Creating and Installing an MCP App in Seismic

This guide walks you through creating a Model Context Protocol (MCP) app in Seismic's App Registry and getting it installed in a tenant. It's split into two parts:

  1. Creating the app — what the app developer does in App Registry.
  2. Installing the app — what a tenant administrator does to enable the app so it can connect to the MCP server.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

  • Admin access to a Seismic tenant.
  • A tenant that has the MCP server enabled. Without this, the MCP app type will not appear in App Registry.
  • Your agent platform's OAuth configuration details (redirect URIs, whether PKCE is required, etc.).

Part 1: Creating an MCP App

Step 1. Sign in to App Registry

Navigate to apps.seismic.com. If you are not already signed in, you will be prompted to log in. Log in to a tenant where you have admin access.

Once you are signed in, you'll land on the App Registry home page, which shows a list of existing apps and a blue Create App button in the upper right.

Step 2. Create a new app

  1. Click Create App.
  2. Select a tenant that has the MCP server enabled. When you pick an MCP-enabled tenant, a new MCP App option appears in the app-type list.
  3. Choose MCP App as the app type.
  4. Give the app a name (for example, My MCP App).
  5. Click Create.

Note: MCP apps behave similarly to installable apps but with a reduced feature set. The sections below describe only what applies to MCP apps.

Step 3. Configure authentication

On the new app's detail page:

  1. Open the Authentication section.
  2. MCP apps support only the Authorization Code flow. Select it.

Step 4. Select scopes

Scroll down to the Scopes section.

  • You will see seismic.mcp selected by default — this is the top-level scope required for any MCP app.
  • Under seismic.mcp, you'll see additional OIDC Connect scopes. It is recommended that you select all of them. These pass along a bit of extra information that your agent platform can use if it supports it.
  • Click Save.

Step 5. Copy your client credentials

After saving with scopes selected, the Client ID is generated (and updated whenever you modify scopes).

  • Client ID — copy this into your agent platform.
  • Client Secret — generate one if your agent platform requires a secret.

Step 6. Connect your app to your agent platform

Once the app is saved and you have your client credentials:

  1. Pass the OAuth information (Client ID, Client Secret if used, and any additional OAuth configuration) into your agent platform of choice.
  2. Establish the MCP connection from that platform.

🚧

At this point the app exists in the tenant, but it is not yet active

A tenant administrator must enable it — see Part 2.



Part 2: Installing the App as a Tenant Administrator

After an MCP app is created in App Registry, it shows up inside the target tenant in a disabled state. A tenant administrator has to explicitly enable it and approve its scopes before it can connect to the MCP server.

Step 1. Open System Settings

In the Seismic tenant, navigate to Settings → System Settings.

Step 2. Open My Apps

Scroll to the bottom of System Settings and click My Apps.

You should see the MCP app you just created listed here. It will be marked as up-to-date (on the latest version) but disabled.

Step 3. Enable the app

  1. Click to enable the app.

  2. A permissions dialog will open listing the MCP tools the app is requesting.

  3. Select the tools you want to approve.

  4. Click Allow.

Step 4. Confirm the app is active

Once enabled, the app is ready. It will successfully connect to and function with the MCP server the app was registered against.


Summary

At a high level, the lifecycle is:

  1. Developer creates an MCP app in App Registry (apps.seismic.com) on an MCP-enabled tenant.
  2. Developer configures Authorization Code auth, OAuth settings, the seismic.mcp scope (plus recommended sub-scopes), and copies out the Client ID / Secret.
  3. Developer wires those credentials into their agent platform and establishes the MCP connection.
  4. Tenant administrator enables the app under System Settings → My Apps and approves the requested scopes.
  5. The app is now live and can communicate with the Seismic MCP server.# Creating and Installing an MCP App in Seismic