# Connect local tools with a local connector URL: https://docs.assistantcore.com/en/tools-mcp/local-connector Connect MCP servers on your own computer or private network through a connector that dials out, with no public URL or open port. A local connector lets the assistant use tools that run on **your computer or private network**. The connector runs next to your MCP servers and opens a WebSocket connection out to Assistant Core, and the assistant calls the tools over that connection. No public URL or open port is needed. For a complete example, see [mcp-bash](https://github.com/assistant-core/mcp-bash): a connector plus an MCP server that lets the assistant run bash commands on your machine. Read [Keep the connector token secret](#keep-the-connector-token-secret) before you run it. ## Remote server or local connector? [#remote-server-or-local-connector] Both are on the **MCP** page of the Admin Panel. | **Remote servers** tab ([MCP Server](/en/tools-mcp/mcp-server)) | **Local connector** tab | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Assistant Core calls your server's URL | Your connector connects to Assistant Core | | The server needs a public HTTPS URL | The server can sit behind NAT or a firewall, or run locally over stdio | | Authenticated with OAuth, a token or a key | Authenticated with a secret token per connector | ## Prerequisites [#prerequisites] * The **Assistant Owner** role. An **Assistant Admin** can view the connectors and tools but not change them. * A machine that can open an outbound connection to `wss://api.assistantcore.com`. ## Connect a connector [#connect-a-connector] 1. Open the [Admin Panel](https://admin.assistantcore.com) and select the assistant. 2. Go to **MCP** → **Local connector** and turn on **Enable local connectors**. 3. Under **Connectors**, enter a **Connector name** for the machine (for example `web01`) and click **Add Connector**. 4. Copy the connector settings right away. The token is shown **only once**. 5. Run your connector with those settings, for example with mcp-bash: ```bash export LOCAL_CONNECTOR_URL="wss://api.assistantcore.com/local-connector/ws" export LOCAL_CONNECTOR_TOKEN="lc_..." python connector.py ``` A connector of your own dials `LOCAL_CONNECTOR_URL` with the header `Authorization: Bearer `, then answers MCP requests (JSON-RPC, one message per WebSocket frame) from your MCP server. 6. Back in the Admin Panel, click **Refresh Tools**. The tools appear under **Available Tools**, with the connector each one comes from. 7. Turn off the tools the assistant doesn't need, and set **Available in** for the rest. If the tab says **Local connectors are unavailable**, the platform operator has not set them up yet. ## Refresh approves the tools [#refresh-approves-the-tools] The assistant uses a connector's tools exactly as they were when you last clicked **Refresh Tools**. If a connector adds a tool, or changes a tool's description, parameters or surfaces, that tool is held back until you refresh again, so a connector can't change a tool behind your back. Refresh after you add a connector, update an MCP server or change a tool. A connector that is offline when you refresh keeps the tools you approved earlier. Refreshing also records each tool's `readOnlyHint`, `destructiveHint` and `shell_argument`, which decide whether its calls [ask for approval](/en/tools-mcp/approvals). ## Several machines [#several-machines] Add one connector per machine, up to 20 per assistant. Each has its own token, so you can regenerate or delete one without touching the others. * A token connects **one machine at a time**. A second connection with the same token is refused, so a leaked token can't take over a machine that is online. * A tool name belongs to the connector that offered it first. Another connector offering the same name is refused, and its log says so. Give each machine distinct tool names, for example `web01_bash` and `db01_bash`. * A token belongs to one assistant. To connect one machine to several assistants, run one connector per assistant, each with that assistant's token. ## Keep the connector token secret [#keep-the-connector-token-secret] A connector token is a credential. Anyone with it can offer tools to the assistant and receive its tool calls and their arguments. * Don't commit the token to git or paste it anywhere public. * If a token leaks or is lost, click **Regenerate Token** on that connector. The old token stops working immediately and that connector is disconnected until you update it; the others keep working. * Click **Delete Connector** to disconnect it for good. If a connector exposes tools that run shell commands or touch files, the assistant can act on that machine for whoever chats with it. Use it only with assistants whose users you trust, run the connector under a low-privilege account, keep the tool to the **App** surface, and turn off tools you don't need. Approval rules can then allow safe commands such as `git status` without allowing the whole tool: see [Shell command rules](/en/tools-mcp/approvals#shell-command-rules). ## No tools showing? [#no-tools-showing] * Check that **Enable local connectors** is on and the connector is listed under **Connectors**. * Check that the connector is running with its **current** token. Old tokens are rejected after you regenerate. * Check the connector's log: a refused connection says why (token already in use, or a tool name another connector offers). * Click **Refresh Tools**: new or changed tools are held back until you do.