signoz-mcp-setup

SigNoz MCP Setup

Initialize or repair the SigNoz MCP server registration shipped with this plugin. The target state is one working signoz MCP server. Do not create a duplicate server unless the user explicitly asks for a separate configuration.

Shared reference

Read references/mcp-settings.md before checking state, mapping user input, or editing registration files. It contains the server-state check, registration file locations, editing rules, and region mapping used by this procedure.

Read references/client-configs.md for a portable Agent Plugins v1 install, when the user names a client other than the bundled Claude Code or Cursor plugin path, when a native client config already exists, or when self-hosted stdio/local-binary setup is requested.

Configuration procedure

Step 1: Identify the client

Determine this before checking state: it decides where state is allowed to be checked from.

Use the client named in $ARGUMENTS or the user's latest message. If no client is named, infer it only when the active environment is obvious (which agent CLI or editor is running this skill, not just what files happen to exist on disk):

Classify the install from the format the active client loaded, not from other files that happen to coexist in the plugin root. An Agent Plugins v1 install uses the portable mcp.json when its root plugin.json declares the canonical Agent Plugins schema, even if the same root contains registration files for Claude Code, Cursor, or Grok Build. Use a client-specific registration file only when that client loaded the corresponding compatibility package.

• Portable Agent Plugins v1 install, including a VS Code or Codex installation whose root manifest declares the Agent Plugins schema: use the standard mcp.json in the installed plugin root.
• Claude Code compatibility-package install: use the persisted plugin option referenced by its bundled registration file. Cursor compatibility-package install: use its bundled registration file.
• Grok Build: use the Grok Build CLI recipe in client-configs.md. It ships a bundled registration file, but its endpoint is configured through [mcp_servers.signoz], not by editing that file.
• VS Code / GitHub Copilot native MCP setup: use the native recipe only when no Agent Plugins v1 install is active, the user explicitly requests native config, or the endpoint is not eligible for portable mcp.json.
• Claude Desktop, Gemini CLI, Devin CLI, Windsurf, Zed, Antigravity CLI, or OpenCode: use the matching native client recipe in client-configs.md.
• Unknown or unsupported client: use the generic HTTP MCP recipe and point the user to the SigNoz MCP Server docs for their client's exact config surface.

If you need to edit a native client config and the client is still ambiguous, ask which client they want to configure.

Step 2: Check state

Silently determine the SigNoz MCP server state using the reference flow, scoped to the client identified in Step 1:

Probe with signoz_list_services(timeRange: "1h", limit: 1). Do not use docs tools (signoz_search_docs or signoz_fetch_doc) for this check.

• For Codex, check the effective signoz entry with codex mcp get signoz or codex mcp list before consulting the plugin-root mcp.json; a native entry of the same name has higher precedence and may intentionally be the active fallback. For other Agent Plugins v1 clients, and for bundled Claude Code or Cursor installs, use the reference flow's client-specific fallback.
• For Grok Build, read [mcp_servers.signoz] from Grok's config scopes (or run grok mcp list) instead. Its bundled .signoz_grok_mcp.json ships a working default and is overridden by config, so it never reports the live state.
• For every other client, including native VS Code setup and Devin CLI, do not read or search for the plugin-root mcp.json, .signoz_claude_mcp.json, or .signoz_cursor_mcp.json. Those are bundled files for a different plugin distribution and are irrelevant here even if a file-search tool happens to find them (for example when this skill is linked from a local checkout of the agent-skills source repo itself). This does not exclude native files such as .vscode/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json; check the identified client's own native config location per client-configs.md.

State outcomes:

• working: signoz_list_services succeeded; continue with the user's original SigNoz request.
• not-setup: run Step 3.
• configured-but-not-working: if the user provided a new region or MCP URL, run Step 3. Otherwise tell them the SigNoz MCP server is configured but not connected, then ask for the SigNoz Cloud region or MCP URL to repair it. If they believe the endpoint is already correct, tell them to complete the client authentication step in Step 5.

Do not fall back to raw HTTP calls for SigNoz data when MCP is unavailable. The MCP server is the supported API surface for this plugin's live SigNoz workflows.

The workflow skills assume the current SigNoz MCP server contract. If a SigNoz tool reports schema or parameter errors that contradict the skill instructions, repair or update the MCP server connection instead of inventing alternate raw HTTP calls or teaching legacy parameters.

