Connect your AI agents to any external tool, service, or system — the open extensibility layer that makes OpenRails infinitely expandable
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is how OpenRails connects AI agents to the outside world. It is an open standard protocol that provides a universal interface between agents and external tools — databases, APIs, file systems, project management platforms, communication tools, and any other service your business relies on.
MCP is not just a technical protocol detail. It is the reason OpenRails can connect to anything. Every built-in integration (Database, Basecamp, Azure DevOps, Teams, OneDrive, and more) uses MCP under the hood. And the same protocol lets you add your own integrations — without waiting for a product update.
Key Value: Your AI agents are never limited to what OpenRails ships out of the box. Any MCP-compliant service immediately becomes a tool your agents can discover and use. And OpenRails' own capabilities become tools that external AI systems can consume. The result: an integration landscape that grows with your needs.
Need to connect to Salesforce, SAP, Jira, Slack, HubSpot, or an internal system? If it has an API, it can be wrapped in an MCP server and made available to your agents. No platform changes required — register the server and your agents discover it automatically.
Agents do not need to be told about new tools. MCP servers advertise their capabilities — available operations, parameter requirements, and return types. When you add a new MCP server, every agent in the system can immediately discover and use it.
MCP does not mean "anything goes." Every tool call flows through the OpenRails gateway with authentication, per-tool access control, rate limiting, and full audit logging. Sensitive operations can require human approval before execution.
OpenRails is both an MCP client (consuming external tools) and an MCP server (exposing its own capabilities). External AI systems can use OpenRails' knowledge base, agents, and data processing as tools in their own workflows.
OpenRails ships with a comprehensive set of production-ready integrations, all powered by MCP:
| Integration | Category | What Agents Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| Database | Data | Direct database queries with approval gates for writes |
| Basecamp | Project Management | Access projects, message boards, messages, and search (read-only) |
| Azure DevOps | Development | Work items, sprints, teams, and time logging |
| EasyProjects | Project Management | Time tracking, project and task management |
| Microsoft Teams | Communication | Bot notifications and messages to channels and conversations |
| OneDrive / SharePoint | File Storage | File and folder sync, document retrieval across Microsoft 365 |
| Web Search | Research | Internet search for current information, fact-checking, external context |
| Web Crawler | Content | Deep website crawling with configurable scope, scheduling, and content extraction |
| Image Analysis | Vision | OCR, diagram analysis, chart reading, and visual content interpretation |
| Site API | Custom | Configurable REST API connector for any RESTful service |
MCP servers advertise their available tools with descriptions, parameter schemas, and return types. Agents automatically discover what tools are available and how to use them — no hardcoded integrations.
OpenRails acts as an MCP gateway, routing tool calls from agents to the appropriate MCP server. The gateway handles authentication, rate limiting, logging, and approval workflows for tool invocations.
Configure which tool calls require human approval before execution. Critical operations — database writes, external API calls, financial transactions — can be gated with approval workflows that pause agent execution until authorized.
Per-tool access control lists, parameter validation, and output sanitization. Tools can be restricted by user role, project, or security level. All invocations are logged for audit.
OpenRails is designed to connect to any system your organization uses. There are two ways integrations are added:
New connectors are added to the platform by the Clarity team. Once a connector is available, it automatically appears in your connector menu — just add your credentials and you're connected. No code, no configuration files, no deployment steps.
Need a connector we don't have yet? Our team can rapidly build new connectors for your specific enterprise systems. The connector framework is standardized, so new integrations are fast to deliver.
For tool-level integrations, register any MCP-compliant server and your agents can immediately discover and use it. The MCP ecosystem is growing rapidly — many enterprise tools already have MCP servers available, and building new ones is straightforward.
External systems can also trigger OpenRails workflows via RESTful API calls, enabling event-driven automation.
Growing ecosystem: The integration library expands continuously. Salesforce, SAP, Jira, Slack, HubSpot, ServiceNow, and other enterprise platforms can all be connected through connectors or MCP — ensuring OpenRails meets your integration requirements as they grow.
Agent → MCP Gateway (auth + rate limit + approval) → MCP Server (tool execution) → Response → Agent
Gateway supports: multiple simultaneous servers | per-tool access control | full audit logging | Human-in-the-Loop approval gates
Agents query production databases using natural language, with approval gates for write operations
Create work items, update sprint boards, log time, and pull metrics from development tools
Chain multiple API calls across services to fulfill complex requests autonomously
Automatically pull documents from OneDrive, SharePoint, or other file stores into the knowledge base
Agents deliver alerts, summaries, and reports directly to Microsoft Teams channels
Search the internet and crawl websites to gather current information for agent workflows