Connect an assistant with MCP

MCP lets an external assistant use the Dash tools you authorize. Open MCP clients to manage access. Choose the connection based on where the assistant runs and who should be able to read its requests and results.

	Local MCP	Relay MCP
Connection	A local address on a computer running Dash Desktop	Your account’s hosted MCP address
Client location	A client able to reach that computer’s local address	Includes cloud-hosted assistants
Account	Local use works signed out	Dash Cloud account and Dash Pro required for tool execution
Who reads tool content	The authorized client and participating machines; the client may send results to its own provider	Dash’s hosted service, the connected client or service, and participating machines

Connect a client locally

Open MCP clients in Dash Desktop on the machine that will host the connection.
Copy the Local MCP URL and add it as an HTTP MCP server in your assistant.
Start the assistant’s sign-in flow, then return to Dash to review the connection request.
Select the machines, projects, actions, and account-note access you want to allow, then approve the request.

Keep Dash Desktop running. Copying the URL or opening settings does not grant access by itself. Use the configuration options shown in Dash for a client that needs a JSON configuration or a credential instead of the sign-in flow.

The local URL is reachable from that machine. A hosted service generally cannot use your computer’s loopback address; use Relay MCP for that connection.

Choose permissions

Review the selected machines and projects before granting access. Read access allows inspection without edits, commands, or terminal control. Broader access can permit changes or command execution. Account notes have a separate access choice, including no access, read access, or read and edit access.

Selecting all current and future projects has a wider scope than selecting specific projects. Command execution uses the machine user’s permissions.

An assistant receives the results you authorize. With Local MCP, those contents do not pass through Dash’s hosted MCP endpoint, but the assistant may send them to its own provider. Review that client’s configuration as well as Dash’s permissions.

Connect through Relay MCP

Open Relay settings from MCP settings, or open the Relay MCP settings in Dash Web. Copy the account MCP address. Clients that support account sign-in can request access; other services can use a scoped credential.

Review the integration’s permissions and enable the selected machine’s access when prompted. Tool execution requires the target machine to be available and Dash Pro to be active.

Dash servers and the connected service can read Relay MCP tool inputs and results. These may include files, notes, command output, or other content you allow the integration to access. Dash asks you to acknowledge this when enabling access. This differs from the ordinary encrypted traffic used between Dash clients.

Revoke access

Review Clients with access in Local MCP settings and use Revoke to remove a client’s grant. Manage Relay MCP integrations and credentials in Relay settings. Revocation denies future tool calls; it does not erase results already received by a client or service.

See Account, sync, and privacy and the Dash Privacy Policy for the wider data boundaries.