Step 3: Resolve the endpoint

Use $ARGUMENTS or the user's latest message if it already contains a region or URL. Otherwise ask for one of:

• SigNoz Cloud region: us, us2, eu, eu2, in, in2, or a newer region code
• SigNoz Cloud MCP URL, such as https://mcp.us.signoz.cloud/mcp
• Self-hosted HTTP MCP URL, such as http://localhost:8000/mcp

Map the response using mcp-settings.md. If the user gives only a SigNoz workspace URL such as https://your-instance.signoz.cloud, do not guess the region from it. Ask them to check Settings -> Ingestion in SigNoz and provide the region.

Do not ask for an API key for SigNoz Cloud setup. OAuth asks for the instance URL and service account API key after the hosted MCP URL is configured. For self-hosted SigNoz, prefer HTTP mode when the user gives an /mcp endpoint. For stdio/local-binary mode, collect the binary path, SigNoz URL, and API key only if the user explicitly asks you to configure that mode. For clients that cannot complete interactive OAuth, use the header-based fallback in client-configs.md only when the user asks for it or the client requires it.

Step 4: Apply the endpoint

For an Agent Plugins v1 install, including Codex, or a bundled Claude Code or Cursor plugin install, apply the endpoint using the reference editing rules:

1. For Agent Plugins v1, apply the portable endpoint eligibility rules in mcp-settings.md and the canonical file shape in client-configs.md. When the endpoint is not portable, follow the reference routing to the identified client's native MCP configuration instead. When configuring an installed Agent Plugins v1 package in VS Code, the endpoint is portable, and the user did not explicitly request native config, update only the plugin-root mcp.json. Do not create a native signoz entry; it would register a second server alongside the plugin server. If the user explicitly reports that an earlier plugin setup created a duplicate native signoz, remove only that confirmed accidental entry from the VS Code workspace or user MCP config and preserve every unrelated server and setting. Never infer that an existing native entry is accidental solely because both registrations exist.
2. For Claude Code, leave .signoz_claude_mcp.json unchanged. Get the exact enabled plugin ID from claude plugin list --json, then update only pluginConfigs[<plugin-id>].options.SIGNOZ_MCP_URL in ~/.claude/settings.json, preserving unrelated settings. Claude ignores project and local pluginConfigs. If managed settings or --settings supplies the option, report that higher-precedence source instead of claiming the user setting changed. Customize updates the same user option.
3. For Codex, update the Agent Plugins v1 mcp.json, preserving its signoz key and type. If a native signoz entry already exists, update it too because it takes precedence. For a non-portable endpoint, leave mcp.json unchanged and use the native entry instead. Verify with codex mcp get signoz or codex mcp list.
4. In .signoz_cursor_mcp.json for Cursor, replace only the url value with the resolved MCP endpoint, preserving the existing signoz server key.
5. Preserve unrelated MCP servers and settings.

Claude Code user-settings fragment (use the exact installed plugin ID and preserve the rest of ~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "pluginConfigs": {
    "signoz@<marketplace>": {
      "options": {
        "SIGNOZ_MCP_URL": "https://mcp.us.signoz.cloud/mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

Agent Plugins v1 target shape, including Codex (keep $schema, the signoz server key, and type):

{
  "$schema": "https://agent-plugins.org/schemas/1.0.0/mcp.schema.json",
  "mcpServers": {
    "signoz": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://mcp.us.signoz.cloud/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cursor target shape (keep the signoz server key):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "signoz": {
      "url": "https://mcp.us.signoz.cloud/mcp"
    }
  }
}

If an active non-Claude registration file still uses any SIGNOZ_MCP_URL wrapper from an older version, replace it with the concrete resolved URL.

Portable and Cursor registration files live inside the installed plugin. Plugin updates can reset them to the placeholder; if that happens, rerun this setup skill. Claude Code's persisted plugin option survives plugin updates. For a more durable native-client setup, use the relevant recipe in client-configs.md.

For Codex, if the user says the endpoint reset again, keeps resetting, or asks for a durable/persistent setup, also create or update the native Codex MCP server entry after resolving the endpoint:

codex mcp add signoz --url <resolved-mcp-url>

This writes the user-level [mcp_servers.signoz] entry in Codex config and survives plugin cache updates. If editing TOML directly, preserve unrelated config and only set url for mcp_servers.signoz.

