MCP Setup Guide

Complete step-by-step instructions for connecting Claude Desktop to your Assay library

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop installed
Download from claude.ai/download
Node.js installed (v18 or higher)
Check with node --version
Assay account
Sign in at assay.cirrusly-clever.com
Git installed (for cloning repository)
Check with git --version

Step 1: Get Your MCP Token

Sign in to your Assay dashboard
Navigate to assay.cirrusly-clever.com/dashboard
Click "Get MCP Token" in the header
The button is located in the top navigation bar
Copy the token
The token expires after 1 hour. You'll need to get a new token if it expires.

Assay MCP setup - screenshot showing how to retrieve MCP token from dashboard settings

Token Security

MCP tokens are Firebase ID tokens that authenticate your MCP server. Keep them secure and don't share them publicly. Tokens automatically expire after 1 hour for security.

Step 2: Install the MCP Server

Install from npm (Recommended)

The easiest way to install the Assay MCP Server is via npm. This installs the server globally on your system.

npm install -g assay-mcp-server

View the package on npm: npmjs.com/package/assay-mcp-server

Alternative: Install from Source

For development or if you want the latest features, you can install from source:

git clone https://github.com/cirruslycurious/assay-mcp-server.git

cd assay-mcp-server && npm install && npm run build

View source on GitHub: github.com/cirruslycurious/assay-mcp-server

Note

On some systems, you may need to use sudo for global installations. Alternatively, you can use npx in your Claude Desktop configuration (see Step 3).

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

Find your Claude Desktop config file

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add Assay MCP server configuration

Add this configuration to your mcpServers object:

Option 1: Using global npm install (Recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assay": {
      "command": "assay-mcp-server",
      "args": [
        "--token",
        "YOUR_FIREBASE_TOKEN_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Using npx (No installation required)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assay": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "assay-mcp-server",
        "--token",
        "YOUR_FIREBASE_TOKEN_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Using local source installation

If you installed from source, use the absolute path:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assay": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/assay-mcp-server/dist/index.js",
        "--token",
        "YOUR_FIREBASE_TOKEN_HERE"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/assay-mcp-server with your actual path, e.g., /Users/yourname/Documents/assay-mcp-server/dist/index.js

Replace the token

Replace YOUR_FIREBASE_TOKEN_HERE with the token you copied in Step 1.

Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop and Test

Restart Claude Desktop
Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new MCP server configuration
Check MCP connection
Look for "assay" in the MCP servers list. You should see it connected.
Test with a simple query
Try asking: "Search for documents about AI" or "What themes are in my library?"
Verify tools are available
Claude should be able to use Assay tools like search_documents, get_document_summary, etc.

Example Queries to Try

• "Search for documents about cloud architecture"
• "What documents do I have about AI safety?"
• "Generate FAQs about threat modeling from my documents"
• "Compare documents about zero trust and confidential computing"
• "What are the main themes in my library?"

Troubleshooting

MCP Server Not Connecting

Check the path: Ensure you're using an absolute path to the MCP server, not a relative path.

Verify Node.js: Make sure Node.js is installed and accessible from the command line.

Check token: Tokens expire after 1 hour. Get a new token from the Assay dashboard.

Check logs: Look at Claude Desktop logs for error messages.

Tools Not Available

Restart Claude Desktop: Sometimes a full restart is needed after configuration changes.

Check MCP status: Verify the "assay" server shows as connected in Claude Desktop.

Try explicit prompts: Sometimes Claude needs explicit instructions like "Use the assay:search_documents tool to find documents about X".

Token Expired

Get a new token: Tokens expire after 1 hour. Go to the Assay dashboard and click "Get MCP Token" again.

Update config: Replace the token in your Claude Desktop config file and restart.

Consider automation: For production use, you may want to automate token refresh or use a longer-lived authentication method.

Additional Resources

10 Prompting Patterns

Learn proven patterns to force grounding, expose reasoning, and get reliable intelligence from your Assay corpus.