Hosted MCP: Connect Claude to Xplorr in 2 Minutes

import { Steps } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

Hosted MCP (No Setup Required)

Xplorr runs a hosted MCP server at https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp. Add that URL to your AI client and sign in with your Xplorr account when it asks. There are no tokens to copy, no servers to manage, no Docker and no Node.js.

Add Xplorr to your client

Claude (claude.ai and Claude Desktop): open Settings, then Connectors, choose Add custom connector, name it Xplorr and enter https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp.

Claude Code:
Terminal window
```
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user xplorr https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp
```
--scope user makes Xplorr available in every project. Without it, Claude Code uses the local scope and only loads the server in the directory where you ran the command. Then start Claude Code, run /mcp and choose Authenticate for xplorr.

Cursor: add it to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then click Connect next to it in Cursor’s MCP settings:
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xplorr": { "url": "https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp" }
  }
}
```
VS Code: add it to .vscode/mcp.json (or your user MCP settings), then start it from the MCP view:
```
{
  "servers": {
    "xplorr": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp" }
  }
}
```
Sign in and approve

Your browser opens the Xplorr console. Sign in as usual, including your second factor or SSO, then check the app name, your account and organization, and choose Allow.
Start asking

Your client finishes connecting on its own. Try “What are my top 5 most expensive services this month?”

What an app can do

Read only by default. The app can read your organization’s costs, budgets, alerts, recommendations, anomalies and reports: 20 tools.
Allow changes (a box on the approval page, off by default) adds the 8 tools that create or edit budgets, alerts and scheduled reports, trigger a sync, or change a recommendation’s status. Viewers can only approve read only access.
An app never has more access than your own role, and never changes anything in your cloud accounts. Xplorr only reads from them.
Sign in lasts until you remove it: the app gets a one hour access token and refreshes it on its own.

Remove an app’s access

In the console, open Settings, then API Tokens. Connected apps are listed with when they were connected and last used, and whether they can make changes. Click Remove to sign the app out immediately. Approving and removing apps are recorded in the audit log.

Use an API Token Instead

For a client that cannot sign in (an older client, a script, or a server), use a personal API token.

Create a Token

A personal API token works with every client. Any user can create one; it does not need an admin.

Log in to console.xplorr.io and open Settings.
Find the API Tokens section.
Enter a token name, for example Claude Desktop.
Pick an expiry: No expiry, 30 days, 90 days or 1 year.
Click New token.
Copy the token from the banner (it starts with xplorr_). It is shown only once, so store it before you click Dismiss.

The list below the form shows each token by name and prefix, with when it was created, last used and when it expires. Click Revoke to disable a token. Anything using it stops working immediately, and this cannot be undone.

Setup With a Token

Get your API token

Create a token in the console and copy it.
Add Xplorr to your Claude client

Pick the client you use:

Claude Desktop: the config file starts local servers, so connect through mcp-remote, which forwards to the hosted server with your token. Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xplorr": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp",
               "--header", "Authorization:Bearer xplorr_your_token_here"]
    }
  }
}
```
This needs Node.js 18 or later on your machine.

Claude Code: add the server from the command line:
Terminal window
```
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user xplorr https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer xplorr_your_token_here"
```
--scope user makes it available in every project, as above. Run claude mcp list to check it is connected.

Cursor: add it to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xplorr": {
      "url": "https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer xplorr_your_token_here" }
    }
  }
}
```
Replace xplorr_your_token_here with your actual token in all cases.
Restart your Claude client

Close and reopen Claude Desktop, or restart Claude Code. The Xplorr tools appear in Claude’s tool list (28 tools; a token always has every tool, limited by your role).

Verify It Works

Ask Claude:

“List my connected cloud accounts”

Claude should return a list of your connected AWS, Azure, and/or GCP accounts. If you see them, everything is working.

Try a few more:

“What are my top 5 most expensive services this month?”

“Show me cost anomalies in the last 7 days”

“Forecast my end-of-month spend”

Troubleshooting

“No tools available” or Xplorr not showing in tool list

Make sure you saved the config file and restarted Claude
Verify the JSON is valid (no trailing commas, correct quotes)
Check that the URL is exactly https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp (with /mcp at the end)
Claude Code: if /mcp does not list xplorr, it was probably added without --scope user while in another directory. Add it again with --scope user

The browser does not open, or sign in fails

Make sure the URL is exactly https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp
If the approval page says the request expired, start again from your client: a sign in request lasts 10 minutes
If your client cannot sign in to remote MCP servers, use an API token instead

“Unauthorized” or “Invalid token” errors with an API token

Verify your token starts with xplorr_
Make sure there are no extra spaces around the token
Check the token has not expired or been revoked, then create a new one under Settings, API Tokens

Tools show up but return “No data”

Make sure you have at least one cloud account connected in Xplorr
Check if the account has synced successfully (Infrastructure, then Cloud Accounts)

FAQ

Is the hosted endpoint always available? The hosted endpoint runs on the same infrastructure as the Xplorr platform. Uptime matches the main service.

Is my data encrypted in transit? Yes. All connections use HTTPS/TLS. Your tokens and cost data are encrypted between your client and the Xplorr endpoint.

Which sign in standard is it? OAuth 2.1 with PKCE and dynamic client registration, as the MCP authorization spec describes. Discovery is at https://mcp.xplorr.io/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp.

Can I use the hosted endpoint with non-Claude MCP clients? Yes. Any MCP-compatible client that supports HTTP transport can connect to https://mcp.xplorr.io/mcp.

Does the hosted endpoint cost extra? No. It’s included in all Xplorr plans.

MCP Overview: all 28 tools and how the server works
MCP Tools Reference: detailed tool parameters and responses
MCP Configuration: client settings, token handling and health check