The remote connector directory

Not every integration needs a program running on your machine — many services host their own MCP server, and you mount those straight from a built-in directory.

What you’ll learn

• How a remote connector differs from a local MCP server.
• How to mount one from the verified directory.
• How its tools reach your workers.

Local subprocess vs hosted URL

A local MCP server is a program askTheodor launches and keeps running in the background. A remote connector is a server the vendor already runs — you just point askTheodor at its URL. Nothing spawns on your machine; there’s no command, no args, no subprocess to babysit.

Mount one from the directory

1. Open the remote connector directory — about 45 verified hosted servers, including Slack, Google Workspace, DocuSign, GitHub, Notion, and Stripe.
2. Pick a service. The directory already knows its URL, so there’s no command line to fill in.
3. Connect it. Once linked, its tools appear in any worker’s Skills tab, just like local MCP tools.

Grant the tools

As always, mounting a connector doesn’t give any worker access by itself. Open a worker’s Skills tab and add only the tools that worker needs — least-privilege still applies.

Verified hosts

The ~45 servers in the directory are verified — a curated list of known-good hosted integrations, so you’re not pasting in an unknown endpoint.

When to prefer remote

Reach for a remote connector when the vendor offers one — there’s nothing to install, update, or keep alive. Fall back to a local MCP server when you need something self-hosted or custom.

Choosing between remote and local

Both give a worker tools; the difference is who runs the server, and that has practical consequences.

Reach for a remote connector when the vendor offers one. Nothing to install, nothing to update, nothing that breaks when your Node version changes. For Slack, GitHub, Notion or Stripe this is simply the lower-maintenance path, and the directory already knows the URL.

Reach for local MCP when the data shouldn’t leave. A local filesystem server, or a database server pointed at something on your own network, keeps the work inside your machine. A hosted connector by definition involves the vendor’s infrastructure — fine for a service that already holds that data, wrong for your private files.

Remember the offline consequence. Local MCP tools that touch local resources keep working with the Wi-Fi off; remote connectors don’t. If you care about the app still being useful on a plane, keep the essential tools local.

Verified, but still scope it

The directory’s ~45 servers are curated rather than arbitrary endpoints — but a verified host still gets whatever your token permits. Least privilege applies exactly as it does to local servers.

Recap

Remote connectors mount hosted MCP servers by URL from a directory of ~45 verified services, with no local subprocess to run. Next: how you actually sign in to those services — once — without ever pasting a key.

📖 Reference in the docs: MCP servers · Connectors

➡️ Next: OAuth sign-in