Connect an MCP client

Connecting an MCP client to Brilo lets Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code read your agents and call history. It takes about five minutes: create an API key in your Brilo dashboard, add the Brilo MCP server to your client with that key, then ask a question to check it works.

Before you start

A Brilo API key, or permission to create one in Settings, then API Keys. See Workspace settings.
An MCP client that can send a request header: Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code.
The server address: https://api.brilo.ai/mcp.

Steps

Create an API key

In your Brilo dashboard, open Settings, then API Keys, and create a key. Copy it somewhere safe: anyone with the key can read this workspace’s agents and calls.

Add the Brilo MCP server to your client

Pick your client and replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key you copied.

Claude Code
Cursor
VS Code
Your own agent

Run this in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http brilo https://api.brilo.ai/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or to .cursor/mcp.json in one project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brilo": {
      "url": "https://api.brilo.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Add this to .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "brilo": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.brilo.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Point your MCP client library at https://api.brilo.ai/mcp with the Streamable HTTP transport, and send Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY on every request. To check the key by hand:

curl -X POST https://api.brilo.ai/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

Ask your client a question

Ask something like “list my Brilo agents”. The first time, your client may ask you to allow the Brilo tools.

You will know it worked when

Your client lists the Brilo tools, such as list_agents and list_calls.
Asking “list my Brilo agents” returns the agents you see in your dashboard.

What else you can do here

See every MCP tool with its parameters and an example request
Learn what is withheld from call content
Use the REST API with the same key to change things from code
Manage your API keys in workspace settings

If it did not work

Your client reports a 401 with api_key_invalid. The key is wrong, or it is no longer active. Copy it again from Settings, then API Keys, with no spaces around it, and check the header reads Bearer followed by one space and the key.
The request fails with a 406. Your own client is not sending Accept: application/json, text/event-stream. Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code send it for you, so this only affects code you wrote yourself.
You get a 429. Too many requests in a minute. Wait a minute and try again, and ask fewer, larger questions, for example one list_calls page of 100 instead of many small ones.
Calls come back with no transcript or recording. Recordings are never returned over MCP, and HIPAA workspaces never receive transcripts. Neither is a fault. See What is withheld.

For anything else, email support@brilo.ai with the time of the request and the name of your client.

FAQ

Which MCP clients work with Brilo?

Any MCP client that can send a request header works with Brilo, including Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and AI agents built with an MCP library. Chat apps in the browser that only offer an OAuth sign in for outside servers cannot connect yet, because the Brilo MCP server signs in with an API key.

Why does my client say the Brilo API key is invalid?

The key does not match an active key in your workspace. It may have been copied with a space, deleted, or created in a different workspace. Copy it again from Settings, then API Keys, and check the header is Authorization: Bearer followed by the key and nothing else.

Can I use the same API key for the MCP server and the REST API?

Yes. A Brilo API key works for both the Brilo MCP server and the REST API. Creating a separate key for each MCP client is still worth it, because you can then cut one client off without breaking your other integrations. Deleting one key never affects the others.

Is it safe to put my API key in a config file?

Treat the API key like a password. Anyone who has it can read the agents and calls in that workspace. Keep it out of files you commit to a shared repository. Claude Code stores it in your own user settings. In Cursor or VS Code, put the Brilo server in your user level MCP settings rather than a project file that others can see.

How do I disconnect an MCP client from Brilo?

Remove the Brilo server from the client, for example with claude mcp remove brilo in Claude Code. To make sure the client can no longer read anything, also delete its API key in Settings, then API Keys. Other keys keep working.

Brilo MCP server for what it is and what is withheld
MCP tools for every tool and parameter
API introduction for rate limits and errors

Endpoints

MCP server

Agent pairing

Webhooks

Connect an MCP client

Before you start

Steps

You will know it worked when

What else you can do here

If it did not work

FAQ

​Before you start

​Steps

​You will know it worked when

​What else you can do here

​If it did not work

​FAQ

​Related

Before you start

Steps

You will know it worked when

What else you can do here

If it did not work

FAQ

Related