[FEATURE] Allow plugins to surface MCP servers in the Connectors UI panel
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
- [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)
Problem Statement
Plugins can already surface MCP servers in a Connectors-style section today by
declaring mcpServers in plugin.json.
However, the UX is significantly weaker than what Anthropic first-party integrations
(Slack, Figma, Linear) get. Three specific gaps:
- No auth UI for plugin-declared MCPs. First-party connectors get connect/disconnect
controls, OAuth flows, and auth status indicators. Plugin-declared MCPs just appear
as running processes with no auth affordances — users can't tell if a connection
is healthy, expired, or misconfigured.
- No way to depend on or reuse first-party connector auth. If a user has already
connected Figma via the first-party Anthropic OAuth, a plugin that needs Figma
access can't piggyback on that session — it has to ship its own duplicate MCP
with its own auth, creating two Figma entries in the toolkit.
- Visual and functional asymmetry. First-party connectors live in a top-level
Connectors section with rich UX; plugin MCPs live in a per-plugin subsection with
minimal UX. They serve the same purpose but are treated as different classes of
citizen.
Proposed Solution
Extend the plugin manifest with a connectors field that upgrades plugin-declared
MCP entries with the same UX as first-party connectors (auth controls, status
indicators) and optionally lets them reference existing first-party connectors
instead of shipping a duplicate MCP:
{
"connectors": [
{
"id": "figma",
"name": "Figma",
"description": "Read and write Figma designs",
"mcpServer": "figma",
"authType": "oauth"
}
]
}
Where mcpServer references a key in the plugin's mcpServers config. Claude Code
would render these entries in the Connectors panel alongside first-party integrations,
with the same connect/disconnect controls and auth status indicators.
Alternative Solutions
- In-plugin setup wizards — requires users to discover and run an onboarding command;
no persistent connection status
- Documentation — doesn't solve the discoverability or status-visibility problem
Priority
Medium - Would be very helpful
Feature Category
Developer tools/SDK
Why it matters
- Plugin users currently have no UI signal that a required MCP connection is missing —
features silently fail at invocation time
- First-party and third-party integrations are treated asymmetrically despite serving
the same purpose
- A connectors surface for plugins would make the ecosystem viable for tool-dependent
workflows (design tools, project management, CI systems)
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