Connect Claude Code to Meltwater MCP

Call Meltwater from Claude Code in the terminal or the IDE extension. Every client connects to the same Meltwater MCP server, so the URL and sign-in are the same wherever you use it.

Connection details

Setting	Value
Server URL	https://api.meltwater.com/v2/mcp
Transport	Streamable HTTP
Authentication	OAuth sign-in at app.meltwater.com, or a Meltwater API token in the apikey header

Before you start

• A Meltwater account with access to Meltwater MCP.
• The server URL, exactly https://api.meltwater.com/v2/mcp, with no trailing slash.
• Claude Code installed and signed in.

Connect

1. Add the hosted server

From the project directory, register Meltwater as a remote HTTP server. Claude Code's docs say this command writes local scope unless you add --scope project or --scope user. Local scope is stored for you in ~/.claude.json. --scope project writes .mcp.json so the repo can share the URL. A teammate still has to trust the workspace and approve that server.

Terminal

claude mcp add --transport http meltwater https://api.meltwater.com/v2/mcp

2. Or commit a project file

A project server lives in .mcp.json at the repo root. Claude Code's documented shape uses type: http and url. Teammates still authenticate with their own Meltwater account. Check the file in only when it has no access token.

.mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "meltwater": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.meltwater.com/v2/mcp"
    }
  }
}

3. Authenticate

Use either a browser sign-in or a Meltwater API token.

• Browser sign-in (OAuth) - if the client opens a browser, sign in with your Meltwater account. The server publishes OAuth metadata for https://app.meltwater.com, including dynamic client registration, so you don't need to register a client. Leave the client ID and client secret empty if the form marks them as optional.
• API token - for a custom agent, or a client that only offers a header field, send your Meltwater API token in a header named apikey. This is the method used in Building agents with Meltwater MCP. See API Credentials to create a token.

Treat your API token like a password. Keep it in an environment variable or a secrets manager - never in the URL, in client-side code, or in source control.

A request with no credential returns 401 with the body no bearer token. A rejected apikey value returns {"message":"Unauthorized"}.

4. Start a fresh session

Quit the current Claude Code session and start a new one so it runs initialize against the new server. Then ask it which Meltwater tools it can call.

Check the connection

Once the server shows as connected, paste this prompt into a new conversation. It only uses tools the client has actually listed.

First session

I just connected Meltwater. Use the Meltwater MCP tools if they are available.

1. Confirm the connection by listing the tools you can call. If none are listed, say so and stop.
2. Ask me which brand, company, or topic to brief if I have not named one.
3. Use the available tools to pull recent coverage and the main narratives. Cite the source and date for each material fact the tools return.
4. Return a short briefing: what is being said, what changed, what is unresolved, and one recommended next action.
5. Before calling a tool, check its schema. Ask only for missing inputs, in a single message, then name the tools you will call.

See which tools you can access

Use the Tools Explorer to browse the tools available to your account - each tool's name, description and parameters - without connecting a client.

If it does not connect

The URL is rejected

Use HTTPS and the exact URL https://api.meltwater.com/v2/mcp. A trailing slash, an http:// scheme, or any other Meltwater URL won't reach the server.

The client only offers SSE

Choose Streamable HTTP, which uses POST. An unauthenticated GET, POST or DELETE to the server URL returns 401 with the body no bearer token.

Tools stay empty after sign-in

Start a new chat so the client runs initialize and tools/list again. Check that the Meltwater account you signed in with has access to Meltwater MCP.

Still stuck?

Take a look at the FAQs, or contact our Support team.