swsd-mcp

MCP server for SolarWinds Service Desk (SWSD / Samanage). Lets AI assistants like Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Continue, Microsoft Copilot Studio, and any other Model Context Protocol client read and modify SWSD tickets, comments, knowledge-base articles, and more, using each user's own SWSD API token.

📖 Full docs: mcp-swsd.pages.dev

The server holds zero credentials at rest. Tokens are forwarded per-request, never persisted, never logged, and only sent to the configured SWSD API host.

Not affiliated with SolarWinds. SolarWinds, Samanage, and Service Desk are trademarks of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. This is an independent open-source project that wraps the publicly documented SWSD REST API; it is not endorsed or sponsored by SolarWinds.

Quick start

You need:

• An MCP client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Continue, Cline, etc.) installed
• A SolarWinds Service Desk admin token (JWT) — generate one in the SWSD UI: Setup → Users & Groups → Users → click your user → Actions → Generate JSON Web Token (Service Desk administrator rights required)

1. Add the config

Every stdio-capable MCP client uses the same JSON shape. Add this under mcpServers in your client's config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "swsd": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "swsd-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SWSD_TOKEN": "your-jwt-here",
        "SWSD_BASE_URL": "https://api.samanage.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace your-jwt-here with your token. EU tenants use https://apieu.samanage.com instead.

To customize: add any configuration variable into the same env block. Common one is SWSD_PROFILE to switch from the default agent profile to triage, knowledge, or full — see the Profiles section below for current tool counts. For example, add "SWSD_PROFILE": "full" alongside SWSD_TOKEN and SWSD_BASE_URL.

2. Drop it in the right file

Create the file if it doesn't exist. Then restart your client.

Claude Code shortcut — skip editing the file by hand:

claude mcp add swsd \
  --env SWSD_TOKEN="your-jwt-here" \
  --env SWSD_BASE_URL="https://api.samanage.com" \
  -- npx -y swsd-mcp

Microsoft Copilot Studio — different path (it can't spawn local processes, so it needs an HTTP-transport server). See copilot-studio/README.md, including the Azure Container Apps deployment recipe for hosting.

3. Verify it works

In Claude (or any MCP client), ask:

"Use swsd to check if you can connect."

The agent should call swsd_health_check and report success. If it does, you're set up.

Tools (29 across 8 categories)

Each tool's input schema, description, and output shape is auto-discovered by your MCP client at runtime. Ask the agent "what swsd tools are available?" for the live list.

Service Catalog tools

When the user asks to request something — new hardware, software access, an account, a file restore — prefer the catalog flow over swsd_create_incident. SWSD's catalog items carry pre-defined approval routing, request variables (form fields), category/subcategory defaults, and SLA targets that a free-form incident misses.

The server instructions advertise this preference order so capable agents (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Copilot Studio, etc.) pick the catalog flow automatically when the user's intent matches.

MCP Apps support

swsd-mcp ships interactive UI bundles for four read tools using the MCP Apps capability (SEP-1865). When a host that supports MCP Apps calls one of these tools, it can render a rich UI alongside the structured response — single-record detail views, filterable/sortable tables, searchable explorers — instead of (or in addition to) plain text.

The UI bundles are inlined HTML resources (text/html;profile=mcp-app) that read the tool's structuredContent from the MCP Apps host bridge — no external network access, no third-party scripts. Hosts without MCP Apps support are unaffected: the same tools continue to return their normal text + structured output, and the _meta.ui.resourceUri advertisement is silently ignored.

Configuration

All settings via environment variables. Most users only need SWSD_TOKEN and SWSD_BASE_URL.

Essential

Advanced (HTTP transport only)

Reliability

Other

See .env.example for the complete annotated list.

Profiles

Profiles control which tools are registered at startup. Cannot be changed mid-session.

Use SWSD_ENABLE_EXTRAS=swsd_foo,swsd_bar to add specific tools on top of a profile.

Hosting an HTTP server (advanced)

The Quick Start above already runs swsd-mcp on your own machine — your MCP client spawns it on demand via npx. Most users stop there.

Set up an HTTP-mode server only if you need one of these:

• Microsoft Copilot Studio integration — Copilot Studio can't spawn local processes, so it needs an HTTP endpoint. After deployment, import the per-profile Swagger spec from copilot-studio/README.md.
• One shared instance for a team — one deploy, many users, each providing their own token per-request
• Stricter network control — private VNet, IP allowlist, custom domain, etc.

Docker

docker run --rm -d \
  --name swsd-mcp \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -e SWSD_TRANSPORT=http \
  -e SWSD_TRUST_PROXY=1 \
  -e SWSD_BASE_URL=https://api.samanage.com \
  ghcr.io/mikimatsub/mcp-swsd:latest

Hit http://localhost:3000/healthz to verify. The /mcp endpoint accepts MCP requests with the user's token in the Authorization: Bearer <token> or X-SWSD-Token: <token> header (per-request, not server-side).

Cloud deployment recipes

The Docker image runs anywhere — Azure, AWS, GCP, Render, Fly.io, your own VM. Concrete recipes:

• Azure Container Apps — recommended for Microsoft Copilot Studio integration. Scale-to-zero pricing (~$0–5/month for low traffic).

(More recipes coming. PRs welcome.)

Documentation

• SECURITY.md — vulnerability reporting via GitHub Security Advisories
• docs/SECURITY-POSTURE.md — security controls, supply-chain hardening, verification methods
• CONTRIBUTING.md — bug reports, PR review criteria, local development setup
• CHANGELOG.md — version history
• copilot-studio/ — Microsoft Copilot Studio Swagger connector specs and import guide
• docs/deployment/ — cloud deployment recipes

License

MIT — see LICENSE. Provided "as is" without warranty.

Trademarks

SolarWinds, Samanage, and Service Desk are trademarks of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by SolarWinds.