MCP install tutorial

Connect MindVault to your AI
in 60 seconds.

Paste one config block, restart, done. Works with Claude Desktop and Cursor. Your AI gets a permanent knowledge graph about you.

Claude Desktop

The canonical MCP client. Talks to MindVault over streamable HTTP via the mcp-remote proxy.

Claude Desktop config
Where to paste
Add to claude_desktop_config.json
// ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/
// claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mindvault": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mindvault.rest/api/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Where to paste this
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/
└── claude_desktop_config.json ← paste here
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "mindvault": { ... }
    }
  }

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\

Open the file in any editor. If "mcpServers" already exists, merge the "mindvault" key into it. Restart Claude Desktop after editing.

  1. Create your account & grab a token

    Sign up at /app — your token lives in Settings. You can also pass MINDVAULT_TOKEN as an env var in the config block if you've already saved one.

  2. Paste the snippet

    Open claude_desktop_config.json in your text editor (not Word). Save the file.

  3. Restart Claude Desktop

    Fully quit — Cmd+Q on macOS, not just close the window. Reopen so the MCP server is loaded.

  4. Verify

    Ask Claude: "What do you know about me?" If MindVault facts come back, you're live.

Cursor

The Cursor MCP editor reads ~/.cursor/mcp.json and exposes the registered servers to every agent in the IDE.

Cursor config
Where to paste
Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json
// ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mindvault": {
      "url": "https://mindvault.rest/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Where to paste this
~/.cursor/
└── mcp.json ← paste here
    {
      "mcpServers"": {
        "mindvault": { "url": ... }
    }

Or add it via the UI: Cursor Settings → Features → Model Context Protocol → Add new global MCP server. Either path works.

Restart Cursor after editing. The MindVault server shows a green dot when healthy.

  1. Create your account & grab a token

    Sign up at /app. Cursor passes the request through; the token rides inside x-user-id on every MCP call once you've linked your account.

  2. Paste the snippet

    Save ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home directory, or use the Settings UI.

  3. Restart Cursor

    Quit and reopen. Cursor reads MCP config on launch — edits at runtime won't take effect.

  4. Verify

    In the agent chat, ask: "What do you know about me?" If MindVault facts come back, you're live.

Something broke? Common fixes.

Most issues are config-file location, missing token, or skipping the restart.

ERROR

"command not found: npx"

You need Node.js 18 or later installed on your machine. Install via brew install node on macOS or download from nodejs.org. Restart your terminal and Claude Desktop after installing.

ERROR

"ENOENT" / "Configuration file not found"

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. If the file doesn't exist, create it (just an empty {} works as a starting point).

401 / 403

Authentication error on first call

Your MINDVAULT_TOKEN is missing or wrong. Regenerate it from /app Settings, export it as export MINDVAULT_TOKEN="mv_..." in your shell, and restart your AI client so it picks up the new env value.

SYMPTOMS

Tools not appearing in Claude

You closed the window but didn't fully quit. Cmd+Q on macOS or right-click the tray icon → Quit on Windows. Reload won't reload MCP config — only a fresh launch does. When it works, you'll see four tools: query_knowledge, get_categories, get_entries_by_category, and get_brain_summary.

CURSOR

Red dot next to the MindVault server

Your JSON didn't parse. The most common cause: a trailing comma. The same "mcpServers" shape is used by Claude and Cursor — make sure it's valid JSON (no comments, no trailing commas, double-quoted keys).

DEBUG

Still stuck?

Run claude --mcp-debug from your terminal or check Cursor's Help → Toggle Developer Tools → Console for the raw MCP request/response. Paste the error into our contact form with your OS and we're happy to debug.

Works with other MCP clients too

Any agent that speaks MCP can connect to https://mindvault.rest/api/mcp.

ChatGPT

Use MCP via custom connectors once OpenAI ships native client support — config shape is identical.

Zed

Zed's MCP integration accepts the same mcpServers JSON block. Drop the snippet into your Zed settings.

Custom agents

Any code that speaks JSON-RPC 2.0 over HTTPS can call MindVault directly — no proxy needed for backends.

Smithery

Listed on Smithery's MCP directory — fastest install path if you arrived here from Smithery.

Need to see it work first?

Try the live demo for a 60-second walkthrough of MindVault's interview flow — no signup, no install.

▶ Try the demo