Chans MCP

Connect your MCP client to Chans. Get an API key from Chans Developer settings → API keys.

Connect directly over HTTP (recommended)

No package installation is needed. Use https://api.chans.ai/mcp/ and send your API key in the Authorization header.

Cursor

Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json, paste the configuration below, and replace the API key. If mcpServers already exists, add only the chans entry inside it.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chans": {
      "url": "https://api.chans.ai/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_CHANS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor setup reference.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --scope user --transport http chans https://api.chans.ai/mcp/ --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CHANS_API_KEY"

Run claude mcp list to check the connection, or /mcp inside Claude Code. For JSON configuration in .mcp.json, use the Cursor example above and add "type": "http" to the chans entry. Claude Code setup reference.

VS Code

Run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette and paste:

{
  "servers": {
    "chans": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.chans.ai/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_CHANS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save, then use MCP: List Servers to start chans. VS Code setup reference.

Dev and custom headers

For Cursor, use this configuration. For Claude Code, add "type": "http" inside chans-dev. For VS Code, also change mcpServers to servers.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chans-dev": {
      "url": "https://dev-api.chans.ai/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_DEV_CHANS_API_KEY",
        "CF-Access-Client-Id": "YOUR_CF_CLIENT_ID",
        "CF-Access-Client-Secret": "YOUR_CF_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "X-Custom-Header": "YOUR_VALUE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add any application headers your endpoint needs. Cloudflare's header names use hyphens as shown above; your Access policy must allow the service token. Direct connections use your MCP client's header handling. Cloudflare service-token setup.

Use npx or uvx (stdio)

Use the launcher when your client requires a local command, including the Claude Desktop Settings → Developer → Edit Config setup. You need Node.js 22+ for npx, or uv and Python 3.12+ for uvx. No global package installation is needed.

Paste one configuration below, replace the API key, save, and restart your client.

With npx

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chans": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ai-chans/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CHANS_API_KEY": "YOUR_CHANS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

With uvx

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chans": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["chans-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CHANS_API_KEY": "YOUR_CHANS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop setup reference.

Custom headers with stdio

Use --header "Name: value" for each header. With 0.1.4+, this configuration needs no environment variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chans-dev": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "@ai-chans/mcp",
        "--url", "https://dev-api.chans.ai/mcp/",
        "--header", "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_DEV_CHANS_API_KEY",
        "--header", "CF-Access-Client-Id: YOUR_CF_CLIENT_ID",
        "--header", "CF-Access-Client-Secret: YOUR_CF_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "--header", "X-Custom-Header: YOUR_VALUE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For uvx, use "command": "uvx" and replace the first two arguments with "chans-mcp". The same flags work with doctor. --url overrides CHANS_MCP_URL; it defaults to production when neither is set.

A stdio client does not forward a top-level headers field to its child process. Use the arguments above. CHANS_API_KEY remains supported instead of an explicit Authorization header; do not configure both. The Cloudflare environment variables from 0.1.3 remain supported for existing configurations.

Headers are checked for valid HTTP names and printable ASCII values. Control characters (including CR/LF), duplicate names ignoring case, and HTTP/MCP transport header overrides are rejected. The limit is 64 headers and 16 KiB in total. Credentials are not printed or forwarded across origins. Header values are not HTML-escaped or otherwise rewritten; validation protects HTTP framing.

Other stdio clients

Choose stdio and enter:

On Windows, use npx.cmd if your app cannot launch npx. If a command cannot be found, use its full executable path.

Both connection methods use the tools exposed by Chans Core. Your API key's scopes determine which tools are available. Keep credentials out of shared configuration files.

Development · Releases