FireHydrant MCP Server User Guide

Welcome to the FireHydrant MCP Server user guide! This guide will help you get up and running with FireHydrant's Model Context Protocol integration, allowing you to manage incidents, alerts, and retrospectives directly through AI assistants like Claude or Cursor.

What is FireHydrant MCP?#what-is-firehydrant-mcp

The FireHydrant MCP Server is a bridge that connects AI assistants to your FireHydrant incident management platform. Think of it as giving your AI assistant superpowers to help you manage incidents, track alerts, and generate retrospectives - all through natural conversation!

If the FireHydrant API is the wire that connects your data to your tools, the FireHydrant MCP server is the USB-C connector that standardizes the connection between the API and your AI assistant of choice. This way you can get better answers, faster from your AI tools, while decreasing costs.

Getting Started 🚀#getting-started

Prerequisites#prerequisites

A FireHydrant account with an API key
Claude Desktop, Cursor, or a terminal for running the standalone server
Basic familiarity with JSON configuration files

Quick Installation#quick-installation

For Claude Desktop Users#for-claude-desktop-users

Open your Claude Desktop configuration file:
- Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add the FireHydrant server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FireHydrant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "--package", "firehydrant-mcp",
        "--",
        "mcp", "start",
        "--api-key", "YOUR_FIREHYDRANT_API_KEY_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_FIREHYDRANT_API_KEY_HERE with your actual FireHydrant API key
Restart Claude Desktop

For Cursor Users#for-cursor-users

Create a .cursor/mcp.json file in your project root with the same configuration as above.

Available Tools 🛠️#available-tools

Once installed, you'll have access to these powerful tools:

1. List Incidents (`incidents-list-incidents`)#1-list-incidents-incidents-list-incidents

Ask Claude to show you recent incidents, filter by status, or search for specific incidents.

Example prompts:

"Show me all active incidents"
"What incidents happened last week?"
"Find incidents related to the payment service"

2. Create Incident (`incidents-create-incident`)#2-create-incident-incidents-create-incident

Quickly create new incidents through conversation.

Example prompts:

"Create an incident: Database connection timeout affecting users"
"Start a new incident for the API slowdown we're seeing"

3. List Alerts (`alerts-list-alerts`)#3-list-alerts-alerts-list-alerts

View and search through alerts from your monitoring systems.

Example prompts:

"Show me the latest alerts"
"Are there any unresolved alerts from our monitoring?"

4. Manage Retrospectives#4-manage-retrospectives

List retrospectives for incidents
Update retrospective fields with your findings
Generate retrospectives automatically!

Example prompts:

"Show me the retrospective for incident #123"
"Generate a retrospective for our most recent incident"
"Update the action items in the retrospective"

Pro Tips for Success 🌟#pro-tips-for-success

1. Be Specific with Filters

When listing incidents or alerts, you can use various filters:

Status: "Show me resolved incidents from this month"
Teams: "List incidents assigned to the platform team"
Services: "Find incidents affecting the payment service"
Time ranges: "What incidents happened between Monday and Wednesday?"

Protip: Specify that you want to use the firehydrant-mcp server in your prompts so that your AI assistant knows exactly what context you’re looking to include.

2. Use Natural Language#2-use-natural-language

You don't need to memorize command syntax! Just describe what you want:

❌ "Execute incidents-list-incidents with status=active"
✅ "What incidents are currently active?"

3. Leverage the Retrospective Generator#3-leverage-the-retrospective-generator

The built-in retrospective prompt is particularly powerful:

It automatically fetches the most recent incident
Analyzes incident details and timeline
Generates a structured retrospective following your template
Can update the retrospective fields directly in FireHydrant if you want (we recommend previewing it before though if your token allows writes!)

4. Chain Operations Together#4-chain-operations-together

You can ask Claude to perform multiple operations:

"Show me today's incidents, then create a summary report"
"Find the database incident from yesterday and start a retrospective"

5. Set Up Smart Filters#5-set-up-smart-filters

For teams or services you work with frequently:

"Show me incidents for my team" (after telling Claude which team you're on)
"Check if there are any critical alerts"

Common Workflows 💡#common-workflows

Morning Stand-up Prep#morning-stand-up-prep

"Good morning! Can you show me:

1. Any incidents that happened overnight

2. Current active alerts

3. Incidents that need retrospectives"

Incident Response#incident-response

"We're seeing errors in production. Please:

1. Create an incident called 'API Gateway 503 Errors'

2. Set severity to high

3. Assign to the platform team"

Weekly Review#weekly-review

"Generate a summary of:

- All incidents from this week

- Their resolution times

- Any patterns or recurring issues"

Post-Incident Process#post-incident-process

"For incident #456:

1. Show me the details

2. Generate a retrospective

3. Help me identify action items"

Troubleshooting 🔧#troubleshooting

API Key Issues#api-key-issues

Make sure your API key has the necessary permissions
Check that you've copied the entire key (they can be long!)
Verify the key is enclosed in quotes in your config

Connection Problems#connection-problems

Ensure you have an active internet connection
Check if FireHydrant's API is accessible from your network
Make sure your organization allows MCP connections

Tool Not Working#tool-not-working

Restart Claude Desktop or your host after configuration changes
Verify the MCP server is listed in Claude's settings
Check the logs for any error messages

Advanced Usage 🚀#advanced-usage

Custom Workflows#custom-workflows

You can create complex workflows by combining tools:

"Every Friday, I need you to:

1. List all incidents from the week

2. Check which ones need retrospectives

3. Generate a summary for our team meeting

4. Identify any patterns or recurring issues"

Integration with Other Tools#integration-with-other-tools

While using FireHydrant MCP, you can also:

Copy incident details to create tickets
Export data for reports
Cross-reference with other monitoring tools

Getting Help 🤝#getting-help

Documentation: Check the FireHydrant API docs for detailed field information
Follow: The latest changes will be on our GitHub repo.
Support: Reach out to FireHydrant support for API-related questions
Community: Share your workflows and learn from others using MCP

We’re continuously adding new workflows to our MCP server so you can continuously add more accurate context to your AI-assisted workflows. Keep a close eye on our c hangelog for more.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, our team is here to help. Keep fighting those fires! 🔥