swsd-mcp

MCP server for SolarWinds Service Desk (SWSD / Samanage). Works with any Model Context Protocol client to read and modify SWSD tickets, comments, knowledge-base articles, and more, using each user's own SWSD API token. See the client compatibility matrix for the tested list.

📖 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.

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Quick start

You need:

• An MCP client installed — any MCP-compatible client works (compatibility matrix)
• 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 behavior, add any configuration variable (most common: SWSD_PROFILE to choose the tool set) into the same env block.

2. Drop it in the right file

Client	Config file path
Claude Desktop (macOS)	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Windows)	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Linux)	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Code	~/.claude.json (or use the shortcut below)
Cursor	~/.cursor/mcp.json
Continue, Cline, other clients	check your client's docs — same JSON shape

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

Claude Code shortcut — skip editing the file by hand. This single line pastes verbatim into any shell (bash, zsh, PowerShell, cmd):

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. Copilot Studio can't spawn local processes, so it needs an HTTP-transport server. See copilot-studio/README.md and the Azure Container Apps recipe.

3. Verify it works

In your 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. Try a few more:

• "Show me incident 60310" — id-keyed tools accept either the internal id (≥7 digits) or the human-facing number visible in the SWSD UI (≤6 digits).
• "List incidents updated in the last 7 days" — updated_within: "7d" (also "24h", "1w", "30d").
• "What tickets are assigned to me?" — swsd_list_my_incidents calls swsd_get_me internally, so you don't have to spell out an email.

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Tools (35 across 10 categories)

Category	Tools
Utility	swsd_get_server_info, swsd_health_check, swsd_get_me
Incidents	swsd_list_incidents, swsd_list_my_incidents, swsd_get_incident, swsd_create_incident, swsd_update_incident, swsd_assign_incident, swsd_update_incident_state, swsd_link_solution_to_incident
Comments	swsd_list_incident_comments, swsd_add_incident_comment, swsd_update_comment
Tasks	swsd_list_incident_tasks, swsd_create_incident_task, swsd_update_task_state
Problems	swsd_list_problems, swsd_get_problem, swsd_create_problem
Solutions / KB	swsd_search_solutions, swsd_get_solution, swsd_create_solution, swsd_update_solution
Service Catalog	swsd_list_catalog_items, swsd_get_catalog_item, swsd_create_service_request
Lookups	swsd_list_categories, swsd_list_sites, swsd_list_departments, swsd_list_users, swsd_list_groups, swsd_list_roles
Custom fields	swsd_describe_custom_fields
Audits	swsd_get_record_audits

Each tool's input schema, description, and output shape is auto-discovered by your MCP client at runtime. See the Tools reference for full per-tool documentation.

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MCP Apps widgets (rich UI)

Seven read tools ship interactive UI bundles using the MCP Apps capability. On capable hosts (Claude Desktop, Claude Web, VS Code Copilot Chat, ChatGPT, Goose, Postman), the tool returns a rendered widget alongside the structured response. On text-only hosts (Claude Code, LM Studio), the same tools return their normal structured payload.

Example — swsd_list_incidents rendering the incident-list widget. Synthetic data; no real tenant info. See the full gallery for screenshots of all seven widgets.

Tool	Widget	What it renders
swsd_get_incident	incident-detail	Single-record card (description, due date, SLA, resolution, custom fields)
swsd_get_solution	solution-detail	Knowledge-base article with sanitized HTML body
swsd_list_incidents, swsd_list_my_incidents	incident-list	Filterable, sortable table
swsd_list_incident_comments	comment-thread	Vertical conversation with author chips, public/private badges
swsd_get_record_audits	audit-timeline	Timeline grouped by day with action chips and field diffs
swsd_get_catalog_item	catalog-item-form	Form that submits via swsd_create_service_request
swsd_describe_custom_fields	custom-fields	Searchable explorer with scope/module filters

See the Widgets reference for screenshots and per-widget detail.

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Configuration

Most users only need SWSD_TOKEN and SWSD_BASE_URL:

Variable	Default	Notes
SWSD_TOKEN	—	Required. Your SWSD admin token (JWT).
SWSD_BASE_URL	https://api.samanage.com	EU tenant: https://apieu.samanage.com
SWSD_PROFILE	agent	triage, agent, knowledge, or full — see Profiles

For the full env-var reference (HTTP transport, retries, rate limits, allowlists), see Configuration.

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Profiles

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

Profile	Intent	Tool count
triage	Read-heavy first-line support + commenting	14
agent	Full ticket-handler workflow (default)	33
knowledge	KB-author workflow + incident reads	15
full	Every tool	35

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

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Hosting an HTTP server (advanced)

Quick Start above 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:

• Microsoft Copilot Studio integration — Copilot Studio can't spawn local processes
• 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

The Docker image runs anywhere — Azure, AWS, GCP, Render, Fly.io, your own VM. See Deployment for the full guide and the Azure Container Apps recipe (recommended for Copilot Studio; scale-to-zero pricing).

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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

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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. It wraps the publicly documented SWSD REST API.