Connect the MCP server

The MCP server lets an AI assistant connect to SearchOps through the Model Context Protocol, a standard way for assistants to use external tools. Once connected, the assistant can answer questions from your live SearchOps data, like "how did our worst-ranking location do this month?" or "which searches lost clicks since last month?"

What you'll need

• A plan that includes API access (Pro and above).
• To connect by signing in, an owner or admin login for the account.
• An MCP-capable client, such as Claude.

The server address is:

https://searchops.co/api/mcp

Connect from Claude on the web, desktop or mobile

1. In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors, and choose Add custom connector.
2. Name it SearchOps and paste the server address above.
3. Choose Connect. Claude opens SearchOps in your browser.
4. Sign in if you are asked to, check where the connection returns to, and select Approve.

You go straight back to Claude, which can now use the SearchOps tools. There is no key to copy.

Connect from Claude Code

Add the server, then run /mcp in Claude Code and choose Authenticate to sign in:

claude mcp add --transport http searchops https://searchops.co/api/mcp

To use an API key instead, add the header when you add the server:

claude mcp add --transport http searchops https://searchops.co/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer lp_live_your_key_here"

Connect from Cursor, VS Code and other clients

Create an API key under Developers > API & MCP Credentials (see Getting started with the API), then add the server address to the client's MCP settings with the key as a bearer token, the same lp_live_ key the REST API uses. The server uses streamable HTTP, which the common MCP clients support.

What the assistant can do

Once connected, the assistant has read access to your account through these tools:

• get_location_summary: every headline for one location in a single call
• list_locations (searchable by name or address) and get_location
• list_location_keywords, including measured Search Console demand where it is connected
• get_location_rankings: latest Web Results Rank per keyword, plus Map Pack, AI Overview and AI Mode presence
• get_location_ai_visibility: visibility rate, share of voice and the per-prompt breakdown for ChatGPT or Gemini
• get_location_reviews: rating, totals, distribution and recent reviews
• list_location_competitors
• list_scans and get_scan
• list_reports and get_report
• list_search_console_sites, query_search_console and get_search_console_insights for the Search Console sites you have connected

Start with get_location_summary: it answers "how is this location doing?" in one call. From there an assistant can, for example, notice the review rating slipping and read the recent reviews to explain why, or compare the searches Search Console says bring clicks with the keywords you track.

Security

A connection only reads the account it was approved for. Apps you have connected by signing in are listed under Developers > API & MCP Credentials, where you can disconnect any of them. Removing someone from the team, or the plan no longer including API access, also stops the apps they connected. Treat API keys like passwords and revoke one from the same page if it is ever exposed.

Troubleshooting

• Claude says it could not connect: check the address is /api/mcp exactly, with no trailing path, and that you approved the connection in the browser window SearchOps opened.
• "This connection link has expired": the sign-in took longer than 30 minutes. Start connecting again from Claude.
• There is no Approve button: only owners and admins on a plan with API access can connect apps. The page says which applies.
• 401 when calling with no key: expected. It tells the client where to sign in. A client that cannot sign in needs an API key.
• 406 Not Acceptable: if you are calling the endpoint yourself, send Accept: application/json, text/event-stream.
• 405 Method Not Allowed: the server is stateless, so only POST is supported.
• Still stuck: every request, including the ones that fail, appears under Developers > API Event Logs. Filter the source to MCP to see which tool was called and whether it failed.

Next steps

• New to API keys? Start with Getting started with the API.