Prerequisites
- Claude Desktop installed (available for macOS and Windows)
- Node.js installed (required for the
mcp-remotebridge) - A Shuriken Agent Key (create one here if you haven’t already)
Step-by-step setup
Copy your Agent Key
If you just created your key, copy it from the setup screen. It starts with
sk_.If you already closed that screen, you’ll need to create a new key - keys are only shown once.Open the config file
Claude Desktop stores its MCP config in a file called Open Finder, press
claude_desktop_config.json.Option A: Through Claude Desktop settings- Open Claude Desktop
- Click the Claude menu in your system menu bar (top of screen on macOS, top of window on Windows)
- Select Settings
- Go to the Developer tab
- Click Edit Config
- macOS
- Windows
Cmd+Shift+G, and paste the path above.Add the Shuriken server
Paste the following into your config file. Replace If the file is empty or doesn’t exist, paste this entire block:If your config already has other MCP servers or preferences, add the
YOUR_AGENT_KEY with the key you copied in step 1.Why
mcp-remote? Claude Desktop supports remote MCP servers through its built-in Connectors feature (Settings > Connectors), but that requires OAuth authentication. Since Shuriken uses API key authentication via custom headers, the mcp-remote bridge is needed to pass those headers through claude_desktop_config.json.- macOS
- Windows
claude_desktop_config.json
"Shuriken" block inside the existing "mcpServers" object. Keep any other configuration (like preferences) as-is:- macOS
- Windows
claude_desktop_config.json
Save and restart Claude Desktop
Save the file, then completely quit and relaunch Claude Desktop. The MCP connection won’t activate until you restart.
On macOS, make sure to quit from the menu bar (Claude > Quit Claude), not just close the window.
Verify the connection
After restarting, look for an MCP tools indicator (a small hammer icon) in the bottom-right corner of the chat input box. Click it to see the available Shuriken tools.Try a test prompt:Claude will ask for your approval before using each tool for the first time. Click Allow to let it proceed.
If you see results, you’re all set. Claude is now connected to Shuriken.
Troubleshooting
No hammer icon / tools not showing
No hammer icon / tools not showing
- Make sure you saved the config file
- Make sure you fully quit and restarted Claude Desktop
- Check for JSON syntax errors (missing commas, mismatched brackets)
- Verify that Node.js is installed by running
node --versionin your terminal - Check Claude’s logs for errors:
- macOS:
~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp.log - Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp.log
- macOS:
Tools show up but return errors
Tools show up but return errors
- Double-check that your Agent Key is correct (starts with
sk_) - Make sure you included the
AgentKeyprefix before the key (with a space) - Check that the key hasn’t been revoked on the Agent Keys dashboard
ENOENT error or 'npx not found' on Windows
ENOENT error or 'npx not found' on Windows
This usually means Windows can’t find Also verify that Node.js is installed and
npx as a direct executable. Make sure your config uses the cmd /c wrapper:npx is available in your PATH by running npx --version in Command Prompt.Connection is slow on first launch
Connection is slow on first launch
The first time Claude Desktop starts with this config,
npx downloads the mcp-remote package in the background. This can take 10-30 seconds with no visible feedback. Subsequent launches will be fast since the package is cached.Claude asks for approval every time
Claude asks for approval every time
This is normal. Claude Desktop asks you to approve tool usage for safety. You can click Allow for this chat to approve all tool calls in the current conversation.