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MCP setup: recommend Datadog plugin/connector as default for Claude clients #36654

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Recommend Datadog plugin/connector as default for Claude clients
sumedham May 13, 2026
ad73c8b
Inline URLs and drop em dashes in Claude tabs
sumedham May 13, 2026
9bbbe01
Update Claude plugin and connector links to the canonical URLs
sumedham May 13, 2026
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47 changes: 30 additions & 17 deletions content/en/bits_ai/mcp_server/setup.md
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Expand Up @@ -21,24 +21,28 @@
{{< tabs >}}
{{% tab "Claude" %}}

Connect Claude (including Claude Cowork) to the Datadog MCP Server by adding it as a {{< ui >}}custom connector{{< /ui >}} with the remote MCP URL.
Install the [Datadog Connector](https://claude.ai/directory/connectors/datadog) from the Claude Connectors Directory. The official connector is the recommended way to connect Datadog to Claude (including Claude Cowork) and includes MCP Apps for in-product visualizations. If you previously added Datadog as a custom connector, remove it to avoid conflicts.

{{< site-region region="us,us3,us5,eu,ap1,ap2" >}}
1. Follow the Claude help center guide on [custom connectors][1] to add a new custom connector.
1. In Claude, click the **+** icon at the bottom of any prompt, then click {{< ui >}}Add Connector{{< /ui >}}.
1. Find **Datadog** in the directory and enable it.
1. Complete the OAuth login flow when prompted.
1. Verify that you have the required [permissions](#required-permissions) for the Datadog resources you want to access.

{{% collapse-content title="Manual setup with a custom connector" level="h4" expanded=false id="claude-custom-connector" %}}

Check notice on line 32 in content/en/bits_ai/mcp_server/setup.md

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Datadog.sentencelength 

Suggestion: Try to keep your sentence length to 25 words or fewer.
If the directory connector is not available to you, you can add Datadog as a [custom connector](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp) using the remote MCP URL for your [Datadog site](/getting_started/site/) ({{< region-param key="dd_site_name" >}}). For the correct instructions, use the {{< ui >}}Datadog Site{{< /ui >}} selector on the right side of this documentation page to select your site.

1. When prompted for a URL, enter the Datadog MCP Server endpoint for your [Datadog site][2] ({{< region-param key="dd_site_name" >}}). For the correct instructions, use the {{< ui >}}Datadog Site{{< /ui >}} selector on the right side of this documentation page to select your site.
1. Follow the Claude help center guide on [custom connectors](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp) to add a new custom connector.

1. When prompted for a URL, enter:
<pre><code>{{< region-param key="mcp_server_endpoint" >}}</code></pre>

To enable [product-specific tools](#toolsets), include the `toolsets` query parameter at the end of the endpoint URL. For example, this URL enables _only_ APM and LLM Observability tools (use `toolsets=all` to enable all generally available toolsets, best for clients that support tool filtering):

<pre><code>{{< region-param key="mcp_server_endpoint" >}}?toolsets=apm,llmobs</code></pre>

1. Complete the OAuth login flow when prompted.

1. Verify that you have the required [permissions](#required-permissions) for the Datadog resources you want to access.

[1]: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp
[2]: /getting_started/site/
{{% /collapse-content %}}
{{< /site-region >}}

{{< site-region region="gov,gov2" >}}
Expand All @@ -49,10 +53,21 @@

{{% tab "Claude Code" %}}

Point your AI agent to the MCP Server endpoint for your regional [Datadog site][1]. For the correct instructions, use the {{< ui >}}Datadog Site{{< /ui >}} selector on the right side of this documentation page to select your site.
Install the [Datadog plugin](https://claude.com/plugins/datadog) from the [Claude Code Plugin Marketplace](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/plugin-marketplaces). The plugin packages the Datadog MCP Server with the `/ddsetup` slash command for first-time configuration, and auto-updates as new toolsets and skills ship. If you previously installed the Datadog MCP Server manually, remove it from your Claude Code configuration to avoid conflicts.
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@m-paternostro m-paternostro May 13, 2026

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and auto-updates as new toolsets and skills ship

Short suggestion: remove "new toolsets and".

Long suggestion: a better and shorter version of the following ;-)

I am pretty sure that the plugins installed from the marketplace are, by default, marked for auto update. Therefore the plugin is updated automatically when we release a new version. Moreover, the a new plugin version may have new skills.

