MCP desktop clients
Common desktop AI apps and clients that work well with Onboard MCP.
Local-first AI workspaces and desktop clients are strong surfaces for MCP with Onboard. We position this as operational AI—onboarding copilots, launch coordination, and CS workflows—not only “connect a chatbot.”
Start with MCP setup for production URLs and your API key. For how to connect (including OAuth and MCP Inspector), use Connecting to Onboard MCP. Auth model details: Security & permissions (MCP).
Production hosted MCP uses https://rest.onboard.io under /mcp/. When a product asks for a single URL, use https://rest.onboard.io/mcp/sse with no trailing slash. Full endpoint table: MCP setup.
Supported AI clients (auth model)
| Client | Supported | Authentication |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Desktop | Yes | OAuth (per user) |
| Claude organization / custom connectors | Yes | OAuth (per user) |
| Amazon Quick | Yes | API key |
| OpenAI Agent Builder | Yes | API key |
| OpenAI Agents (setup & chat) | Yes | OAuth (per user) |
| Raycast | Yes | API key |
| Cursor | Yes | API key |
| MCP Inspector | Yes | API key or OAuth (testing) |
| Gemini | Yes | API key |
| Perplexity | Yes | API key |
| cURL / raw HTTP | Yes | API key |
| Claude Code | Yes | API key |
| Paperclip, Microsoft Copilot | No | — |
“Supported” means we have validated hosted MCP on that surface. Auth column is the primary path for Onboard—not every build of every app exposes both options. Full who-gets-access comparison: Security & permissions (MCP).
Client guides
| Client | Guide |
|---|---|
| Amazon Quick | MCP on Amazon Quick |
| OpenAI Agent Builder | MCP on OpenAI Agent Builder |
| Cursor | MCP on Cursor |
| Claude Desktop | MCP on Claude Desktop |
| Perplexity | MCP on Perplexity |
Other clients
These surfaces share the same hosted SSE URL and API key pattern. Complete MCP setup first.
Gemini
gemini mcp add --transport sse --header "Authorization: Bearer $YOUR_API_KEY" onboard https://rest.onboard.io/mcp/sseClaude Code
claude mcp add --transport sse onboard https://rest.onboard.io/mcp/sse --header "Authorization: Bearer $YOUR_API_KEY"After install, run /mcp in a Claude Code session for server details.
Raycast
Build a Raycast script that calls https://rest.onboard.io/... with
Authorization: Token … (Authentication), or point an
MCP-capable Raycast integration at https://rest.onboard.io/mcp/sse with your API key.
Windsurf
Register a remote MCP server whose HTTP/SSE URL is https://rest.onboard.io/mcp/sse and add
your Onboard API key from
Integrations → API.
Alfred
Store the API key in a workflow variable or Keychain-backed script. Call REST
endpoints with Authorization: Token YOUR_KEY, or configure an MCP bridge to
https://rest.onboard.io/mcp/sse. Scrub secrets before exporting workflows.
Next
Pick a guide from the table above, or continue the curriculum on MCP.
Related
- MCP setup — base URL, /mcp paths, authentication
- Security checklist
- MCP desktop clients
- Ottie — ChatGPT / Codex pet — download Onboard’s companion pet
- MCP overview
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