MCP Quickstart

Connect Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or Codex to the Alphacast MCP server in three steps and run your first prompt.

The Alphacast MCP server is an npm package (@alphacast/mcp) that your client runs as a local subprocess via npx. It communicates over stdio and requires Node.js 18+.

1. Get your API key

   Sign in to Alphacast and open Settings to copy your API key (or generate a new one). If you belong to multiple teams, make sure your active team subscription is selected first. The same key you use for the REST API works for the MCP server.

   Treat the key like a password. It grants the same permissions as your account. Store it in a secrets manager or an environment variable, not in source control.

2. Add the server to your client

   Claude Desktop (no terminal required): follow the Claude Desktop guide — it walks through editing claude_desktop_config.json step by step, including non-standard install paths.

   Claude Code: run this command in a terminal.

   claude mcp add alphacast -e ALPHACAST_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY -- npx -y @alphacast/mcp
   

   For Codex, see the Codex configuration guide; for Cursor and other clients, see Configuration.

3. Run your first prompt

   Restart the client so it picks up the new server, then try a prompt that uses one of the tools:

   “List my Alphacast repositories.”

   The client should call list_repositories and display the result. If you see an authentication error, double-check that the ALPHACAST_API_KEY environment variable is set correctly in step 2.

What’s next

Tools reference

Browse all 32 tools and their input schemas.

Examples

See full prompts that combine search, download, and provider tools.