# How to Connect External AI Tools to Lookout


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Lookout exposes a curated set of its tools to **external AI tools** through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This lets an approved external assistant or agent call into your workspace programmatically, for example, to run a warehouse query or read a dashboard, using the same connections your team already set up.

## What it exposes

External tools get a curated, mostly read-only subset of Lookout's capabilities. For the exact, current tool list, see the in-app **MCP** reference in your workspace.

| Tool | Permissions | <div style="width: 350px;">Description</div> |
| :----| :-----| :------|
| Warehouse | Read | Query a connected warehouse, list tables, describe a table, and list warehouses |
| Dashboards | Read | List dashboards, get a dashboard, and run a single dashboard panel |
| Source documentation | Read | List and read the documentation Lookout generated for your sources. This is the generated documentation in the [Context Hub]({{< ref "lookout/working-with-lookout/context-hub.md" >}}), not your RudderStack source catalog |
| Dashboards | Write | `save_dashboard` creates or updates a dashboard. <br /><br />It is the only write tool and is gated behind the `mcp:write` scope (see below) |

## Scopes

When an external tool authorizes via OAuth, or when you create a named programmatic token, the default scope is `mcp:read mcp:write`, which includes the `save_dashboard` write capability.

To grant **read-only** access, explicitly request the `mcp:read` scope only.

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Because the default scope includes `mcp:write`, an external tool that doesn't narrow its scope can save dashboards in your workspace. If a tool only needs to read, grant it `mcp:read` only.
{{< /warning >}}

## How access is secured

- Access uses **OAuth 2.1** (with PKCE, dynamic client registration, and a consent screen) or named programmatic tokens.
- Programmatic tokens are stored hashed and are prefix-identified so they can be revoked.
- Tokens used for external access are separate from your web session.

## Setup

Any member can create clients and tokens for external access from the **MCP** area in the sidebar (also reachable from **Settings** > **Integrations**). External tools then call into the workspace using those credentials.

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External AI tool access is enabled at the **deployment** level, not per workspace. If you don't see the **MCP** area, it may not be enabled for your deployment — check with your admin.
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## See also

- [RudderStack MCP]({{< ref "ai-features/rudderstack-mcp/_index.md" >}}): Connect an AI assistant to your **RudderStack** workspace directly — this is a separate capability from Lookout's external tool access.