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Installation — Quick Start

Installation — Quick Start

Create your account, issue an API key, and connect your first MCP client in about 15 minutes.

This guide walks you from zero to a working MCP connection. Estimated time: 15 minutes.

1. Create an account

  1. Open Get started free.
  2. Sign in with email magic link or Google.
  3. You land on Dashboard with a default team.

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

2. Create an API key

  1. Go to Dashboard → API Keys.
  2. Click Create key and copy the secret (sk_live_…).
  3. Store it in a password manager or host env var (e.g. SMARTGATE_API_KEY). Do not commit it to git.

Free plans include up to 2 API keys per team.

3. Open Connect

  1. Go to Dashboard → Connect.
  2. Choose your MCP host (Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, Hermes, OpenClaw, or Generic).
  3. Copy the JSON snippet — it includes the correct URL (POST /api/mcp, Streamable HTTP) and Authorization header for your deployment.

Production typically uses:

https://smartgate.network/api/mcp

Local development uses the Next.js BFF at http://localhost:3000/api/mcp, or direct Python at http://localhost:8000/mcp/; Connect shows the right value for your environment.

4. Paste into your MCP client

  • Cursor: merge into ~/.cursor/mcp.json under mcpServers, then restart Cursor.
  • Claude Desktop: merge into claude_desktop_config.json, then restart the app.
  • Other hosts: follow the host-specific field names on the Connect page.

See the Connect Guide for per-host details.

5. Verify the connection

In your MCP client, confirm the server shows as connected, then invoke:

  • tools/list — you should see all 7 SmartGate tools
  • tools/call with smart_fetch on a test URL

If the client reports auth errors, double-check the Bearer token and URL from Connect.

6. Optional — REST audit headers

For multi-step agent tasks over REST (not MCP), add optional headers documented in MCP Endpoint → Audit headers. MCP calls tag route=mcp automatically.

Next steps

OverviewConnect Guide