Connecting a client

Setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop and ChatGPT.

Create a token first; see Connecting AI tools. The Connect a client dialog in Settings → MCP shows the exact snippets for your environment, including the server URL. What follows is the shape of each one.

Claude Code

One command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http the-cards <server-url> \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <your-token>"

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop cannot reach a remote HTTP MCP server directly, so the configuration goes through a bridge. Add a server entry to claude_desktop_config.json along these lines:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "the-cards": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "<server-url>",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer <your-token>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

ChatGPT

In ChatGPT's settings, add an MCP server using Streamable HTTP, with the server URL and the token as a bearer authorisation header.

Keeping the token safe

The token is a credential that acts as you.

• Do not paste it into a shared document, a ticket or a chat message.
• Do not commit it to a repository.
• Give each client its own token, so one can be revoked without breaking the others.
• Revoke immediately if a token may have been exposed, and issue a new one.