Get started with MCPTotal

See how to sign up, add apps to a space, and use the MCPTotal chat.

This get-started guide is for developers and power users who want to explore MCPTotal's features. The guide details the process for integrating Slack and Gmail with the PDF Maker app. It covers creating an account, linking the necessary apps, and using MCPTotal playground chat. It uses the example of generating a summary of a Slack channel, adding the summary to a PDF, and sending the PDF as a Gmail attachment.

Prerequisites

To follow this how-to guide, you need a:

• Slack account with a channel you want to summarize.
• Gmail account.

Sign up to MCPTotal

1. On the MCPTotal homepage, click Sign Up for Free.
2. Click Continue with Google, choose your Google account, and click Continue when prompted to Sign in to MCPTotal.

Tip: You can also sign up using your email. If you do, you’re sent a verification link to create your account.

You now have free access to MCPTotal and can create up to 2 spaces, each with up to 5 apps.

Access your spaces

Spaces are the foundation of MCPTotal, providing secure, sandboxed runtime environments for your MCP applications. They include a built-in MCP gateway that monitors traffic for logging and security.

MCPTotal opens in your dashboard. To access your spaces:

1. In the menu, click Spaces.
   
2. To get you started, there is a default space. If you want to create a new space, click + New Space.
   

Add apps to your space

For this example, you add the Slack, Gmail, and PDF Maker apps. 

Add Slack

1. In your space, click Add (or Browse Apps Catalog).
   
2. In the search box, enter Slack.
   
3. In the Slack tile, click Add.
4. A pop-up displays information about the Slack MCP server.
5. Click Connect to Slack and New Connection.
   
6. If necessary, sign in to your Slack account.
7. Slack provides information about the abilities you’re granting to MCPTotal. Click Allow to grant the permissions.
   
8. Click Add.
   

You see Slack added to your space, with a blue checkmark showing it's running.

Add Gmail

To add Gmail:

1. In your space, click Add.
   Tip: If Add is not visible in the space, you can also find it in the space’s hamburger menu.
2. In the catalog pop-up, enter Gmail in the search box.
3. In the Gmail tile, click Add.
4. A pop-up displays information about the Gmail MCP server.
5. Click Connect to Gmail and New Connection.
6. If necessary, sign in to or select your Gmail account.
7. Gmail provides information about the abilities you’re granting to MCPTotal. Click Allow to grant the permissions.
8. Click Add.

Add PDF Maker

PDF Maker is a tool that converts Markdown to PDF, enabling agents to create formatted PDFs and visualizations.

To add PDF Maker.

1. Click Add.
2. In the catalog pop-up, enter PDF Maker in the search box.
3. In the PDF Maker tile, click Add. 
4. A pop-up displays, providing information about PDF Maker.
5. Click Add.

You’ve now set up the MCP server resources you need to undertake your task. The next step is to use the MCPTotal chat.

Use your space in MCPTotal chat

1. In your space tile, click Chat.
   
2. In the chat box, enter "Create a PDF summarizing the topics discussed in the Slack #programming channel over the last six months and email the PDF to [email address of your choice]".
3. You see the MCPTotal AI retrieve the information from the Slack #programming channel, create the PDF, and send the email.
    

You can see that MCPTotal's chat can transfer files between a space's apps; this might not work with other agents.

Review the channel summary in Gmail

1. In Gmail, open your Sent folder and locate the email sent to your recipient.
2. Click the PDF attachment to open it. You find it contains information such as top themes and contributors.

Conclusion

In this how-to, you've seen how to create a sandbox space in MCPTotal, add apps to that space, and then use the space in MCPTotal's chat to perform a useful task.