Egnyte MCP Server - Overview

Egnyte MCP Server enables secure, controlled access to Egnyte content for AI-powered tools and assistants using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It acts as a bridge between Egnyte and supported AI clients, allowing them to retrieve, search, and summarize files while fully respecting the organization’s existing permissions and security policies.

This capability allows users to work with Egnyte content using natural language within approved AI applications, without exposing data outside of Egnyte’s security framework. Access is governed through OAuth 2.0 authentication, ensuring enterprise-grade authorization and auditing.

Egnyte is available as an app in ChatGPT, enabling users to securely access Egnyte files for natural language searches, summaries, and insights. Similarly, Egnyte is available as a connector in Claude, allowing users to access Egnyte content directly within Claude conversations. In addition, any AI client that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) with OAuth 2.0 authentication can connect to the Egnyte MCP Server. 

Benefits

Using the Egnyte MCP Server provides the following benefits:

• Enables AI-assisted access to Egnyte content without compromising security or compliance.
• Ensures all access follows existing Egnyte permissions, roles, and folder-level controls.
• Supports multiple AI clients through a standardized protocol, reducing the need for custom integrations.
• Improves productivity by allowing users to search, summarize, and gain insights from files using natural language.
• Keeps data within Egnyte’s control, with no direct database access or credential sharing.

Prerequisites

Before configuring the Egnyte MCP Server, ensure the following requirements are met:

• An active Egnyte domain with appropriate administrative access.
• OAuth 2.0 enabled for the Egnyte domain.
• An AI client or platform that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
• Network access that allows outbound HTTPS communication to the Egnyte MCP endpoint.
• Users must have valid Egnyte accounts and permissions for the content they intend to access.

Learn more about the configuration steps, authentication, available tools, data privacy, and security here.

Option to Allow External LLM Access via MCP

1. Navigate to Settings ->  AI Powered Features -> MCP Server
    

2. Admins can enable or disable the toggle for Allow external LLM clients to connect to Egnyte via MCP.

   

3. Choose the allowed apps. ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini Enterprise and Local AI Apps are checked by default. 
4. Admins can also define custom allowed apps by clicking the Add button and following the instructions.
5. Other web-based AI Apps (unverified) option is disabled by default. Enabling it allows any web-based MCP client without a registered redirect URI to connect; this is highly permissive and should be used with caution.
   
6. Click on Save changes.
   
   If any of the default allowed apps are unchecked, an additional confirmation to revoke app access will appear. Click on Revoke & Save to confirm.
   
7. To add a custom app, click Add. Enter the client name (required), description (optional), and redirect URLs (required).. Redirect URLs differ depending on the application and must be taken from that app’s documentation. Click on Save.
   
8. The custom app will then be present on the list. Click on Edit or Delete icons to make changes or remove the app.
   
9. On clicking the delete icon, the confirmation popup shows up. Click on Delete App to confirm and the custom app will be removed from the list.
   

Limitations

• File uploads through the MCP Server are restricted to text-based formats (.txt, .csv, .json, .md, .html, and similar)
• Binary file uploads (such as doc, docx, docm, xls, xlsx, xlsm, ppt, pptx, pptm, pdf) are not supported
• The following capabilities are currently not supported in Platform Plans (Platform Team, Platform Business, Platform Enterprise Lite & Platform Enterprise, AFS (Advanced File System) and CFS (Cloud File System)) :
  • AI-powered Q&A and summarisation on documents
  • Knowledge base queries
  • Link sharing and project folder tools

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to Verify Whether MCP Server is Available for a Domain?

Domains that do not have the feature enabled will receive an error message as "MCP Server Access Unavailable: MCP Server connectivity is not enabled for your domain. Contact your account executive or Egnyte Support to enable this feature."

An Egnyte administrator can verify whether MCP Server is available by navigating to Settings -> AI Powered Features -> MCP Server.

• If the MCP Server page is visible, MCP Server is available for the domain.
• If the MCP Server page is not visible, MCP Server is not available for the domain.

If MCP Server is enabled but AI Safeguards block access for a supported MCP client, the client displays an error indicating that access is restricted. In this case, the administrator must update the AI Safeguards configuration to allow the client.

How Can a Customer Request for MCP Enablement?

Customers can sign up for a trial on an eligible plan. The eligible plans include Essential, Elite, Ultimate, or Platform Enterprise / Enterprise Lite with AI add-on. 

What is the Difference Between MCP Server and MCP Client?

MCP Server enables external AI tools, such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot Studio, to securely access and search content stored in Egnyte.

AI Connectors (MCP Client) enable Egnyte AI Assistant and Agents to connect to external applications and services, such as Slack, Jira, and Salesforce, to retrieve information and perform supported actions.

These are separate features with different purposes and are configured independently by the admins. 

How Can Users Collect Diagnostic Information When an MCP Tool is Not Working as Expected?

If an Egnyte MCP tool is not working as expected, run the following prompt in the AI client to collect diagnostic information before contacting Egnyte Support:

I am experiencing a technical issue with the Egnyte MCP integration. Please provide a diagnostic report including: (1) the name and parameters of the Egnyte tool that failed, (2) the full verbatim response from the Egnyte MCP server, (3) the Egnyte Request ID and MCP Session ID from the response metadata, and (4) the exact timestamp of the failure, including your timezone. Format this as a structured summary that can be pasted into a support ticket.

Providing this diagnostic report with the support request can help Egnyte Support investigate and troubleshoot the issue more efficiently.