Investigate supporting-file creation and MCP discovery in the Cowork harness

[GiorgioUghini]

Summary

Investigate whether the harness can create supporting files (for example, Python files) and recognize or use an MCP server when a user mentions one. Clarify the supported way to configure MCP servers in Cowork.

Priority: Low

Questions to answer

• Can the harness create and persist supporting files alongside its primary output? Which file types and locations are supported?
• Can it inspect configured MCP servers or resolve a user-mentioned MCP server by name?
• What should happen when the requested MCP server is not configured or available?
• Is there a project-, workspace-, or user-level mechanism for setting up MCP servers in Cowork?
• Do the harness contract, prompts, permissions, or documentation need updates to expose these capabilities safely?

Acceptance criteria

• Document the current supporting-file behavior with a minimal example using a Python file.
• Document how MCP servers are configured and surfaced to the harness in Cowork, if supported.
• Define expected detection and error behavior for available, unavailable, and ambiguous MCP server references.
• Identify implementation or documentation gaps and propose follow-up work where needed.