In Admin, open Oda. The page has three tabs: General, MCP and Feedback, and the Feedback tab shows only to people who may read it. This page covers MCP, where you push MCP servers to the company's DataMind Oda users. An MCP server gives Oda the tools of another service. Skills are not on the Oda page: the skills Oda loads are organisation skills, managed on the Skills tab of AI configuration and described in Organisation skills.
Changes reach Oda users within 10 minutes, and every save message repeats it. What users see on their side is described in Memory, skills and connectors.
Push an MCP server
Open Admin > Oda and go to the MCP tab. Servers are listed in a table with the columns Name (a Remote or Local badge sits next to the name), Address, Access, Audience and Updated.
Click Add server. A panel titled Add MCP server opens beside the table, with the Connection and Access sections and a bar at the bottom with Cancel and Save.
In Connection, enter a Name ("Users see this name in Oda.").
Enter the Server address: "The MCP address the provider gives you, usually ending in /mcp.". It starts with https://.
Add any Headers the server needs with Add header. The hint reads "Sent with every request, for example an API key. Leave empty if the server signs users in.".
For a server that runs as a program on each user's computer, leave Server address empty, open Advanced and enter a Local command (stdio) ("Starts a program on each user's computer instead of connecting to an address."), its Arguments, one per line, and any Environment variables. Headers are hidden while a local command is set.
In the Access section, choose the Mode and who receives the server. Both are explained below. For a server address, the section also holds Available in Oda in Excel and Treat every tool as a write; see Make a server available in Oda in Excel.
Click Save in the bar at the bottom of the panel. The message reads "MCP server saved" with "{name} saved. Oda users get the change within 10 minutes.", and the panel stays open on the saved server.
Cancel on a new server closes the panel without adding anything.
Important
A local (stdio) server your organization pushes to Oda does not run until each user allows it. Oda shows "Your organization wants to run {command} on this computer. Turn the server on to allow it. If your organization changes the command, it turns off and asks again.".
Choose who gets a server
The Access section decides how the server updates and who receives it.
Mode is how later edits work. A new server starts on Managed:
Managed: "Your edits reach everyone. Removing it removes it from everyone.". The company keeps control of the server.
Install once: "Each user gets a copy they own. Later edits don't reach them.". Only users who install the copy afterwards get your later edits.
The hint under Mode reads "Can't be changed after the server is added.". On a saved server the choice is locked and the hint reads "To change this, remove the server and add it again.".
Audience is who receives the server:
Leave Only for specific roles off and everyone with Oda receives it ("Otherwise everyone with Oda gets it.").
Turn it on and pick one or more roles with Pick roles… or Search roles…. With no role picked, saving is refused with "Pick at least one role.".
For a Managed server you can also turn on Required for everyone. For a server address the hint reads "Users can't turn it off. Otherwise it's on by default and each user can turn it off.". For a local command it reads "Once a person turns it on, they can't turn it off. Otherwise they can turn it off again. A local server stays off until each person turns it on.".
The Access column of the table shows Managed, Managed · Required or Install once. The Audience column shows Everyone with Oda, the names of the picked roles, or Nobody.
Nobody means every role you picked has become inactive. The server never falls back to everyone by itself. Open it, pick active roles in Access and save.
Headers, variables and shared values
An MCP server can carry values that travel with it: Headers sent with every request to a server address, and Environment variables for a local command. Add rows with Add header or Add variable. Each row has a name, a choice of who enters the value, a value field and a cross to remove the row. It works in one of two ways:
Each user enters: Oda asks each user for their own value. The value field is locked and reads "Entered in Oda".
Shared value: you store one value for everyone. The field is masked, reads "Saved - type to replace" when a value is stored, and a stored value is never shown back to you. Leave it empty to keep the stored value. If you rename the row, type the value again.
Switching a row between the two clears the value in the field, and switching it back to Each user enters clears the stored value. When any row is shared, the form warns: "Shared values are sent to every Oda user and can be read on their computer.". For anything a person should keep private, use Each user enters.
In Oda in Excel, values work differently: DataMind sends the headers itself, so shared values never reach the person's computer, and each person enters their own values in the pane's Settings > Connectors, where DataMind keeps them encrypted.
Make a server available in Oda in Excel
A server address can also reach Oda in Excel, where people use it as a connector. Oda in Excel does not connect to the server from the person's computer: DataMind calls it for them and keeps their sign-ins and their own values.
The Access section of a server address holds two switches for Excel:
Available in Oda in Excel: "Users who get this server can also use it in Oda in Excel. DataMind connects to it for them, so the address must start with https:// and be reachable from DataMind.". It is on for every server address until you turn it off. For an Install once server, the hint adds "Oda in Excel keeps no copy of its own: it uses your latest settings while the server is pushed.".
Treat every tool as a write, shown while Available in Oda in Excel is on: "Oda in Excel asks before every call to this server, in every permission mode. When this is off, tools the server marks as read-only ask until the user chooses Always allow in this chat, and run without asking under Skip all permissions.". It is off until you turn it on. Turn it on when the server marks tools as read-only that can change data, or when no call to it should run without a card.
In the Connection section, while Available in Oda in Excel is on and the server has no Headers, Redirect URI for Oda in Excel shows the address where people's sign-ins to the server end, with a copy button. The hint reads "Oda in Excel signs users in to this server through DataMind. If the provider asks which redirect URIs to allow, add this one.".
