MCP use cases
Start with Zentrik MCP
Use the short starter prompts for everyday work, or follow the deeper bootstrap sequence when you are creating a new product workspace from first-party material.
This page is for the moment after the connection works.
If you still need to add the server, start with Zentrik MCP setup.
For a new workspace, use Build a product workspace. It follows Zentrik's product model: establish the product surface, curate the context and evidence the team needs, and connect evidence to decisions when the source material supports them.
For everyday use, use the starter workflows in this order:
- Review product context before asking the agent to interpret new material.
- Load product evidence and wait for processing to finish.
- Turn reviewed evidence into backlog ideas only after checking for duplicates.
When those steps are complete, use the additional workflows below for themes, traceability, prioritization, and initiative planning.

Once connected, the client can call Zentrik MCP tools directly. This example shows a signal creation action from transcript text.
Build a product workspace
This sequence is for creating or repairing a Zentrik workspace from first-party product material. It follows the product model, but it is not a population checklist. Skip phases that are already sound or not relevant, and do not create downstream records just to make setup look complete.
Run each relevant prompt as a checkpoint. Read the current state first, return the smallest useful delta, wait for approval before writing, and never claim that an unsupported write succeeded.
Clients that render MCP prompts may offer Set up a product workspace as a guided version of this sequence. The Claude plugin includes the same workflow as an optional skill.
Show the 8-step workspace setup
1. Set product boundaries
Use this before creating product records or feature maps.
Prompt
We are preparing a Zentrik workspace from first-party product material.
Inspect the current workspace and all supplied product sources. Identify the exact products or product lines that should exist in Zentrik.
Treat something as a separate product only when it has a distinct buyer or budget owner, can be implemented independently, has distinct success metrics or roadmap ownership, or is marketed as a standalone solution.
Keep something inside an existing product when it is mainly a workflow, module, shared utility, input/output dependency, or supporting service.
Return:
- proposed product names and exact product boundaries
- the primary users, buyers, and operators for each product
- the major workflows and value areas
- shared capabilities that should not be duplicated across products
- cross-product references that need review
- unresolved boundary questions
- the source excerpt supporting every decision
Do not create or update anything yet. Do not force ambiguous material into the first product you inspect.2. Build the product surface
Use this after product boundaries are approved. Use first-party product pages, documentation, requirements, approved transcripts, and customer-supplied material as the primary source of product truth.
Prompt
Build or repair the approved Zentrik product surface.
First read the existing product, features, personas, KPIs, tech stack, and questions. Propose a patch rather than regenerating the product from scratch.
Create a feature map that mirrors how users get value from the product:
- root nodes are real product areas, workflow stages, surfaces, modules, or capability groups
- the product itself is not a feature root
- parent nodes are concise signposts
- child nodes are actionable capabilities with meaningful detail
- use depth only when the product genuinely has nested workflows, states, data flows, or sub-services
- a focused product may be shallow; a complex product may need several levels
- do not target an arbitrary feature count or make every product have the same shape
- use the product's own vocabulary
- merge duplicate or overlapping nodes
- do not create features for documents, setup steps, screens copied from a source, deployment details, browser behavior, storage mechanisms, generic architecture, or technology names
For every proposed leaf feature, explain:
- the user job or problem
- who uses it and when
- what the user does
- what the product produces or enables
- what success looks like
- how it connects to adjacent capabilities
Also propose only source-supported changes to:
- product description, mission, and type
- personas with goals, pain points, and use cases
- measurable KPIs
- concrete technologies in the tech stack
- unresolved product questions
Use the available product read tools to inspect the current state. After approval, use the feature and persona mutation tools only for approved deltas, preserving parent relationships and existing IDs. Product-level field changes that this MCP cannot write must be returned as an apply-ready proposal for the product UI or API.The quality test is whether a product teammate can recognize how the product works without narration. A flat list of marketing labels or an identical feature pattern across products is not acceptable.
3. Curate context units
Use this for durable knowledge that should guide future Zentrik work but does not belong in a product field or Discovery evidence.
Prompt
Create a proposed context library for the approved Zentrik products.
