MCP Clients

Any MCP-compatible client can connect to OpenViking's built-in /mcp endpoint — no plugin installation or extra processes needed. This covers Cursor, Trae, Manus, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, and others.

Quick setup

Most MCP clients use the standard mcpServers format:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openviking": {
      "url": "https://your-server.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

No authentication is needed when connecting to a local server without root_api_key configured (dev mode).

Platform-specific notes

Claude Code

Claude Code requires "type": "http". Add via CLI:

bash

claude mcp add --transport http openviking \
  https://your-server.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer your-api-key-here"

Add --scope user to make the config global across all projects.

For auto-recall and auto-capture without manual tool calls, use the Claude Code Memory Plugin instead.

Trae / Cursor / ChatGPT / Codex / OpenCode

Standard mcpServers config as shown above — all verified with API key auth.

Claude Desktop / Claude.ai (OAuth)

These clients require OAuth 2.1 — API keys cannot be passed directly. OpenViking ships a native OAuth 2.1 implementation, so no external proxy is needed.

If you already have HTTPS configured for your OpenViking server, just connect to https://your-server.com/mcp — the client will walk you through the OAuth authorization flow automatically.

See the OAuth 2.1 Guide and Public Access Guide for HTTPS setup, deployment templates, and the full authorization flow.

Available tools

Once connected, OpenViking exposes 14 tools:

Tool	Description
`search`	Semantic search across memories, resources, and skills
`read`	Read one or more `viking://` URIs
`list`	List entries under a `viking://` directory
`store`	Store messages into long-term memory
`add_resource`	Add a local file or URL as a resource
`grep`	Regex content search across `viking://` files
`glob`	Find files matching a glob pattern
`forget`	Delete a `viking://` URI
`code_outline`	Show a file's symbol structure
`code_search`	Search symbol names across a directory
`code_expand`	Return the full source of a single named symbol
`health`	Check OpenViking service health
`list_watches`	List auto-refresh subscriptions
`cancel_watch`	Cancel a watch task

For tool parameters, progressive file upload, and advanced configuration, see the MCP Integration Guide.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
Connection refused	Verify `openviking-server` is running: `curl http://localhost:1933/health`
Authentication errors	Ensure the API key in your client config matches the server. See Authentication Guide

MCP Clients ​

Quick setup ​

Platform-specific notes ​

Claude Code ​

Trae / Cursor / ChatGPT / Codex / OpenCode ​

Claude Desktop / Claude.ai (OAuth) ​

Available tools ​

Troubleshooting ​

See also ​