Connect an MCP server to give its tools to your AI variables and to lemAgent. Connected servers show up in the tool picker of every AI column and in the Apps selector in lemAgent. You can connect an app from the catalog or add any server by its URL, then choose which of its tools are allowed.
For example, an AI column can qualify accounts with data from your CRM, extract needs and objections from meeting notes, or use internal documentation to improve personalization. One AI column can combine several servers and built-in tools.
This article is about MCP servers you connect inside lemlist. If you want to use lemlist from Claude, ChatGPT, or another AI client, see Set up the lemlist MCP server in your LLM client (OAuth or API key).
Limitations
Only admins can connect servers and choose which tools are allowed.
lemlist does not control the tools a third-party server exposes or the data it receives.
Prerequisites
You have the URL of the server, if you are adding a server that is not in the catalog.
Core lesson
Phase 1: Open MCP servers
Go to Settings → Integrations, then open the MCP servers tab.
If no server is connected yet, the page shows the catalog of apps. Once at least one server is connected, the page shows the list of your servers.
Phase 2: Connect an app from the catalog
Find the app.
Type in Search the catalog, or filter by category: CRM & sales, Customer conversations, Internal knowledge, Web research, Product & usage, Revenue, Data & tables, Projects, Website & content, Automation, Engineering, or Outreach.
Click Connect on the app's card.
If the server asks you to authorize lemlist, complete it in the window that opens.
To connect another app later, click Add a server.
The Apps window lists your apps under Connected and Not connected. Select an app to see what it does and its use cases.
You can also open the Apps window from an AI column (+ Apps → Browse tools) or from lemAgent (Apps → Browse Apps).
Phase 3: Add a server that is not in the catalog
Open the Add an MCP server form.
Click Custom server on the catalog page, or Custom MCP at the bottom of the Apps window. lemlist detects how the server authenticates on its own.
Fill in the form.
MCP server URL (required): the server's URL, for example
https://mcp.notion.com/mcp.Name (required): the name shown in your list of servers.
When should the agent use it?: describe when this server is useful, for example "Use for anything our team has written: positioning, case studies, objection handling, pricing."
Authenticate with a key or a token: leave it off and the server authorizes you itself in a consent window. Turn it on if the server uses a key or a token.
Click Connect.
✅ Verify: the server appears in your list of servers with the status Connected.
Phase 4: Choose which tools are allowed
Click the server in your list of servers.
The list shows each server's Active tools, Auth, and Status. Use All, Connected, and Needs attention to filter it.
Review the tools.
The server page lists every tool with its description and its access type, such as Read or Destructive. The counter next to Tools shows how many tools are allowed. Use Search tools to find one.
Set each tool to Yes or No.
Yes allows the tool. No blocks it.
Phase 5: Manage a connected server
Open the server page and click the ••• menu.
Test connection: checks the connection and refreshes the server's tools.
Edit: changes the server's details.
Remove: disconnects the server from lemlist.
Troubleshooting and pitfalls
Issue: A server shows Needs authorization and 0 of 0 active tools.
Root cause: The server has not authorized lemlist yet, so its tools are not available.
Fix:
Click the server in your list of servers.
Click Authorize and complete the authorization.
Issue: A tool the server offers is missing from the list.
Root cause: The server's tools have changed since lemlist last loaded them.
Fix:
Open the server page.
Click •••, then Test connection.
If your case is different
If you want to use a connected server in a lemAgent conversation, see Use your connected apps in lemAgent conversations.
If you want to use lemlist from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or another AI client, see Set up the lemlist MCP server in your LLM client (OAuth or API key).
If you want to use a connected server's tools in an AI column, see Use AI variables in lemlist.