Read the product surface and supplied first-party material. Create context-unit proposals only for durable, reusable guidance such as:
- terminology and definitions
- product and portfolio boundaries
- strategy and product principles
- business rules and constraints
- security, compliance, and trust requirements
- customer or operating models
- deployment, implementation, and service models
- integration assumptions
- competitive differentiation
- market or adoption constraints
- durable decisions
Each context unit must have:
- a short, specific name
- a concise description of when an agent should retrieve it
- product or workspace scope
- a focused Markdown body
- supporting source excerpts
Keep each unit about one reusable concept. Do not duplicate the product description, feature map, persona fields, or KPI list. Do not create units for raw customer evidence, ordinary document summaries, source inventories, temporary notes, or setup instructions. Preserve the original documents separately for retrieval.
Show the proposed units, duplicates, conflicts, scope decisions, and source basis. Wait for approval before writing. If this MCP connection cannot create or update context units, return the exact content and scope as an apply-ready proposal instead of misclassifying it as a Signal or Idea.4. Define objectives
Use this when the workspace needs a small strategic frame for interpreting evidence.
Prompt
Propose the outcome objectives that should guide product decisions in this Zentrik workspace.
Use first-party product strategy, mission, customer outcomes, current product pressures, and approved context units. Propose the smallest useful set of objectives, normally one to three, with measurable key results only when the source material supports them. If no objective is defensible yet, explain the missing strategic input instead of inventing one.
Objectives must describe outcomes, not feature delivery. Key results must use measurable metric shapes without inventing baselines or precision. Scope each objective to the correct product or portfolio.
Return:
- strategy reading
- candidate objectives and source basis
- recommended objectives and why each is needed
- unresolved assumptions
Do not create or update objectives unless a supported write surface is available and I explicitly approve the final version.5. Import first-party evidence
Use this for first-party transcripts, support records, research, reviews, reports, surveys, or other source material that contains evidence about the product, users, market, or product-facing workflow.
Product documentation should normally update the product surface, context library, or source-document retrieval. Do not turn product documentation into a Signal just because it is useful.
Prompt
Import the approved first-party evidence into the connected Zentrik workspace.
First identify the exact product, account, source, date, and logical evidence unit. Split distinct sources into separate Signals. Do not create a daily summary Signal when the underlying sources should remain separately traceable.
Use the correct Signal type:
- transcript
- support_ticket
- review
- feedback_record
- discovery_report
Choose the most specific context available, such as user_interview, feature_feedback, support_request, problem_discovery, competitive_evaluation, usability_testing, or discovery_report.
Before writing:
- search for likely duplicates
- confirm the product and account links
- if the source names a customer, search existing accounts by exact name, domain, or external ID; use the matching account ID
- if no account matches, stop and propose account creation separately; do not create an account as a side effect of signal ingestion
- split a multi-customer source when account attribution would otherwise be ambiguous
- preserve the original source wording
- preserve a stable external ID when available
- preserve a source URL or reference in the supported source metadata or additional context; if the current write surface cannot carry it, report it as missing rather than inventing one
- separate what the source says from our interpretation
Show the proposed Signal metadata and source body, then wait for approval. After approval, ingest the Signal using the supported MCP fields, return its public ID and workflow handle, and poll until processing finishes or fails.
After processing, read the result and report the generated Insights, supporting evidence, missing links, source-quality limits, and duplicate risks. Do not create Opportunities, Ideas, or Initiatives during ingestion.One Signal should represent one coherent source or event. Signals are evidence; they are not product summaries, setup notes, or solution proposals.
6. Build the evidence chain
Use this after Signals have finished processing.
Prompt
Build a reviewed evidence chain from the processed Zentrik Signals.
Use discovery.search, discovery.get_entity_context, signals.get_evidence_pack, and discovery.audit_traceability to inspect the evidence before creating downstream entities.
Prefer the Insights generated by Signal processing. If a manual Insight is needed because the generated result is missing or unusable, show how its evidence will be represented by the current tool schema. Do not claim that an unsupported direct Signal-to-Insight link was created.
For each candidate Insight:
- express one source-backed learning
- identify the product or workflow
- state the product decision it could change
- link the supporting Signal IDs
- distinguish evidence from interpretation
For each Opportunity:
- describe an unmet need, product problem, or decision area
- group related Insights
- do not describe a solution or a Zentrik workflow
For each Idea:
- describe a feasible solution path for the existing product
- link the supporting Opportunity and Insight IDs
- identify affected users, accounts, features, and outcomes
- do not invent priority, effort, impact, or account value
Return a proposed Insight -> Opportunity -> Idea graph with duplicate and missing-evidence checks. Wait for approval before writing. After approval, create only the selected entities and read them back to verify every link and product assignment.7. Promote an approved idea
Use this only when an Idea has been reviewed, approved, and is actually being prepared for delivery. A workspace does not need an Initiative to be considered set up.
