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Claude Desktop

Through the connector UI, or through a stdio bridge if you would rather use a file.

The connector route

Claude Desktop can add a remote MCP server from its own settings — look for Connectors (or Extensions) under Settings, and add a custom one:

URL:  https://api.unlob.com/mcp

Where the UI lets you set a header, use x-api-key: ulb_…. This is the route to prefer: nothing to install, and the app manages the connection.

Connector support and its exact placement move between versions. If your build does not offer it, use the bridge below — it works everywhere.

The stdio bridge

Claude Desktop reads a JSON config file and spawns stdio servers from it. mcp-remote is a small proxy that speaks stdio to the app and HTTP to us.

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unlob": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "mcp-remote",
        "https://api.unlob.com/mcp",
        "--header", "x-api-key:${UNLOB_API_KEY}"
      ],
      "env": { "UNLOB_API_KEY": "ulb_…" }
    }
  }
}

Two things that will cost you ten minutes each if you miss them:

  • No space after the colon in x-api-key:${UNLOB_API_KEY}. Argument splitting eats it, and the header arrives malformed.
  • Restart the app fully after editing. Closing the window is not enough on macOS — quit it.

Node has to be on the app’s PATH, which is not necessarily your shell’s PATH. If the server fails to start with nothing useful logged, try an absolute path to npx.

Check it worked

The tools icon in the composer should list eleven tools under unlob. If the server is listed but has no tools, that is the handshake, not the tools — see Troubleshooting.

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