Connect a client

The MCP server lives at https://api.ontora.com/mcp/. Authentication is a workspace API key with the mcp scope, sent as a Bearer token.

Create an API key with the mcp scope

From the dashboard or via the API:

curl -X POST https://api.ontora.com/v1/api-keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CLERK_JWT" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Claude Desktop",
    "workspace_id": "ws_...",
    "scopes": ["mcp", "interviews", "exports", "webhooks"]
  }'

Copy the returned key — you’ll only see it once.

Configure your client

Use the snippet for your client below.

Verify the connection

Ask the agent to “list my Ontora campaigns”. If it returns your workspace’s campaigns, you’re done.

Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or the equivalent on your platform:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ontora": {
      "url": "https://api.ontora.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ont_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. The Ontora tools appear under the tools menu.

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ontora": {
      "url": "https://api.ontora.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ont_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add ontora https://api.ontora.com/mcp/ \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ont_live_..."

Windsurf

Add an MCP server in Settings → Cascade → MCP servers with:

URL: https://api.ontora.com/mcp/
Auth header: Authorization: Bearer ont_live_...

Other clients

Any client that speaks the Model Context Protocol spec over HTTP/SSE can connect — just point it at https://api.ontora.com/mcp/ with the Bearer header.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause
`401 Unauthorized`	Key missing, malformed, or revoked
`403 Forbidden` on a tool	Key lacks the scope that tool requires (e.g., `interviews`)
Tools list but calls fail	Often a workspace mismatch — verify the key was created in the right workspace

Get started

Core concepts

Guides

MCP server

CLI

Webhooks

Connect a client

Claude Desktop

Cursor

Claude Code (CLI)

Windsurf

Other clients

Troubleshooting

​Claude Desktop

​Cursor

​Claude Code (CLI)

​Windsurf

​Other clients

​Troubleshooting

Claude Desktop

Cursor

Claude Code (CLI)

Windsurf

Other clients

Troubleshooting