Configure Remote MCP

DigitalOcean provides separate remote MCP servers for multiple services, each exposing tools and context specific to that service.

You enable the services you need by adding the corresponding server URLs and authentication details to your local mcp.json file. The MCP client uses this configuration to connect to each remote server and perform actions on your DigitalOcean resources.

Prerequisites

To use the remote MCP servers, you need the following:

• An MCP client such as Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or Windsurf

• A DigitalOcean API token

Configure Remote MCP Servers

MCP clients use a standard JSON format to configure MCP servers. The exact location of the mcp.json file and how it is applied depends on your MCP client.

To enable the remote MCP service, add it to the mcpServers block of your client’s configuration. Each remote service entry requires three pieces of information:

• A unique service key, such as apps or databases
• The service’s URL, pointing to the hosted MCP server
• A headers block, providing your authentication (for example, a bearer token)

The following example shows how to configure connections to the App Platform (apps) and Databases (databases) remote MCP servers. Replace <your_api_token> with your DigitalOcean API token, or use the client-specific method of variable substitution (if available) to keep your token out of the configuration file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apps": {
      "url": "https://apps.mcp.digitalocean.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "<your_api_token>" 
      }
    },
    "databases": {
      "url": "https://databases.mcp.digitalocean.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "<your_api_token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Remote MCP Service Endpoints

Refer to the mcp-digitalocean repository for more information on supported DigitalOcean services and detailed lists and descriptions of their available tools.

Add Remote MCP Servers to Your MCP Client

Claude

To use a DigitalOcean remote MCP server with Claude Code and Claude Desktop, navigate to Claude Code’s settings and add a custom connector, then provide the remote MCP server URL.

Note that Remote MCP servers do not use claude mcp add, environment variables, or local executables.

For more information, see the official Claude Support article Getting Started with Custom Connectors Using Remote MCP.

Cursor

See Cursor’s Model Context Protocol docs to add a DigitalOcean remote MCP server to Cursor.

Visual Studio Code

See Use MCP servers in VS Code to add a DigitalOcean remote MCP server to Visual Studio Code.

Windsurf

See the Windsurf Cascade MCP docs to learn how to add a DigitalOcean remote MCP server to Windsurf.

Troubleshooting

If your DigitalOcean MCP server is not working as expected, check the following common issues.

Authentication Issues

The DigitalOcean MCP server requires an active and properly-scoped access token:

• Ensure the DIGITALOCEAN_API_TOKEN variable is correctly set in the headers block of the MCP server.
• Verify the access token has appropriate permissions for the services you're using.
• Check that the access token hasn't expired.

Unsupported Region or Service

An LLM may configure services or features that are not available in the specified region:

• Check regional availability for the service you're setting up.
• Verify the service is available in your selected region.
• Use doctl compute region list to see available regions.

Debugging Best Practices

When debugging issues with LLMs and the DigitalOcean MCP server, consider the following:

• Keep Logs: Save the MCP request/response logs for reproducibility.
• Start Small: Test with small and focused operations first before moving on to complex workflows.
• Check Permissions: Ensure your API token has the necessary scopes.