---
title: "Connect an MCP client"
description: "Add the account server URL to your client, then sign in through your browser. No API key is required."
canonical: https://past.dev/docs/mcp/quickstart
last-updated: 2026-10-09
---
# Connect an MCP client

> Add the account server URL to your client, then sign in through your browser. No API key is required.

Product: past.dev MCP Server. Source: https://past.dev/docs/mcp/quickstart

This page connects the **account server**. To connect an end user to a project's memory instead, read section 04.

### What you need

- A past.dev account with an accepted organization membership.
- An MCP-capable client (see below).
- The client configuration described below. OAuth does not require you to generate or paste a token.

### The address

- **Server endpoint**: `https://app.past.dev/mcp`
- **Server name**: `past`
- **Transport**: `Streamable HTTP`

> **Three addresses, three servers**
>
> `https://app.past.dev/mcp` is the account server. `https://past.dev/mcp` serves this documentation. `https://api.past.dev/mcp/<handle>` is a project's end-user server.

### Claude, desktop and web

1. Open **Settings → Connectors**.
2. Choose **Add custom connector**.
3. Name it `past` and paste `https://app.past.dev/mcp` as the URL.
4. Click **Connect**. A browser window opens on past.dev's sign-in page.
5. Sign in and approve the connection.

Leave the client ID and secret fields under Advanced settings empty. The server registers the client itself.

### Claude Code

```
claude mcp add --transport http past https://app.past.dev/mcp
```

Run `/mcp` inside Claude Code and select **Authenticate**. Complete the sign-in in the browser. Add `--scope user` to make the server available in every project. Without it, the server is available only in the current project.

### Cursor

Add it in one click: [Add to Cursor](cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=past&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2FwcC5wYXN0LmRldi9tY3AifQ%3D%3D). Cursor asks you to confirm, then writes the entry below for you.

Or add this to `~/.cursor/mcp.json` for all projects, or `.cursor/mcp.json` inside one project:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "past": {
      "url": "https://app.past.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

Cursor prompts you to sign in the first time it connects.

### VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add it in one click: [Add to VS Code](vscode:mcp/install?%7B%22name%22%3A%22past%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22http%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fapp.past.dev%2Fmcp%22%7D). VS Code asks you to confirm, then adds the server.

Or add this to `.vscode/mcp.json` in your workspace:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "past": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://app.past.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Any other client

Most MCP clients require these settings:

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| URL | `https://app.past.dev/mcp` |
| Transport | Streamable HTTP |
| Authentication | OAuth 2.1, discovered automatically |

If the client asks for an API key or a bearer token, check its authentication setting. This server uses OAuth and refuses a manually configured authorization header.

### Verify the connection

Ask the assistant who it is signed in as. It calls `get_viewer`, which returns your name, your platform role and the projects you reach. That call is the fastest proof that the connection works.

The tool list your client receives is filtered by your platform role, so two members of the same organization can see different lists. Section 03 gives the complete catalogue.

To verify that the server is reachable before you sign in:

```
curl https://api.past.dev/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp
```

A healthy server returns its resource identifier and the address of the sign-in service:

```json
{
  "resource": "https://app.past.dev/mcp",
  "authorization_servers": ["https://sso.past.dev"],
  "bearer_methods_supported": ["header"]
}
```