# How it works

> What the Stensul MCP server is, what it can and can't do today, and the one path from nothing to a working email draft.

Source: https://stensul.com/developers/get-started/ · Last reviewed 2026-09-28

Stensul is where enterprise marketing teams build emails and landing pages inside their brand's rules: approved templates, locked legal text, fixed palettes, required checks. The **Stensul MCP server** exposes that platform to AI hosts through the [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io) (MCP), the open standard AI assistants use to call tools in other products. You describe an email in Claude, Copilot, Writer or ChatGPT; the host calls Stensul's tools; a governed draft appears in your Stensul account.

## Who does what

| Who | Does | How often |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Stensul admin** | Creates an API connection in Stensul and sends the host admin a Client ID | Once |
| **Host admin** (Claude, Copilot, Writer or ChatGPT) | Adds Stensul as a connector with that Client ID | Once |
| **Everyone else** | Signs in to Stensul from the host, then asks for emails | Once, then just prompts |

The [config generator](https://stensul.com/developers/config/) writes the exact settings for both admins, plus a message you can send yours. Don't know your Stensul admin, or whether the MCP is turned on for your company? Ask your Stensul customer success manager, or email [help@stensul.com](mailto:help@stensul.com?subject=Stensul%20MCP%20access) from your work address.

## What happens when you ask for an email

1. **You brief the assistant** in plain language, or hand it a brief file, or point it at a brief in Adobe Workfront.
2. **It finds a starting point.** It lists your libraries, picks the best match, and reads an approved template or an existing email.
3. **It builds the draft in one call.** Copy, buttons, images (from your gallery, a file or a public URL) and alt text go into the template's editable slots.
4. **Stensul enforces the rules.** Anything that breaks a guardrail, such as an off-palette color, text over a limit or a locked footer, is declined and reported. It isn't reshaped or retried.
5. **You see the result.** The assistant shows a preview (in the chat, where the host supports it), runs quality checks if you ask, and returns an edit link.
6. **You finish in Stensul.** Review, route for approval and send through your normal flow.

## What it can do today

| Task | Status |
| --- | --- |
| Create a draft from a template or by copying an email | [Available] |
| Write and edit copy, buttons, images, alt text, visibility | [Available] |
| Change name, subject line, preheader, title (where the library enables them) | [Available] |
| Upload images from a URL, a file or the gallery | [Available] |
| Apply styling variations | [Available] |
| Apply Segment Sets and write per-audience copy (Scripted DCA libraries, text and buttons, section level) | [Available] |
| Preview in chat, run accessibility and quality checks | [Available] |
| Create a standalone Studio module | [Available] |
| Send, schedule or route an email for approval | [Not yet] Done in Stensul |
| Build landing pages | [Not yet] |
| Pull images from an external DAM | [Not yet] Use the gallery, a file or a public link |
| Create a template from scratch | [Not supported] Admins create templates in Stensul |

The full list of tools, with inputs and errors, is in the [tool reference](https://stensul.com/developers/reference/).

## What you need

- **A Stensul account with the MCP turned on.** The MCP server works against your company's own Stensul instance. There is no public sandbox or trial account yet. [Request access](https://stensul.com/developers/early-access/).
- **An admin on each side, once.** A Stensul admin creates an API connection; a host admin adds the connector. After that, people just sign in.
- **An AI host that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth.** Guides: [Claude](https://stensul.com/developers/quickstart/claude/), [Claude Code](https://stensul.com/developers/quickstart/claude-code/), [Microsoft Copilot](https://stensul.com/developers/quickstart/copilot/), [Writer](https://stensul.com/developers/quickstart/writer/), [ChatGPT](https://stensul.com/developers/quickstart/chatgpt/), [others](https://stensul.com/developers/quickstart/other-clients/).

## Where to go next

- Have access? Use the [config generator](https://stensul.com/developers/config/) for your host's exact settings.
- Want to see a session first? Step through the [session walkthrough](https://stensul.com/developers/explorer/).
- Planning a workflow? Start with [recipes](https://stensul.com/developers/recipes/) and the [prompt gallery](https://stensul.com/developers/prompts/).