is for, because the answer determines the authentication type:
| Your audience | Authentication type |
|---|---|
| An agent or backend you operate | API key |
| Your external users, in tools like Cursor or Claude Code | Public (external projects only) |
| Your own team, in ChatGPT or Claude | Internal |
One server serves one authentication type. If you want to serve several audiences, for example a public server for your users and an API key server for your own agent, create one integration per audience.
Create the server
- In Kapa, click Integrations > + Add new integration.
- Choose Hosted MCP Server.
- Click Continue.
- Configure the Subdomain: This becomes the first part of the URL clients use to connect to your MCP server, in the form
<subdomain>.mcp.kapa.ai. Subdomains are globally unique, so pick one related to your product name. - Configure the Server name. This becomes the MCP server label (server_name / serverLabel) that clients see when listing or calling tools from this server; it does not affect the URL or subdomain.
- Choose the Authentication type.
When choosing the values:
- Subdomain: this becomes the permanent address of your server,
https://<subdomain>.mcp.kapa.ai. It cannot be changed after creation, so pick the name your users should see, typically your product name. - Server name: the label clients display when listing the server's tools. Unlike the subdomain, this is cosmetic and does not affect the URL.
- Authentication type: per the table above. This also cannot be changed after creation; to switch, you would create a new server, and clients would have to reconnect to it.
Click Save. The server is live immediately; copy its URL any time with Copy MCP server URL in the integration row's Actions column.
Configure the tools (optional)
The defaults suit most projects. In the integration settings you can additionally:
- Enable the documents tool (disabled by default); see the tools reference.
- Configure the feedback tool; see the tools reference.
- Adjust the tool names and descriptions; read Customize the MCP tools first, renaming is a breaking change for connected clients.
- Restrict the server to specific source groups; see Use source groups.
To change the server instructions, contact support@kapa.ai.
Verify
Connect to https://<subdomain>.mcp.kapa.ai from any MCP-compatible client (for an API key server, send Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>) and call the search tool with a question about your product. You should get back ranked chunks from your knowledge sources.
Next steps
- Hosted MCP server reference: authentication details, tools,
_metaparameters, and rate limits. - Connect your agent via MCP: wire the server into an agent framework.
- Sharing the server with users or your team: see the public MCP and internal knowledge use cases.