Apps and MCP
Apps connect your copilots to external tools and services. With the right app, a copilot can search Confluence, create Jira tickets, read Notion pages, query GitHub, and more — directly from the chat, without you switching between applications.
Apps are powered by the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that lets AI models connect to external data sources and take actions in those systems.
How apps work
When you add an app to a copilot, the copilot gains access to that service. It can retrieve data, create or update records, and take actions — limited only by your own permissions in that service.
Apps are activated per copilot. If you share a copilot that has apps connected, each user authenticates with their own credentials — they only access data they already have permission to view and modify.
Adding an app to a copilot
- Open your copilot's settings.
- Find the Apps section.
- Browse available apps and click one to see what it does.
- Click Add to Copilot.
- Complete authentication for the external service when prompted.
- Click Save changes.
Once added, the copilot automatically uses the app when it's relevant to what you're asking.
Removing an app
Open your copilot's settings, find the app in the Apps section, and click Remove. Save changes to apply.
Using apps in a chat
You don't need to invoke apps explicitly. Just make a request that involves the connected service and the copilot handles the rest.
Examples:
"Create a Jira ticket for the login bug we just discussed" → The copilot creates the ticket in Jira and returns the ticket number.
"What does our Confluence page say about the onboarding process?" → The copilot searches Confluence, retrieves the relevant content, and summarizes it.
"Add a comment to PHX-142 saying the design review is complete" → Done.
Be specific — include project names, page titles, or identifiers to help the copilot find exactly what you mean.
Review actions before you rely on themAlways check what the copilot created or modified in the external service. App actions are attributed to your account and operate with your permissions — the copilot can only do what you could do yourself.
How access control works
Understanding who controls what helps when an app isn't showing up where you expect it.
Apps go through three levels of enablement before a user can configure them on a copilot:
- Fuel iX adds the app to the platform and makes it available to selected organizations.
- Your org admin enables the app in External Connections settings and controls which users and teams are permitted to add it to their copilots. An admin can restrict this to a single user, a set of users, specific teams, or open it to everyone.
- You add the app to a copilot and authenticate with your own credentials.
What org admin access control does and doesn't do: When an admin restricts an app to certain users, that controls who can configure the app on a copilot — not who can ultimately use a copilot that has the app connected. If a permitted user builds a copilot with the app and shares it broadly, anyone who uses that copilot can interact with it. Whether they can actually retrieve data or take action depends on their own permissions in the external service — the app authenticates each user individually.
If an app you expect to see isn't available in your copilot settings, your admin may need to enable it first.
Admin setup requiredContact your admin if an app you want to use isn't showing in the marketplace. Admins: see External Connections settings.
Available apps
Fuel iX maintains a registry of approved apps. Rather than maintaining our own documentation for each app — these are external services with their own docs — we link directly to each app's official documentation.
| App | What it connects to | Official documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Atlassian | Confluence and Jira — search, create, and update pages and issues | Atlassian MCP docs |
| Notion | Notion pages and databases | Authenticate from your Profile connections |
The app registry changesNew apps are added as they're evaluated and approved for the platform. Check the Apps section in your copilot settings for the current list. This page links to official documentation rather than replicating it — when an app updates its capabilities, their docs will reflect it before ours would.
Building your own MCP server
If you're a developer who wants to build a custom MCP server to connect Fuel iX copilots to your own systems, see the Building MCP servers for Fuel iX guide.
Troubleshooting
Before assuming it's a platform or server problem, check the copilot settings first. The most common cause of an app "not working" is that it isn't enabled on that specific copilot. Open the copilot's settings and confirm the app is listed under Apps. If it's not there, add it — that's a copilot configuration issue, not a Fuel iX or server issue.
App not showing in the marketplace — Confirm with your admin that the app is enabled for your organization and that you're among the users permitted to configure it.
App not showing in a specific copilot — The app may not be added to this copilot yet. Open the copilot's settings → Apps, and add it.
Authentication failing — Verify you have an active account with the external service and the right permissions. Try disconnecting and reconnecting via Profile → Connections, or clear your browser cache and try again.
Tool errors appearing in the chat response — When an app fails to execute a tool, the error is usually surfaced in the thinking tags (the expandable section above the response). Expand those to read the error detail. Tool errors typically indicate the app server is having trouble — not a copilot configuration problem.
App works for you but not a colleague — Each user authenticates independently. Your colleague may need to authenticate the app from their own Profile → Connections. Their access also depends on their own permissions in the external service.
Copilot retrieves no data despite the app being connected — Be more specific in your request (include project names, page titles, ticket IDs). If the problem persists, check your permissions in the external service and confirm the copilot's system prompt instructs it to use the app for relevant requests.
Related pages
- Profile connections — authenticating your personal connections to external apps
- Custom copilots — adding apps when building a copilot
- Building MCP servers for Fuel iX — developer guide for building custom integrations
- Building an MCP-powered copilot (playbook)
Updated 4 months ago