connect-glean

Connect Glean

The Glean plugin ships skills but does not bundle an MCP server — the skills call whatever Glean MCP tools the host exposes. If no Glean MCP server is connected, the skills have nothing to call. This skill connects one, or verifies and troubleshoots an existing connection. Follow the section for the user's host.

When this applies

First-time setup — the Glean plugin is installed but no Glean tools appear.
Adding another server — e.g. a second backend or a code-search server.
Status / troubleshooting — "is Glean connected?", "no Glean tools showing".

What you need first (all hosts)

Gather these once, then apply them in the host-specific step:

Server URL — the Glean backend, found at https://app.glean.com/admin/about-glean. Looks like https://acme-be.glean.com or https://be-4f5226e2.glean.com.
Server name — organization-specific, from the user's Glean admin. Often default.
Friendly name — what to call it in the host. Use glean for a single server, or glean-<server-name> when adding several (e.g. glean-default, glean-code).

The MCP endpoint is always <server-url>/mcp/<server-name>. It is a remote HTTP server and uses OAuth — there is no API key to paste. Follow the host-specific authentication and reload steps below.

Claude Code

Run:

claude mcp add <friendly-name> <server-url>/mcp/<server-name> --transport http --scope user

Verify with claude mcp list (look for a glean.com/mcp URL). Restart Claude Code; authenticate on first use.

Codex

Run:

codex mcp add <friendly-name> --url <server-url>/mcp/<server-name>
codex mcp login <friendly-name>

Complete the browser OAuth flow, then verify with codex mcp list (look for a glean.com/mcp URL). Start a new Codex task so the MCP tools are available.

Cursor

Add an entry to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "<friendly-name>": {
      "url": "<server-url>/mcp/<server-name>"
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor; authenticate via OAuth on first use.

Other hosts

Any MCP-capable host can use Glean: register <server-url>/mcp/<server-name> as a remote HTTP MCP server in that host's MCP configuration, then restart and authenticate on first use. Consult the host's own MCP setup docs for where its config lives and the exact field names.

Checking status / troubleshooting "no Glean tools"

If the Glean skills run but report missing tools, the host has no usable Glean MCP server in the current session or task:

Confirm a server is configured: use claude mcp list in Claude Code, codex mcp list in Codex, or inspect the host's MCP config for a glean.com/mcp URL.
If none is configured, run the host setup above.
If Codex is configured but not authenticated, run codex mcp login <friendly-name>, then start a new task.
In other hosts, restart the host and trigger OAuth by running any Glean tool once.

Glean developer docs server (separate, optional)

The glean-dev-docs plugin uses a different, public server — no URL, server name, or auth needed:

Claude Code: claude mcp add glean-dev-docs https://developers.glean.com/mcp --transport http --scope user
Codex: codex mcp add glean-dev-docs --url https://developers.glean.com/mcp, then start a new task.
Other hosts: register https://developers.glean.com/mcp as a remote HTTP MCP server (no OAuth required).

Related skills

using-glean — once connected, drives enterprise search, Q&A, and synthesis.