Connecting your tools

Most of your release work happens in your coding tool — Claude Code, or another assistant that speaks MCP. Swarm Release Manager keeps the shared record of that work: your releases, their components, the dependency graph, who's holding what, findings, and the deploy. Connecting a tool is what lets the two talk. Once a tool is connected, the release-* skills read and write that shared record directly, instead of local files that used to drift from one machine to the next.

You connect a tool once. After that it stays connected — every session on every machine talks to the same store, and you can see the connection on the Connections screen.

#What "connecting" actually does

Swarm Release Manager exposes its release store to tools over the Model Context Protocol (MCP). When you connect a tool, you're authorizing that tool to act on the store on your behalf, inside one workspace you choose.

A few things are worth knowing up front, because they make the setup simpler than you might expect:

There's no token to copy and paste. Connecting uses a standard OAuth sign-in in your browser — the same kind of "Do you want to allow this app?" screen you've seen elsewhere. The tool obtains and stores its own access automatically. You never generate an API key or paste a secret into a config file.
The connection is scoped to a workspace. When you authorize a tool, you pick which of your workspaces it may operate in. It can't reach the others.
It's tied to you. The tool acts as you within that workspace, so it can only do what your membership already allows.
It stays connected. Access renews itself quietly in the background, so you're not re-authorizing every day. You only reconnect if you revoke access or connect a brand-new tool.

#Connecting a tool, step by step

The exact menu wording depends on which tool you use, but the flow is the same everywhere.

#1. Point your tool at the Swarm Release Manager server

Add Swarm Release Manager as an MCP server in your tool. The server address is your Swarm Release Manager site — the same web address you use in your browser — with /mcp on the end.

In Claude Code, for example, you add it as an MCP server pointing at that /mcp address. Other compliant clients (such as Cursor or Codex) have their own "add MCP server" setting that takes the same URL.

You don't need to fill in a client ID, secret, or token. The server publishes everything the tool needs to register itself and start the sign-in — your tool handles that for you the first time it connects.

#2. Approve the connection in your browser

The first time your tool reaches the server, it opens a browser window to Swarm Release Manager asking you to approve the connection. If you're not already signed in, you'll sign in first (see the Getting in guide).

On this screen you'll see:

The name of the tool asking to connect (for example, "Claude Code").
Your workspaces — choose the one this tool should operate in. Only workspaces you belong to are listed. If you belong to just one, it's already selected.
What the tool will be able to do, limited to the workspace you picked.

Choose the workspace and select Authorize. (If you didn't start this, or picked the wrong tool, select Cancel instead — nothing is granted.)

Once you approve, the browser hands control back to your tool, and the tool is connected. That's it — no code to copy back.

#3. Confirm it worked

Back in your tool, the release-* skills can now reach the store. A quick way to confirm from the app side is to open the Connections screen (below): your tool should be listed there.

#The Connections screen

Connections shows every tool connected to the current workspace — one row per connection, across all of your workspace's members. It's how you see, at a glance, which tools have access.

Each row shows:

The tool's name — for example, "Claude Code". If a tool's registration was later removed, its row may read "Unknown tool" until the connection is cleaned up.
Who connected it — the workspace member who authorized this tool.
When it was granted — a relative time, like "granted 3d ago".

The heading shows how many tools are connected. Because the list is per workspace, switching your current workspace shows that workspace's connections instead.

#When the list is empty

If no tools are connected to the workspace yet, you'll see a short prompt instead of a list:

That's the normal starting point — follow the steps above to connect your first tool, and it'll appear here.

#Connecting more tools, or the same tool again

A second tool (say, both Claude Code and Cursor) is just another trip through the same authorize flow. Each connected tool gets its own row.
A second workspace for a tool you've already connected: run the authorize flow again and pick the other workspace. Access is granted per workspace.
A teammate's tools are their own connections under their name. Connecting your tool never connects theirs, and vice versa.

#Troubleshooting

The browser didn't open, or sign-in failed. Make sure you can sign in to Swarm Release Manager in a normal browser first, then retry connecting from your tool. See Getting in.
"You are not a member of any workspace yet." The authorize screen has nothing to grant because you don't belong to a workspace. Ask a workspace owner to invite you, or accept a pending invite, then try again. See Workspaces, members & invites.
The tool can read but can't do what you expect. The tool acts as you, inside the one workspace you chose. If an action is refused, check that you picked the right workspace when authorizing, and that your membership allows that action.
You want to connect to a different workspace. Re-run the authorize flow from your tool and pick the other workspace on the consent screen.

#The short version

Connecting a tool lets the release-* skills read and write your shared release store instead of local files.
Add Swarm Release Manager as an MCP server in your tool, using your site address with /mcp on the end — no token to copy.
Approve the connection in your browser and choose the workspace it may operate in.
See everything that's connected on the Connections screen, one row per tool.
Access is scoped to the workspace you pick, acts as you, and renews itself — you connect once.