Prompt
Turn the approved Zentrik Idea into one initiative-quality work item.
Read the Idea, its Opportunity, supporting Insights and Signals, the affected product feature nodes, personas, objectives, and relevant context units.
Create a concise initiative proposal with:
- problem and affected users
- why this matters now
- measurable outcomes
- MVP scope
- explicit non-goals
- functional requirements
- dependencies and risks
- success metrics
- related product feature nodes
- evidence and decision lineage
Keep the initiative inside the customer's actual product surface. Do not create a Zentrik-process initiative unless Zentrik is the product being modeled. Do not invent integrations, data sources, technical capabilities, or customer commitments.
Show the proposal first. After approval, create the initiative with the supported tools, then read back its questions, documents, user stories, and status. Report any relationship that the MCP cannot represent directly rather than implying that it was linked.8. Validate the workspace
Use this as a cold-read quality gate before calling the workspace ready.
Prompt
Run a final read-only quality audit of this Zentrik workspace.
Check:
- product names and boundaries match first-party sources
- product descriptions and missions are concise and canonical
- feature maps have meaningful roots, valid parent links, useful depth, no duplicates, and no setup or architecture noise
- leaf features explain user job, action, output, success, and adjacent connections
- personas are real product roles with useful goals, pain points, and use cases
- KPIs are measurable and tech-stack rows are concrete
- context units are durable, focused, correctly scoped, and not duplicates of product fields or source documents
- Signals have correct types, product/account links, provenance, stable IDs, and completed processing
- Insights are source-backed and unitary
- Opportunities describe problems rather than solutions
- Ideas are feasible, linked, and supported by evidence
- initiatives trace to approved Ideas and real feature areas
- no customer-visible entity contains setup, demo, sandbox, importer, handoff, or unsupported internal language
Use discovery.audit_traceability and the available product, context, Signal, Discovery, and initiative read tools. Return:
- current counts and relationship health
- duplicate, orphan, stale, or unsupported records
- missing source links or product assignments
- readiness: ready for ongoing product work, ready with named gaps, or not ready
- the smallest correction plan
Do not mutate anything during this audit.Three workflows to start
These three prompts are the practical handoff for a new teammate. They follow the same order as the product workflow: understand the context, make new evidence durable, then decide what is worth adding to the backlog.
The agent will choose the relevant MCP tools. Keep the write boundary explicit: review and propose first; create or update records only after you approve the proposed change.
Shared preamble
Treat Zentrik as the source of truth for this workspace. Confirm the workspace and product before acting, preserve public IDs and provenance, separate facts from gaps and recommendations, and ask for explicit approval before creating, updating, or deleting records.
1. Review product context
Use this before importing new material or asking for a product recommendation.
Prompt
Help me review and prepare the product context for this work in Zentrik.
First identify the connected workspace and the relevant product or initiative
from this conversation. If the scope is ambiguous, ask me before using a
different one.
Read the product definition, mission, features, personas, relevant context
units, and related documents. Return:
- the current product scope and terminology
- the features and user groups that matter here
- the context units and documents used, with their public IDs where available
- contradictions, stale context, and important gaps
- a short proposed context plan for this work
Do not create or update anything. Separate facts from recommendations. If a
proposed change requires the Zentrik UI because this MCP connection cannot
write that surface, say so clearly.This is intentionally a review prompt. The current MCP can read product sections, features, personas, context units, and related documents; it should not imply that it can silently rewrite all of them.
2. Load product evidence
Use this for research, reports, transcripts, reviews, support material, or other source text that should become durable Zentrik evidence. Creating a signal requires a Zentrik role with write access.
Prompt
Load this material into the connected Zentrik workspace as product evidence.
First confirm the workspace and product. Classify the source as one of:
transcript, support_ticket, review, feedback_record, or discovery_report.
If the material contains multiple distinct sources, separate them and propose
one signal per source.
If the material names a customer, resolve that customer against existing
accounts by exact name, domain, or external ID before writing. Use the existing
account ID when there is a match. If there is no match, stop and propose a
separate account-creation step; do not infer or create an account from prose.
Before writing, search for likely duplicates using the source, date, title, and
topic. Show me the proposed signal name, type, product, context, and duplicate
check, then wait for my explicit approval.
After approval, preserve the supplied text and provenance, create the signal,
and poll its workflow until processing finishes or fails. Then report the
signal public ID, processing status, extracted insights, supporting quotes or
citations, and any gaps or duplicate concerns.
