Connect MCPifex to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, claude.ai

To connect MCPifex to Claude, point your client at https://mcpifex.com/mcp with your mcpx_ API key. Claude Code takes the key in a bearer header, and a single command does it. Claude Desktop and claude.ai use a custom connector with the key in the URL. You install nothing locally.

Claude Code: one command

Create an instance and generate a key first, as in the quickstart. Then run this once in your terminal:

#!/bin/sh
# MCPifex — Claude Code CLI snippet.
# Replace <YOUR_MCPX_KEY> with your MCPifex API key (starts "mcpx_"), from
# the portal's API key page, then run this once from any shell that has the
# `claude` CLI on PATH.
claude mcp add mcpifex --transport http https://mcpifex.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_MCPX_KEY>"

Say you connected a PostgreSQL instance. Ask Claude Code "which tables are in my database?" and it calls list_tables through the gateway. The command uses Claude Code's default local scope for the current project. Pick a user scope if you want it in every project. The full walkthrough is in add an MCP server to Claude Code.

Claude Desktop and claude.ai: custom connector

Both apps add hosted servers as remote connectors on your Claude account. Claude Desktop's local JSON config file is a different mechanism, for launching servers on your own machine. You don't need it here. The Claude Desktop guide explains the difference.

1. Open Customize → Connectors and choose Add custom connector. On Team and Enterprise, an owner first adds it under Organization settings → Connectors → Add → Custom → Web.
2. Name the connector and enter https://mcpifex.com/mcp/<YOUR_MCPX_KEY> with your real key.
3. If asked for authentication, choose No sign-in. Leave OAuth credentials and request headers empty.
4. Add the connector. Organization members then connect to the owner's entry.
5. In a conversation, enable it from the plus menu under Connectors.

As of September 2026, custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, and Free allows one. Requests come from Anthropic's servers, even when you use Desktop. A URL that works from your laptop doesn't prove Claude can reach a private server.

Some organizations also have Anthropic's request-header beta. There you can use the base gateway URL and an Authorization value of Bearer plus your key. It's optional.

Keep the key safe

A URL with the key in it is a password. If it leaks, revoke the key in the portal, generate a new one, and update the connector. New calls with the old key stop within about a minute. The API keys doc explains both key forms.

Tool access belongs to the instance, so every client using it sees the same enabled tools. See instances and tools to change them.

Check that it works

Ask Claude for one harmless read, such as listing tables, and look at the real tool result. To test a key without a client, run the curl script from the quickstart. It shows the tools your key can use.

If something fails, the errors are the same in every Claude client. A 401 means a bad or revoked key. instance_disabled means the instance is off, and connection_revoked means a connected Google account lost access. The troubleshooting page has the fixes, and the marketplace lists servers to connect.