AI Connectors - Admin Guide

Egnyte’s AI Assistant can be easily transformed to a proactive agent capable of connecting to external data sources, automating cross-platform tasks, and performing deep agentic searches using the Agent Mode. 

It unlocks the power of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, enabling the AI Assistant to connect with any compatible external service using supported authentication protocols. The catalog of available connectors is continually expanding. For the latest list of connectors, refer to Settings → Configuration → AI or visit the AI Assistant Tools panel. Admins can add, configure, and manage these connectors for their domain.

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Enable Agent Mode

Use a pre-loaded Connector

Create a Custom Connector

Understanding Tool Permissions

Manage Connectors

Edit Connector

Publish a Connector

Unpublish a Connector

Disconnect a Connector

Delete a Connector

Manage Connectors from the Settings Page

Enable Agent Mode

1. Navigate to Egnyte’s AI Assistant and click on the Tools icon.
   
2. Enable the toggle for the Agent Mode.
   

The AI Assistant will have the agent mode enabled and can be identified with the Labs badge added. 

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Use a pre-loaded Connector

Egnyte provides two types of pre-loaded connectors:

• By Egnyte : Connectors built and maintained by Egnyte (for example; Egnyte Outlook MCP, Egnyte Gmail MCP). These are built in-house.  Currently, Egnyte offers the following connectors with the catalog continually expanding.  
  
• First-party connectors : Connectors built by the third-party vendor themselves (for example; Atlassian Rovo MCP is built by Atlassian, Notion MCP is built by Notion). Egnyte has added these to the catalog so admins can connect with one click.

For both types, the server URL and metadata are pre-filled; the admin just needs to publish the connector for the end-users to be able to Add and Connect.

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Create a Custom Connector 

Admins can create a custom connector to add a custom MCP server that isn't in the catalog. They need to provide the server name, URL, and auth type manually. This is for internal tools, niche services, or any MCP-compatible server not already listed.

1. Click on Egnyte’s AI Assistant -> Tools icon -> Connectors.
   
2. Click on Add connectors. 
   

3. Click on Create new connector.
   
   Alternatively, navigate to Settings -> Configuration -> AI and click on Add New MCP Server in MCP Client section.
   
   
4. Enter the details for the new connector
   • Server Name: Enter a short, descriptive name for the MCP Server 
   • Server URL: Enter the full URL from where the MCP server can be accessed. 
     This is the MCP endpoint URL provided by the external service. Refer to the service’s developer documentation or MCP integration page to obtain the correct URL. 
     For Egnyte-provided connectors (available under the By Egnyte tab), the server URL is preconfigured. A URL needs to be entered only when creating a custom connector.
   • Description (Optional): Provide any additional information, as needed
   • Authentication Type: Select the authentication type as OAuth.
     

5. Click on Test configuration.
   

   Currently, only None and OAuth authentication types are supported. OAuth Client ID and API Key   options will be released soon. However, they cannot be enabled at this time.

   • None: No authentication required
   • OAuth: The most common type for third-party services. When a user connects, they are redirected to the external service to grant permission (for example; Allow Egnyte to access your Jira data). Each user authenticates individually with their own credentials. Use this for services like project management tools, email, and collaboration platforms
   • OAuth Client ID (Coming soon): Used when the MCP server requires application-level authentication using a client ID and secret, rather than per-user authorization. The admin provides the credentials during setup and all users share the same application-level access. Appropriate for internal or organization-scoped services

   • API Key (Coming soon): A static token-based authentication method. The admin enters an API key during configuration. Suited for services that use simple key-based access rather than OAuth flows
     

     Select None only for MCP servers that are publicly accessible or hosted on an internal network without access controls, as this option may pose a risk of data exposure.

6. Provide the required authorization.
   
7. Admins can edit the logo for the connector by clicking on the Edit icon and selecting the desired logo. They can also choose to delete the logo by clicking on the Delete icon. Set the Server tools and permissions. For each of the listed tools, admin can select Allow unsupervised or Always ask permission. Egnyte’s AI Assistant will carry out the listed action as per the permissions set by the admin. Click on Continue after making the desired changes. 
   

8. Review the summary, provide the acknowledgement by clicking on the checkbox, and click on Save and publish.
   
9. Click on Publish to confirm and the connector will be published.
   

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Understanding Tool Permissions

For each tool exposed by a connector, the admin must choose a permission level. This is the most important security decision in connector configuration as it controls whether the AI Assistant can act autonomously or must ask the user first.

The Allow all tools checkbox at the top applies the same permission level to every tool on the connector. For granular control, uncheck it and configure each tool individually.

• Allow unsupervised - This means that AI can call this tool without user confirmation or permission 
• Always ask permission - The user will see a confirmation before each tool is called by the AI

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Manage Connectors

Edit Connector

1. Click on Egnyte’s AI Assistant -> Tools icon -> Connectors. 
   
2. Click on the three-dots icon for a connector and click on Edit.
   
3. Click on Test configuration.
   
4. Make changes to the tools and permissions and click on Continue.
   
5. Review the summary and click on Save. The updated configuration will be saved for the connector.
   

Publish a Connector

1. For the connectors that have not been published yet, admins can click on the Publish option in the three-dots menu. 
   
2. Click on Publish to confirm. 
   
   The connector will be published. 
   

Unpublish a Connector

1. To unpublish a connector, click on the Unpublish option in the three-dots icon. Unpublishing removes the connector from users' Connectors panel but does not delete the connector's configuration. Users who previously connected will lose access until it is republished. 
   
2. Click on Unpublish to confirm. 
   
   The connector will be unpublished. 
   

Disconnect a Connector

To disconnect a connector, click on the three-dots icon -> Disconnect. 

The connector will be disconnected. 

Delete a Connector

1. To delete a connector, click on the three-dots icon -> Delete. Custom connectors need to be unpublished before they can be deleted. Pre-loaded connectors cannot be deleted.
   
2. Click on Remove to confirm.
   
   The connector will be deleted successfully. 
   

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Manage Connectors from the Settings Page

1. Navigate to Settings -> Configuration -> AI page. 
   
   Alternatively, click on Egnyte’s AI Assistant -> Tools icon -> Connectors -> Manage connectors.
    

    

2. Admins can hover over a connector or click on the three-dots icon to edit or publish a connector. They can also click on Add New MCP Server to create a new connector. 
   

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Additional Resources

AI Connectors - User Guide