Do not create ideas, opportunities, or initiatives in this step.
Source material:
[PASTE OR ATTACH THE RESEARCH, REPORT, TRANSCRIPT, OR FEEDBACK]Signal ingestion is asynchronous. The workflow handle and final processing state are part of the result; downstream synthesis should wait until processing is complete.
Clients that render MCP prompts may also offer Import product evidence as a guided version of this workflow.
3. Turn evidence into backlog ideas
Use this after the relevant evidence has finished processing and the team is ready to consider product work. Creating ideas requires a Zentrik role with write access.
Prompt
Turn the reviewed Zentrik evidence into product backlog ideas.
Use the current product context, processed signals, linked insights and
opportunities, and existing ideas. Search for similar ideas before proposing
anything new.
Return a review table with one row per candidate:
- concise problem statement and proposed idea
- affected users, product area, or account
- supporting signal, insight, and opportunity public IDs
- evidence strength and confidence
- likely duplicate or overlap
- recommended next step
Do not write anything yet. After I approve specific candidates, create only
those ideas, link the supporting records, assign the product, and report each
created idea public ID. Do not invent effort, impact, or priority scores unless
I provide them. Do not create initiatives or implementation tasks unless I ask
for that separately.In Zentrik, an idea is a discovery-backed product backlog item. It is not the same as a generic todo or an implementation task; those belong in an initiative once the product decision has been made.
More workflows
These prompts are intentionally short. Start here, then adapt them to the question in front of you.
Show more workflows
Understand customer themes
Use this when you want a fast read on what customers are saying before planning or prioritizing.
Prompt
What recurring customer or product themes appear in this Zentrik workspace?
Group them by theme, include supporting signals or quotes, and call out where
evidence is weak or missing.Best for
- weekly PM syncs
- onboarding someone new to the problem space
- getting an evidence-backed snapshot before a decision
Ask for quotes and provenance so the answer stays anchored to real evidence.
Trace evidence behind a decision
Use this when an idea, opportunity, or roadmap bet needs a defensible evidence trail.
Prompt
Find the ideas or opportunities with the clearest evidence trails. For each one,
summarize the linked signals, insights, accounts, and what decision it supports.Why this matters
- it keeps product decisions tied to customer evidence
- it shows where links are strong enough to trust
- it highlights where a bet still needs validation
If you already know the record, name it directly: "Trace the evidence behind [idea or opportunity name]."
Compare priorities
Use this before roadmap, staffing, or prioritization conversations.
Prompt
Compare open opportunities using available ARR or account impact, evidence
strength, linked insights, linked ideas, and status. Return a table with a
recommended next action and note any missing data.Why this works
- it combines revenue context with evidence strength
- it surfaces which bets are both valuable and well-supported
- it highlights high-impact areas that still need more validation
Prepare initiative context
Use this when a team is moving from discovery into requirements, planning, or implementation.
Prompt
Get context for [initiative name or ID] and draft a concise PRD brief with
problem, users, evidence, scope, non-goals, risks, and open questions.Why this works
- it pulls initiative context from the same graph as Discovery
- it keeps the brief grounded in evidence and product context
- it exposes missing questions before implementation starts
What to do next
Treat the output as a working draft.
Good follow-up moves:
- turn a synthesis into a team update, planning note, or next question
- review a newly created signal in Zentrik after processing finishes
- use ranked opportunities as an input to roadmap or initiative discussion
- if you need to edit links, approve records, or clean up structure, go back to Zentrik
If you want a better answer, narrow the scope instead of adding more instructions. See MCP best practices.
Troubleshooting
These items are about workflow and expectations in the product, not a broken OAuth client. If something contradicts what you see in your workspace, note your workspace name and the screen, then contact us.
The answer is too generic
Ask for provenance, quotes, or a specific output format. Narrowing the scope by timeframe, topic, or product area usually improves quality more than adding more narrative instructions.
A newly created signal is not ready yet
Signal processing is asynchronous. Wait a short time, then ask the agent to fetch the signal again or review it in Zentrik once extraction has finished.
A write prompt is blocked
Read-only prompts work with Viewer-style roles. Creating, updating, deleting, ingesting, processing, tagging, or generating records requires a Zentrik role with write access, and Claude may ask for approval before write or destructive tools run.
The workflow needs a different workspace
Reconnect the MCP client and choose the workspace you want. Zentrik MCP tokens are scoped to one workspace at a time.