The issue is with toolsets, though... Toolsets are not related to the plugin update at all: toolsets can be enabled and disabled with the /ddtoolsets command and any change to the tools in a toolset is a backend action that does not change the plugin.

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Should we add a section here to describe the skills we ship with the plugin?

Right now we have 3: ddsetup, ddconfig, ddtoolsets. Let me know if you want a short description for each.


{{< site-region region="us,us3,us5,eu,ap1,ap2" >}}
Selected endpoint ({{< region-param key="dd_site_name" >}}): <code>{{< region-param key="mcp_server_endpoint" >}}</code>.
1. Add the Datadog marketplace to Claude Code:
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Because we are now on the Claude Code official marketplace, there is no need to install our separate one. For details see this documentation.

The command to install the plugin is /plugin install datadog@claude-plugins-official

<pre><code>/plugin marketplace add DataDog/claude-marketplace</code></pre>

1. Install the Datadog plugin when prompted, or run:
<pre><code>/plugin install datadog@datadog</code></pre>

1. Run `/ddsetup` to choose your [Datadog site](/getting_started/site/) and organization.
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Datadog site and organization

The organization is chosen on the browser during the OAuth flow, not via the command. Moreover, the command actually allows the user to enter the MCP Domain - most users will choose a domain associated with a site so indeed there is a 1-1 match. That said, we really need the domain (an internal user could type in mcp.datad0g.com as the domain to use staging, for instance).

  1. Run /ddsetup

I am not sure how complete we want our documentation to be so I will mumble here and let you decide ;-)

Running /ddsetup manually is definitely an option but is not 100% needed. Users can do it for a more controlled experience but we actually worded the description of that skill so that it kicks in whenever the user enters a prompt that may involve "something Datadog". Moreover, the way we designed the MCP server declaration allows for advanced users to set environment variables to eliminate the requirement for /ddsetup - btw, the environment variables also allow authentication via API and APP keys.


1. Verify that you have the required [permissions](#required-permissions) for the Datadog resources you want to access.

{{% collapse-content title="Manual MCP Server configuration" level="h4" expanded=false id="claudecode-manual" %}}

Check notice on line 69 in content/en/bits_ai/mcp_server/setup.md

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Datadog.sentencelength 

Suggestion: Try to keep your sentence length to 25 words or fewer.
If the plugin is not available to you, point Claude Code at the MCP Server endpoint for your regional [Datadog site](/getting_started/site/) directly. Selected endpoint ({{< region-param key="dd_site_name" >}}): <code>{{< region-param key="mcp_server_endpoint" >}}</code>.

1. Run in terminal:
<pre><code>claude mcp add --transport http datadog-mcp {{< region-param key="mcp_server_endpoint" >}}</code></pre>
Expand All @@ -71,11 +86,8 @@

<pre><code>{{< region-param key="mcp_server_endpoint" >}}?toolsets=apm,llmobs</code></pre>

1. Verify that you have the required [permissions](#required-permissions) for the Datadog resources you want to access.

<div class="alert alert-info">If remote authentication is not available, use <a href="#local-binary-authentication">local binary authentication</a> instead.</div>

[1]: /getting_started/site/
{{% /collapse-content %}}
{{< /site-region >}}

{{< site-region region="gov,gov2" >}}
Expand All @@ -84,7 +96,6 @@

{{< /site-region >}}

[1]: /getting_started/site/
{{% /tab %}}

{{% tab "Codex" %}}
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -570,8 +581,8 @@
| Client | Developer | Notes |
|--------|------|------|
| [Cursor][3] | Cursor | Datadog [Cursor & VS Code extension][15] recommended. |
| [Claude Code][4] | Anthropic | |
| [Claude][19] | Anthropic | Use [custom connector setup](?tab=claude#installation). Includes Claude Cowork. |
| [Claude Code][4] | Anthropic | Datadog [Claude Code plugin][53] recommended. |
| [Claude][19] | Anthropic | Datadog [Claude Connector][54] recommended. Includes Claude Cowork. |
| [Codex CLI][6] | OpenAI | |
| [Gemini CLI][50] | Google | |
| [Warp][28] | Warp | |
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -739,3 +750,5 @@
[49]: /bits_ai/mcp_server/tools
[50]: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli
[51]: /containers/monitoring/kubernetes_explorer/
[53]: https://claude.com/plugins/datadog
[54]: https://claude.ai/directory/connectors/datadog
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