Observability - official Grafana server
Grafana Cloud Traces MCP server
MCP server built into Grafana Cloud Traces (Tempo) that gives AI assistants access to distributed tracing data through TraceQL queries and other endpoints. It is reached at a per-stack Tempo URL with basic authentication. It is served from your own instance at https://<your-stack-id>.grafana.net/tempo/api/mcp; the notes below cover how it authenticates.
Last verified 1 source
Install
Claude Code
About Claude Codeclaude mcp add tempo https://<URL>/api/mcp -t http -H 'Authorization: Basic ${GCT_AUTH}'Notes and caveats
- Public preview: Grafana Labs offers limited support and breaking changes might occur before GA.
- Available to all Grafana Cloud Traces users with no plugin install.
- Auth is HTTP basic using base64 of '<user>:<token>' (Grafana Cloud user ID plus an API token with read scope), exported as GCT_AUTH before running the Claude Code command.
- The remote URL is templated per stack.
- The docs do not list tool names.
More MCP servers for observability
- Grafana
Grafana Cloud MCP server
Remotely hosted MCP server that lets external AI agents query dashboards, metrics, logs, traces, profiles, alerts, incidents and OnCall data in a Grafana Cloud stack. It uses OAuth 2.1 and acts with the signed-in user's Grafana RBAC permissions.
Transport: Streamable HTTPAuth: OAuth - Grafana
Grafana MCP server
Open source, self-run MCP server for any Grafana instance (Grafana Cloud or self-managed) that exposes tools for dashboards, datasources, Prometheus, Loki and other queries, alerting, incidents, OnCall, annotations and admin. Authenticates with a Grafana service account token or username and password.
Transport: stdio, SSE, Streamable HTTPAuth: API key - ArizeStatus: Preview
Arize AX MCP server
Hosted MCP server that gives agents access to Arize AX projects, traces, spans, datasets, experiments, evaluators, monitors and prompts. It is a thin layer over the Arize REST API v2.
Transport: Streamable HTTPAuth: OAuth or API key - ArizeStatus: GA
Phoenix MCP server
Local npm-distributed MCP server for Arize Phoenix that connects to a Phoenix instance with a base URL and API key. Covers projects, traces, spans, sessions, annotation configs, prompts, datasets and experiments.
Transport: stdioAuth: API key - ArizeStatus: Beta
Phoenix Remote MCP server
MCP server built into Arize Phoenix at the /mcp path of any Phoenix instance, letting agents read and act on traces, spans, datasets, experiments and prompts through Phoenix's REST API, plus read-only SQL and GraphQL queries. By default it exposes code-mode tools that search the operation catalog and run sandboxed Python that chains operations.
Transport: Streamable HTTPAuth: OAuth or API key - AWS
AWS Labs CloudWatch MCP server
Open source local MCP server from AWS Labs that gives troubleshooting agents access to CloudWatch metrics, alarms and Logs Insights for root cause analysis.
Transport: stdioAuth: Other
Related reading
- What's New in Mastra (Late 2026): Harness, AgentController GA, Eval Gates and MCP 2.xMastra in late 2026: goals, schedules, signals, AgentController GA, eval gates and MCP 2.x, with type-checked TypeScript examples and honest tradeoffs.
- MCP vs A2A vs Function Calling: Which Layer Does What in 2026MCP vs A2A vs function calling compared on the 2026-07-28 MCP spec and A2A 1.0: what each protocol does, where they overlap, and how to stack them.
- Pydantic AI V2 in Late 2026: Capabilities, Graphs, Evals and MCPPydantic AI V2 explained through v2.57.0: capabilities, typed output, Conversation storage, caching, graphs, evals, MCP Apps and Logfire, with checked code.
- Reverse Engineer Anything (REA): What the MCP Server Does and Where the Line IsREA (Reverse Engineer Anything) is an MIT-licensed MCP server that lets Claude Code, Codex or Cursor inspect binaries, Electron apps and APKs. How to try it.
- Claude Opus 5.5 Built a Browser 3D World: The Higgsfield MCP WorkflowClaude Opus 5.5 and Higgsfield MCP built an interactive 3D Library of Alexandria in the browser. The verified connector setup and where the workflow holds up.
- Pi 1.0 Release Guide: MCP, Codemode and Pi DurablePi 1.0 adds built-in MCP through Codemode, a fullscreen TUI by default and Pi Durable. What changed, how to install it, and what breaks on upgrade.
FAQ
What does the Grafana Cloud Traces MCP server do?
MCP server built into Grafana Cloud Traces (Tempo) that gives AI assistants access to distributed tracing data through TraceQL queries and other endpoints. It is reached at a per-stack Tempo URL with basic authentication.
How do I add the Grafana Cloud Traces MCP server to Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add tempo https://<URL>/api/mcp -t http -H 'Authorization: Basic ${GCT_AUTH}', copied from Grafana's docs.
Does the Grafana Cloud Traces MCP server need authentication?
It uses a scheme other than OAuth or an API key, such as the session of the app or instance it runs in; the notes on this page describe it. Transport: Streamable HTTP. Status: Preview, last checked October 17, 2026.
Sources
Last verified against 1 Grafana page, then re-checked independently.
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