REST APIs MCP server

This package allows you to connect Claude to REST APIs through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Simply provide API documentation and keys in your message, and Claude can interact with external services on your behalf.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm installed on your system
• Claude Desktop application

Install from NPM

Install the package globally using npm:

npm i -g mcp-api-connect

After installation, run the setup command:

mcpapiconnect install

Once setup is complete, restart your Claude Desktop application to activate the connection.

Using MCP API Connect

Basic Usage

Once installed, you can instruct Claude to use external APIs by providing:

1. API documentation
2. Required API keys
3. Clear instructions about what you want to accomplish

Example Interaction

When chatting with Claude, you might say something like:

I'd like you to use the Weather API to check the forecast for San Francisco.

API Documentation:
Endpoint: https://api.weatherapi.com/v1/current.json
Parameters: q (location), key (API key)
Method: GET

My API key is: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

Claude will then:

• Understand the API structure from your documentation
• Use your provided API key
• Make the appropriate request
• Return the results to you in a conversational format

Security Notes

• API keys are only used for the current session
• Keys are not stored permanently
• Consider using environment variables or a secure method for handling sensitive API keys

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Ensure Claude Desktop is restarted after installation
2. Verify your API keys are valid
3. Check that the API documentation you've provided is accurate and complete

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "mcp-api-connect" '{"command":"mcpapiconnect","args":["run"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-api-connect": {
            "command": "mcpapiconnect",
            "args": [
                "run"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-api-connect": {
            "command": "mcpapiconnect",
            "args": [
                "run"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect