Connect your client

You need an API key. Grab it from the MCP panel, which also generates these configs with your key already filled in.

Two values are the whole setup:

Server URL	`https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp`
Authentication	`Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`

Claude Code

One command. --scope user makes it available in every project; drop the flag to add it to the current project only.

claude mcp add --transport http bouncewatch https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --scope user

Or write it into .mcp.json by hand:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bouncewatch": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

The type field is required. An entry with a url and no type is read as a local command and silently skipped.

Verify with claude mcp list, then ask Claude Code a question about timing.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reaches remote servers through mcp-remote, a small local bridge that attaches your key to every call. Open Settings → Developer → Edit config, or edit the file directly:

macOS — ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows — %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bouncewatch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${BOUNCEWATCH_AUTH}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BOUNCEWATCH_AUTH": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude after saving.

The “Add custom connector” dialog will not work with an API key. It accepts OAuth credentials only — there is no field for a bearer token or a custom header — and it requires a paid Claude plan. Use the config above. OAuth support is on our roadmap; when it ships, the one-click connector becomes an option too.

The key goes in env and the header has no space after the colon on purpose. Claude Desktop mangles spaces inside args when it shells out to npx, so "Authorization: Bearer …" written inline arrives broken. Spaces inside an environment variable survive.

Cursor

The MCP panel has a one-click Add to Cursor button. Or add it to ~/.cursor/mcp.json yourself:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bouncewatch": {
      "url": "https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

One-click Add to VS Code from the panel, or .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "bouncewatch": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Anything else

The server speaks plain JSON-RPC 2.0 over a single POST. Any MCP client library works, and so does raw HTTP:

curl -X POST https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

const res = await fetch('https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ jsonrpc: '2.0', id: 1, method: 'tools/list' })
});
const { result } = await res.json();

import requests

res = requests.post(
    'https://api.bouncewatch.com/api/v1/mcp',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'},
    json={'jsonrpc': '2.0', 'id': 1, 'method': 'tools/list'},
)
tools = res.json()['result']['tools']

Supported methods: initialize, tools/list, tools/call, prompts/list, prompts/get, ping. Notifications are accepted and answered with 202.

Security

Your key is embedded in these config files. Do not commit mcp.json or claude_desktop_config.json to a shared repository. If a key is exposed, rotate it on the API Keys page — the old one stops working immediately.

Troubleshooting

403 with an HTML body

You are pointing at bouncewatch.com instead of api.bouncewatch.com. The apex sits behind a bot challenge that a scriptless POST cannot pass.

401 Authentication failed

The key is missing, mistyped, or was rotated. Check it against the MCP panel and use the Test connection button — it round-trips the real endpoint, so it proves the whole path, not just the key.

402 Out of credits

The balance hit zero. Top up on the billing page. No call succeeds until then; the error your agent sees says exactly this.

429 Rate limit reached

Agents make many small calls. Wait about a minute and prefer fewer, broader calls — one search_signals over twenty get_company calls. Limits by plan are on the Rate Limits page.

405 on GET

Expected. This server answers over POST only; there is no SSE stream to open. Clients that probe with GET get a readable JSON-RPC error rather than a bare 405.

The client added it but lists no tools

In Claude Code and VS Code the type field is required — an entry with a url and no type is treated as a local command and skipped. Run claude mcp list to confirm.

Getting Started

Core Concepts

AI Agents (MCP)

API Reference

Claude Code

Claude Desktop

Cursor

VS Code

Anything else

Security

Troubleshooting

​Claude Code

​Claude Desktop

​Cursor

​VS Code

​Anything else

​Security

​Troubleshooting

Claude Code

Claude Desktop

Cursor

VS Code

Anything else

Security

Troubleshooting