How to Connect MCP360 to NimbleBrain

Connect MCP360 to NimbleBrain to give your AI agents access to search, SEO, WHOIS, DNS, web scraping, and other tools through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

MCP360 brings multiple services together behind a single API key. NimbleBrain lets you configure this connection once, choose which MCP360 services to make available, and publish them as connectors that workspace admins can install directly from the connector catalog.

Follow the steps below to configure the gateway and start using MCP360 tools in your workspace.

What You Need

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A running NimbleBrain instance.

• An MCP360 account and API key.

• Access to the NimbleBrain platform configuration and connector catalog.

• Workspace admin access to install connectors.

Step 1: Get Your MCP360 API Key

1. Log in to your MCP360 dashboard.

2. Open your project and select MCP Server from the sidebar.

3. Generate or copy your API key.

4. Copy the endpoint URL for each MCP360 service you plan to use.

Your MCP360 API key works across the services available to your account, so you only need to configure the gateway once.

Keep the API key secure. You will configure it in NimbleBrain in the next step.

Step 2: Configure the MCP360 Gateway

Open nimblebrain.json in your NimbleBrain deployment and add the MCP360 gateway configuration:

{
  "connectors": {
    "gateways": {
      "mcp360": {}
    }
  }
}

This registers MCP360 as a credential provider that NimbleBrain can use when connecting to MCP360 services.

Configure your API key

For production deployments, we recommend setting the API key through an environment variable:

MCP360_API_KEY=your_mcp360_api_key

Replace your_mcp360_api_key with your actual key and configure the variable in your deployment environment or secret manager.

NimbleBrain automatically reads the key from MCP360_API_KEY when the gateway is named mcp360.

You can also specify the key directly in nimblebrain.json:

{
  "connectors": {
    "gateways": {
      "mcp360": {
        "apiKey": "your_mcp360_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use the environment-variable approach when possible to keep credentials separate from configuration files.

Step 3: Add MCP360 Services to Your Connector Catalog

Each MCP360 service has its own MCP endpoint. Add one catalog entry for every service you want to offer to your NimbleBrain workspaces.

For example, the following configuration publishes the MCP360 WHOIS service:

servers:
  - name: ai.mcp360/whois
    title: MCP360 - WHOIS
    description: Domain registration, ownership, and availability lookups
    version: "1.0.0"
    remotes:
      - type: streamable-http
        url: https://connect.mcp360.ai/v1/whois/mcp
    _meta:
      ai.nimblebrain/connector:
        auth: provider
        providerAuth:
          provider: mcp360
          config: {}
        tags:
          - domains
          - research

Add this entry to your NimbleBrain connector catalog, following the Connectors Catalog documentation.

Understand the configuration

• name: Identifies the connector in the catalog.

• title: Defines the name displayed to workspace admins.

• description: Explains what the service does.

• url: Specifies the MCP endpoint for the service.

• auth: provider: Uses the credential provider configured in NimbleBrain.

• provider: mcp360: Connects the catalog entry to your MCP360 gateway.

• tags: Help organize and discover connectors in the catalog.

The provider value must match the gateway name in nimblebrain.json.

Keep your API key secure

Do not add the API key to the endpoint URL. NimbleBrain's gateway credential provider handles authentication by attaching the credential as an HTTP header.

This keeps credentials separate from the endpoint configuration and avoids exposing the key through stored URLs or logs.

Step 4: Restart NimbleBrain and Verify the Connection

After configuring the gateway and adding the catalog entries, restart the NimbleBrain platform so it loads the updated configuration.

Check the startup logs for:

[gateway:mcp360] credential provider registered

This message confirms that NimbleBrain has registered the MCP360 credential provider.

Once the catalog is loaded, the MCP360 services you published will be available in the connector directory.

Step 5: Install an MCP360 Connector

Now you can install the service in your workspace.

1. Open NimbleBrain.

2. Navigate to Settings → Connectors → Browse.

3. Find the MCP360 service you want to use, such as MCP360 - WHOIS.

4. Select Install.

Because the gateway is already configured, you do not need a separate MCP360 sign-in for each connector.

Once installed, the service's available tools can be used by your workspace agent, subject to the connector's configuration and permissions.

Test your WHOIS connector

Try asking your agent:

Is example.com registered, and when does its domain registration expire?

The agent can use the MCP360 WHOIS tools to retrieve relevant domain information and respond with the results.

Use a real domain when testing the connector in your workspace.

Step 6: Add More MCP360 Services

MCP360 offers more than 40 services across categories such as search, SEO, WHOIS, DNS, and web scraping.

To add another service, create a new catalog entry using the same structure as the WHOIS example.

Update these fields for the new service:

• name: Give the connector a unique identifier.

• title: Add a clear display name.

• description: Explain the service's purpose.

• url: Use the endpoint URL for that MCP360 service.

• providerAuth.provider: Keep the value set to mcp360.

For example, the endpoint format is:

https://connect.mcp360.ai/v1/{service-slug}/mcp

Replace {service-slug} with the actual service slug provided by MCP360. Use the endpoint URL from your dashboard rather than assuming every service follows the same pattern.

After adding the entry, reload or restart the platform as required by your deployment, then install the connector from Settings → Connectors → Browse.

Tip: Publish the services your teams need. A well-organized catalog makes it easier for workspace admins to find relevant tools and helps agents select the appropriate tools for a task.

Troubleshooting

MCP360 does not appear in Browse

Check that:

• The gateway is declared in nimblebrain.json.

• The connector entry is present in the catalog file.

• The catalog is mounted in the expected location.

• The platform has loaded the latest configuration.

Restart or reload the platform as required, then check Browse again.

The connector reports a missing API key

Make sure the API key is configured in one of the supported locations:

• The MCP360_API_KEY environment variable.

• The apiKey field under connectors.gateways.mcp360.

If both are configured, a nonblank apiKey value takes precedence. A blank value falls back to the environment variable.

After correcting the configuration, retry the connection.

A tool call returns 401 Unauthorized

Verify that:

• The API key is valid and current.

• The connector uses the correct MCP360 endpoint URL.

• Your MCP360 account has access to the requested service.

• The gateway is configured to provide the credential correctly.

The startup logs show a reserved gateway name

Use a custom gateway name such as mcp360 and ensure that it matches the providerAuth.provider value in your catalog entries. Names reserved by NimbleBrain's built-in credential providers cannot be used for a custom gateway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a separate API key for every MCP360 service?

No. One MCP360 API key can be used across the services available to your account. Configure the gateway once, then add a separate catalog entry for each service you want to publish.

Do workspace admins need to sign in to MCP360 when installing a connector?

No. Once the gateway credentials are configured and the connector is published, workspace admins can install it from Browse without a separate MCP360 sign-in.

Can I make different MCP360 services available to different workspaces?

Yes. Publish the services you want to offer, and workspace admins can install the relevant connectors in their workspaces. The gateway credential is configured at the platform level.

How do I add another MCP360 service later?

Add a catalog entry for the service using its endpoint URL and the existing mcp360 gateway configuration. You do not need to configure a separate gateway for each service.

Start Using MCP360 with NimbleBrain

With the gateway configured and your connectors published, NimbleBrain agents can access MCP360 tools directly from their workspaces.

Start with the services your team needs, verify that they work as expected, and expand your connector catalog as new use cases arise.