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Connect any MCP client with an API key

Updated

Clients with OAuth support sign in with Google and need no key; their guides are on the other tabs. For the rest, an agent you wrote or any client that speaks streamable HTTP but not OAuth, BRONTIR takes an API key from your account, sent as a bearer token.

The key comes from your BRONTIR account. Opening one is free, and new accounts start with free credits.

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MCP client setup, step by step

API key

OpenClaw, Hermes, or any agent that speaks the streamable MCP protocol.

  1. Create an API key on the API keys panel of your account and copy it.
  2. Point the client at the MCP endpoint:
    https://research.brontir.com/api/mcp
  3. Send the key as a bearer token: Authorization: Bearer nai_…
  4. Restart the client so it picks up the new tool list.

Always restart your client after connecting. Quit and reopen the desktop app, or reload the page in a web client. Clients read the tool list once at startup, so until they restart your agent may not see the new tools even though the connector already shows as connected.

MCP client troubleshooting

  • The connector is connected, but the agent doesn't see the tools. Restart the client: quit and reopen the desktop app, or reload the page in a web client. If the tools are still missing, start a new chat, since an open conversation can keep the tool list it was created with.
  • You pressed Approve, but the client still shows the connector as not connected. Authorization did go through; the client just hasn't refreshed its own state. Restart the app or reload the page and it will show as connected. If it doesn't, press Connect once more and approve again.
  • The agent uses its built-in web search instead of these tools. Name the tools in your prompt: “use advanced_web_search and advanced_web_fetch from the research MCP” rather than “look this up”. To make it permanent, add the rule to the agent’s system prompt or memory.

Full setup guide for every client: brontir.com/docs.

MCP client: common questions

Which transport does the server use?

Streamable HTTP, at https://research.brontir.com/api/mcp.

How is the API key sent?

As a bearer token in the Authorization header: Authorization: Bearer nai_…. The full key is shown once, when you create it on the API keys panel of your account.

My client only runs local (stdio) servers. Can it still connect?

Yes, through a small local bridge such as mcp-remote, which runs on Node.js. Give the client the command npx mcp-remote https://research.brontir.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}" and set AUTH_HEADER to Bearer nai_… in that server’s environment.

The client gets 401 Unauthorized. What is wrong?

The key isn’t reaching the server whole. Check the header reads Authorization: Bearer followed by the full key, with nothing added around it, and that the key is still listed on the API keys panel of your account.

Does the client need anything installed?

No. The server is hosted, so there is nothing to download or run on your machine.

Once connected

What your agent can do with BRONTIR

  • Search the web and the news, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok and other social platforms.
  • Read whole pages, PDFs, video transcripts and comment threads, not snippets.
  • Pull reviews, maps and local businesses, app stores, products and ad libraries.
  • Get it all back structured, with citations down to the exact line.
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