Connecting Claude to COORDINATOR (MCP)

Last updated: September 9, 2026

Which Claude are you using?

Claude comes in three shapes and each connects differently. Pick yours:

• Claude app (claude.ai) — add COORDINATOR as a custom Connector, no terminal needed.
• Claude Desktop — one entry in the Desktop config file.
• Claude Code (terminal) — one command, fastest of the three.

All three need the same thing first: an MCP key. If you don't have one yet, read Using COORDINATOR inside other AI apps — it takes a minute in Settings → Developer → Connect via MCP.

Claude app (Connector)

The Claude app connects to MCP servers through custom Connectors. COORDINATOR authenticates with an API key, so when the dialog asks how you sign in, you use the API-key path rather than OAuth.

1. In Claude, go to Customize → Connectors (on some plans this lives under organization settings).
2. Select Add custom connector.
3. Enter the server URL: https://api.coordinator.co/mcp.
4. For authentication, choose the option that means no sign-in / none — then add your key under Request headers as:
   • Header name: Authorization
   • Header value: Bearer YOUR_KEY (your full coord_sk_live_… key, with the word Bearer and a space in front of it)
5. Save. Claude stores the header securely and sends it on every request.

Then enable it per conversation: open the + menu in the composer, choose Connectors, and toggle COORDINATOR on. Every COORDINATOR tool starts at Ask each time — approve calls as they come, and only switch a tool to Always allow once you trust it.

Note: the app reaches our server from Anthropic's infrastructure, so this only works against the public https://api.coordinator.co/mcp URL — not a localhost tunnel.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from its config file:

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

Add COORDINATOR under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coordinator": {
      "url": "https://api.coordinator.co/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_KEY with your full key, save the file, and fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. COORDINATOR's tools appear in the tools menu; enable them for the conversation you're in.

Prefer not to keep a secret in a file? Put the key in an environment variable and reference it — Desktop expands ${VAR} in config values:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coordinator": {
      "url": "https://api.coordinator.co/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${COORDINATOR_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (CLI)

This is the terminal path — the one the Settings → Developer card generates for you.

claude mcp add --transport http coordinator https://api.coordinator.co/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY"

Verify it landed:

claude mcp list

Then just ask, e.g. "ask COORDINATOR what my groups are" or "have COORDINATOR draft a doc summarizing my week." Writes come back as drafts — nothing saves until you approve the draft card in COORDINATOR.

What Claude can do once connected

Read and ask about your chats, Studio workspaces, library, and groups; check which integrations are connected; draft new documents, sheets, and apps for your approval. The full permission and quota picture is in the overview.

Common issues

The Connector dialog fails with an OAuth / sign-in error

You picked an OAuth sign-in option. COORDINATOR doesn't run an OAuth flow for MCP — go back, choose the no-sign-in option, and put the key in Request headers instead.

"Couldn't connect" in the Claude app but CLI works

The app calls our server from Anthropic's cloud. Check you're using the public URL (https://api.coordinator.co/mcp), not a local or tunnel address.

Desktop doesn't show the server

The config file is JSON — one trailing comma breaks the whole file. Validate it, confirm the path matches your OS above, and fully quit Desktop (not just close the window) before reopening.

Claude Code says the server failed

Run claude mcp list and confirm the entry exists with the right URL. Re-add it with a freshly created key if the old one was revoked — revoked keys fail within about a minute, everywhere at once.

Contact support

Email [email protected] from the address on your COORDINATOR account with which Claude surface you're on (app, Desktop, or Code), the exact error, and when it started. Never send your API key.