Update MCP quickstart based on docs team tests

[JakeSCahill]

Description

We recently did a session to test the quickstart. This PR implements the feedback we discussed as part of that process.

Page previews

Checks

• New feature
• Content gap
• Support Follow-up
• Small fix (typos, links, copyedits, etc)

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The MCP server quickstart documentation is updated to reference Redpanda Connect 4.66.1 and to pivot examples from the example tag to bluesky. New sections add project initialization steps, version verification and upgrade instructions, detailed Bluesky tool configuration (YAML, discovery), start/run guidance using the bluesky tag, and expanded output examples. Additional instructions cover mcp-remote installation, Claude Code interaction prompts, and a new Troubleshooting section with JSON schema errors, port/connection notes, and tools exposure guidance. Separately, the Pipelines (streams mode) section in about.adoc is wrapped with ifndef::env-cloud[]/endif::[] to conditionally hide it in cloud builds.

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  autonumber
  actor User
  participant Docs as Quickstart Guide
  participant Shell as Terminal
  participant MCP as MCP Server Project
  participant RPC as Redpanda Connect
  participant Claude as Claude Code

  User->>Docs: Follow setup steps (init project, scaffold)
  Docs-->>User: Version check & upgrade commands
  User->>Shell: Verify RPC version (>= 4.66.1)
  alt Version outdated
    Shell-->>User: Shows older version
    User->>Shell: Upgrade RPC
  end
  User->>MCP: Configure Bluesky tool (YAML, tags=bluesky)
  User->>Shell: Start MCP with bluesky tag
  MCP->>RPC: Connect and expose tools
  note over MCP,RPC: Tool discovery and exposure

  User->>Claude: Open Claude Code and select MCP tool
  Claude->>MCP: Invoke Bluesky tool
  MCP->>RPC: Execute tool action
  RPC-->>MCP: Return result
  MCP-->>Claude: Result
  Claude-->>User: Display output

  opt Troubleshooting
    User->>Docs: Check Troubleshoot section
    Docs-->>User: JSON schema, port, exposure guidance
  end

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Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~10 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• Fix MCP quickstart #308: Adjusts Bluesky endpoint URL within the same MCP quickstart area, complementing this PR’s Bluesky tool/tag updates.
• Adapt Redpanda Migrator cookbook for Cloud #295: Introduces env-cloud conditional gating similar to the about.adoc conditional added here.
• DOC-1484 Redpanda Connect MCP #302: Updates MCP Server docs and AI agents navigation, overlapping with quickstart changes in this PR.

Suggested reviewers

• Jeffail
• kbatuigas

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title Check	✅ Passed	The title clearly states that the MCP quickstart is being updated based on the docs team’s testing feedback, which directly reflects the main changes made to the quickstart content. It is concise, specific, and free of extraneous details, making it easy for reviewers to grasp the primary purpose at a glance.
Description Check	✅ Passed	The description explains that the PR implements feedback from a recent quickstart testing session and identifies the context of updating the quickstart, which aligns with the detailed changes to the MCP quickstart content. It clearly relates to the changeset despite not enumerating every edit, satisfying the lenient relevance requirement.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changes. Docstring coverage check skipped.

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[paulohtb6]

Suggested change

	. Make sure your Redpanda Connect version is at least 4.66.1:
	. Check your Redpanda Connect version:

Not sure if we need to mention the number again, as we already said so on pre-req

[JakeSCahill]

Let's keep it and I'll remove the prereq

[paulohtb6]

We already have this line on pre-req. Suggestion is to remove either from pre-req or here. I vote to remove from pre-req.