For Grok Build, do not edit the bundled .signoz_grok_mcp.json. Write the resolved endpoint to Grok's own config, which replaces the plugin-provided signoz server and survives plugin updates:

grok mcp add signoz -t http <resolved-mcp-url> -s user

Use -s project instead when the user wants the endpoint committed with the repo in ./.grok/config.toml. Re-running the command updates the existing entry rather than adding a second server. If signoz is already defined in more than one scope, update the highest-precedence one (./.grok/config.toml > <repo-root>/.grok/config.toml > ~/.grok/config.toml); editing a lower one would be silently shadowed. See the Grok Build CLI recipe in client-configs.md.

For native client setup, use client-configs.md:

• Edit an existing native client config only when the user named that client or the target file is clearly the active config for the task.
• Create a new native client config only when the user asks for that client to be configured.
• Never write service account API keys, bearer tokens, or header-based auth values into tracked project files. Prefer client OAuth for SigNoz Cloud, user-level config, environment-variable references, or short commands the user can run locally.
• Preserve unrelated MCP servers and existing client settings.
• Keep the server name signoz in native client configs (the bundled Claude Code plugin file is the only one that uses the mcp key; do not rename it).

Auth and role diagnosis

Backend RBAC classifies MCP failures from the API key's user role: reads need at least viewer; alert/dashboard writes need editor or admin; notification-channel management and API-key creation need admin. 401 / UNAUTHORIZED means the credential is missing, invalid, or expired: check configuration/presence first, then reauthenticate or reissue as appropriate. 403 / PERMISSION_DENIED means credentials are valid but under-privileged. Have a sufficiently privileged user act or issue a dedicated minimum-role key; never paste elevated keys into chat or tracked config.

Step 5: Tell the user how to finish

Tell the user that the SigNoz MCP endpoint has been configured, then give the client-specific authentication step:

• Agent Plugins v1 client: reload the installed plugin if the client does not pick up the changed mcp.json, then use that client's MCP authentication flow for the signoz server. Agent Plugins v1 leaves OAuth interaction and credential storage to the client.
• Cursor: reload the window, then authenticate the signoz MCP server in Tools & MCP if prompted.
• VS Code / GitHub Copilot: open Copilot Chat in Agent mode, approve the signoz server if prompted, then complete the authentication flow for SigNoz Cloud. A self-hosted endpoint needs no OAuth unless its MCP server runs with OAUTH_ENABLED=true.
• Codex: restart Codex if the server does not appear. For SigNoz Cloud, run codex mcp login signoz to complete OAuth, then verify with /mcp. For a self-hosted HTTP endpoint (no OAuth unless the server runs with OAUTH_ENABLED=true), skip the login step and just verify with /mcp that the already-authenticated signoz server is connected.
• Claude Code: run /reload-plugins so Claude re-substitutes the persisted option, then run /mcp, select the signoz plugin's mcp server (plugin:signoz:mcp), and complete authentication.
• Claude Desktop: for SigNoz Cloud or publicly reachable self-hosted HTTP, reconnect the custom connector and complete authentication when prompted. Private-network or localhost endpoints need local stdio because remote connectors originate from Anthropic's cloud. Restart Claude Desktop after a local stdio change so it reloads claude_desktop_config.json; that file is only for command-based registration, not a hosted URL.
• Grok Build: run /mcps (or press Ctrl+L and open the MCP Servers tab), press r to reload after the config change, then select signoz and press i to complete the OAuth flow in the browser. Self-hosted endpoints need no OAuth unless the server runs with OAUTH_ENABLED=true. Diagnose with grok mcp doctor signoz.
• Gemini CLI: restart Gemini CLI if needed, then run /mcp auth signoz.
• Devin CLI: start a new session so the updated .devin/config.json is picked up. For SigNoz Cloud, run devin mcp login signoz to complete OAuth. For a self-hosted or header-based endpoint, no OAuth step is expected.
• Windsurf: reload Windsurf and complete authentication when prompted.
• Zed: reload Zed after config changes; self-hosted stdio mode reads the configured environment from the context server entry.
• Antigravity CLI: type /mcp, select the signoz server, and choose Authenticate to start the OAuth flow (complete it in the browser). Self-hosted endpoints need no OAuth unless the server runs with OAUTH_ENABLED=true. If authentication is stuck, clear cached dynamic auth providers and retry.
• OpenCode: run opencode mcp auth signoz if authentication does not start automatically, then verify with opencode mcp list.

Keep the response short. Do not expose registration file paths, placeholder values, environment variable names, API keys, tokens, or file contents unless the user explicitly asks for implementation details.