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MCP Setup

TeamLoop uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect with AI assistants like Claude. This guide covers all setup options.

MCP is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools and data sources. It allows:

  • Secure, authenticated connections
  • Structured tool interfaces
  • Streaming responses
  • Cross-platform compatibility

Claude Desktop is the most common MCP client. Here’s how to configure it.

The configuration file location varies by platform:

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

Add TeamLoop to your mcpServers configuration:

{
"mcpServers": {
"teamloop": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@teamloop/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"TEAMLOOP_API_KEY": "tl_your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
  1. Log into app.teamloop.io
  2. Go to Settings > API Keys
  3. Click Create API Key
  4. Copy the key (it starts with tl_)

Completely quit and restart Claude Desktop to load the new configuration.

VariableRequiredDescription
TEAMLOOP_API_KEYYesYour TeamLoop API key
TEAMLOOP_API_URLNoCustom API URL (for self-hosted)
TEAMLOOP_LOG_LEVELNoLogging level (debug, info, warn, error)
{
"mcpServers": {
"teamloop": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@teamloop/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"TEAMLOOP_API_KEY": "tl_your_api_key_here",
"TEAMLOOP_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
}
}
}
}

If you’re running TeamLoop on your own infrastructure:

{
"mcpServers": {
"teamloop": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@teamloop/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"TEAMLOOP_API_KEY": "your-key",
"TEAMLOOP_API_URL": "https://your-teamloop-instance.com/api"
}
}
}
}

If you’re using Claude Code (CLI), add TeamLoop to your project’s .mcp.json:

{
"mcpServers": {
"teamloop": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@teamloop/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"TEAMLOOP_API_KEY": "${TEAMLOOP_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}

Then set the environment variable:

Terminal window
export TEAMLOOP_API_KEY="tl_your_api_key_here"

TeamLoop works with any MCP-compatible client. The server follows the MCP 2024-11-05 specification.

  • Protocol: JSON-RPC over stdio
  • Protocol Version: 2024-11-05
  • Capabilities: tools

You can run the MCP server directly:

Terminal window
TEAMLOOP_API_KEY=your-key npx @teamloop/mcp-server

The server communicates via stdin/stdout using newline-delimited JSON.

After configuration, verify TeamLoop is working:

  1. Start a new conversation in Claude
  2. Ask: “What TeamLoop tools are available?”
  3. Claude should list the TeamLoop tools

If Claude doesn’t see the tools:

  • Check the config file syntax
  • Verify the API key is correct
  • Check Claude’s logs for errors
  • Never commit API keys to version control
  • Use environment variables when possible
  • Rotate keys periodically in TeamLoop settings
  • Create separate keys for different environments

TeamLoop respects OAuth permissions:

  • Only accesses tools you’ve connected
  • Only sees data you’ve authorized
  • Doesn’t store credentials, only tokens
  • Ensure Node.js 18+ is installed
  • Try running npx @teamloop/mcp-server manually
  • Check network connectivity
  • Verify the key in TeamLoop settings
  • Check for typos or extra whitespace
  • Ensure the key hasn’t been revoked
  • Check your network connection
  • Verify TeamLoop service status
  • Try increasing timeout in config

Enable debug logs to diagnose issues:

{
"mcpServers": {
"teamloop": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@teamloop/mcp-server"],
"env": {
"TEAMLOOP_API_KEY": "your-key",
"TEAMLOOP_LOG_LEVEL": "debug"
}
}
}
}