A local command never reaches Oda in Excel, so the two switches show only for a server address.
Audience and Required for everyone apply in Excel as well: a required server shows a locked switch in the pane, and each person can turn any other server off for themselves.
A server address that does not use https://, or that points to localhost or a private network address, shows in the pane as Not available in Excel right now.
To change a server, click its row. Its detail panel opens with the server's name as the title. Click the row again, or the cross in the panel's title bar, to close it.
As soon as you change something, the bar at the bottom of the panel shows "You have unsaved changes" over "Save your work or discard to continue". Save saves the server, and Cancel brings back the stored values.
If you click another row, Add server or the cross while you have unsaved changes, the Discard unsaved changes? dialog opens: "Your changes to {name} are not saved. Leaving will discard them.". Discard changes drops them; Keep editing keeps you on the server. The same dialog opens when you switch to General, with "You have unsaved changes in this section. Switching sections will discard them.".
A Managed server edit that affects users is confirmed first, in This change affects Oda users with Save anyway. The dialog names what changes, for example:
"{name} is removed: the values users entered are deleted from their Oda."
"{name} becomes a shared value: it replaces the values users entered, which are deleted."
"The server type changes: Oda restarts it with the new settings for every user."
An Install once edit asks for no confirmation: it only reaches users who install the copy later.
To remove a server, click Remove server at the bottom of its panel. The Remove {name} dialog says what happens, and Remove confirms it. The message reads "MCP server removed" with "{name} removed.".
For a Managed server the dialog reads "{name} is removed from every Oda that has it, and the values users entered for it are deleted from their computers."
For an Install once server it reads "Nobody new gets {name}. Users who already installed it keep their copy."
Limits and messages
Limits:
A server needs either a Server address or a Local command (stdio), not both.
A server address uses https://. Plain http:// works only for localhost and 127.0.0.1.
You can add up to 32 MCP servers.
Messages you may meet:
Field checks, shown under the field when you leave it or click Save: "Enter a name.", "Enter the server address, or a local command under Advanced.", "Enter the full server address, starting with https://.", "Use a server address or a local command, not both.", "Headers only work with a server address. Remove them, or clear the local command.", "Environment variables only work with a local command. Remove them, or add the command under Advanced.", "Enter a name for every value, or remove the empty row." and "Pick at least one role.".
A list that cannot load shows "The MCP servers could not be loaded." with a Retry button. An empty list reads "No MCP servers yet" over "Servers you add appear in Oda for the users you pick.", with an Add server button.
A failed save shows "MCP server not saved", and a failed removal "MCP server not removed". Each comes with the reason the server gives, or "Something went wrong. Try again.". For messages and fixes, see Administration troubleshooting.
Who can do this
Opening the Oda page needs View DataMind Oda Settings, for example through the DataMind Oda Settings Viewer set.
Adding, editing and removing MCP servers needs Edit DataMind Oda Settings, part of the DataMind Oda Settings Manager set. Without it you can open a server to read its settings, but the fields are disabled, and there is no Add server, no save bar and no Remove server.
Everyone with Oda. Turn on Only for specific roles in the server's Access section to narrow it to one or more roles.
When do users get a change I save?
Within 10 minutes: every save message says "Oda users get the change within 10 minutes.". A Managed server updates in place for the people who have it. An Install once server stays as it was for people who already installed it; only later installs get your edits.
Can I switch a server from Install once to Managed later?
No. The Mode is fixed once the server is added, and the hint reads "To change this, remove the server and add it again.". Remove the server and add it again with the other mode.
The Audience column says Nobody. What do I do?
Every role you picked is now inactive or gone, so the server reaches no one. Open the server, pick active roles in the Access section, and click Save. It does not fall back to everyone on its own.
Can users read a value I mark as a shared value?
Yes. The form warns "Shared values are sent to every Oda user and can be read on their computer.". Use Each user enters for anything people should keep to themselves.
Why does Oda ask a user before a pushed local server runs?
A local (stdio) server pushed to Oda stays off until each user allows it. Oda shows "Your organization wants to run {command} on this computer. Turn the server on to allow it. If your organization changes the command, it turns off and asks again.".
What happens to values users typed when I remove a server?
For a Managed server, the values users entered are deleted from their computers. For an Install once server, the copies users already installed stay on their computers.
Why does a dialog ask me to discard changes when I click another server?
The open server has edits you have not saved, so Discard unsaved changes? asks first. Discard changes drops them and moves on; Keep editing keeps you on the server, so you can click Save first.
Why does saving fail with "Use a server address or a local command, not both."?
A server connects either to a Server address or to a Local command (stdio), not both. Clear one of the two and save again.
Does a server I add reach Oda in Excel?
Yes, when it is a server address with Available in Oda in Excel on, which it is until you turn it off, and the Connectors switch on the General tab is on. People see it in the pane under Settings > Connectors. A local command never reaches Excel.
What do I do with the redirect URI for Oda in Excel?
Nothing, unless the provider of the server asks which redirect URIs to allow for its sign-in. Then copy Redirect URI for Oda in Excel from the Connection section and add it there, so people can sign in to the server from Oda in Excel.
Where do users find what I pushed?
After the change reaches them, a pushed MCP server appears in the person's Oda on the MCP servers tab of Settings > Connectors, under Added by your organization. The user side is described in Memory, skills and connectors.