Using Devin Desktop with SoAI

Devin Local is the primary local agent in Devin Desktop and the default for new tabs when it is available. Connect it to SoAI as an MCP client so it can use the tools, resources, and prompts that the SoAI administrator exposes. Devin Local does not accept SoAI as an arbitrary OpenAI-compatible model provider, so this integration adds SoAI tools rather than replacing the model service used by Devin Local.

Prepare SoAI MCP

In the SoAI WebUI, select the Settings button at the right of the header, choose Settings, then open MCP > MCP configuration. Enable the MCP runtime and server mode, and limit Tools exposed by server mode, Resources exposed by server mode, and Prompts exposed by server mode to what the workspace needs. The MCP tab appears only to an Administrator with MCP administration (MCP_ADMIN), and changing server settings also requires Configuration changes (CONFIG_PATCH).

Open MCP > MCP tokens, create a personal token, and copy it when shown. Token creation also requires MCP usage (MCP_USE). Keep this token separate from any SoAI API key used for model requests.

Select Devin Local

  1. Open a new tab in Devin Desktop and select Devin Local from the agent selector.
  2. If it is absent, open the command palette, run Devin User Settings, open Agents, enable Devin Local, and restart Devin Desktop.

On an enterprise plan, an administrator must also enable Devin Local and MCP access for the team. If the team enforces an MCP registry or allowlist, it must permit the soai server ID and its endpoint before the local configuration can connect.

Add SoAI MCP to Devin Local

Use .devin/mcp_config.local.json in the workspace for a personal configuration that is excluded from version control. A shared project entry belongs in .devin/mcp_config.json and must not contain a secret. A user-wide entry belongs in ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json on Linux and macOS or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json on Windows. 

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "soai": {
      "url": "https://SOAI_HOST:5090/mcp",
      "transport": "http",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:SOAI_MCP_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Set SOAI_MCP_TOKEN in the environment inherited by Devin Desktop before starting it. The client must trust the certificate authority for the SoAI endpoint; do not disable certificate verification. Local clients on the SoAI host can use http://127.0.0.1:5090/mcp instead.

Verify the connection and permissions

  1. Start a new Devin Local session after saving the configuration.
  2. Open Customizations and confirm that the soai MCP server is connected, or run devin mcp list in a terminal.
  3. Ask Devin Local to call one harmless read-only SoAI tool that the server exposes.
  4. Review the MCP approval request and allow only the tool or server scope the workspace needs.

Devin Local asks before MCP tool calls by default. A missing server normally means the configuration path or JSON is wrong, while a disconnected server can mean the URL, token, certificate trust, SoAI server mode, team policy, or exposed-capability list is blocking the connection.

Legacy Cascade configuration

Cascade is the legacy agent in Devin Desktop. Keep this separate configuration only for an existing Cascade workflow; Devin Local does not read it.

  1. Select the MCPs icon at the top right of Cascade, or open Devin Settings > Cascade > MCP Servers.
  2. Open ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json and add the entry below.
  3. Refresh the MCP list, confirm that soai connects, and inspect the enabled tools.
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "soai": {
      "serverUrl": "https://SOAI_HOST:5090/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:SOAI_MCP_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cascade accepts url or serverUrl for remote servers and supports environment and file interpolation. Cascade can expose at most 100 tools at once. If that limit is reached, reduce the SoAI server-mode tool list to the least-privilege set the workspace needs before reconnecting.

Related documentation