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MCP Installation

MCP Installation

verbitas-mcp runs as a local process that your AI agent connects to via the MCP stdio transport.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18+ (or use npx without installing)
  • A Verbitas API key

Claude Desktop

  1. Open Claude Desktop settings: Claude > Settings > Developer > Edit Config

  2. Add the Verbitas server to your mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "verbitas": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "verbitas-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "VERBITAS_API_KEY": "vb_live_01j..."
      }
    }
  }
}

  1. Restart Claude Desktop.

  2. You should see “verbitas” in the MCP servers list. Test it:

“List my Verbitas recipes”

Claude will call vb_recipes_list and return the list.

Cursor

  1. Open Cursor settings: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → Open User Settings (JSON)

  2. Add or merge into mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "verbitas": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "verbitas-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "VERBITAS_API_KEY": "vb_live_01j..."
      }
    }
  }
}
  1. Reload Cursor. The verbitas tools are now available to the Cursor AI agent.

Windsurf

  1. Open Windsurf MCP config: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

  2. Add the Verbitas server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "verbitas": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "verbitas-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "VERBITAS_API_KEY": "vb_live_01j..."
      }
    }
  }
}
  1. Restart Windsurf.

Install globally (optional)

Instead of npx, you can install globally for faster startup:

Terminal window
npm install -g verbitas-mcp

Then use "command": "verbitas-mcp" instead of npx in the config.

Init helper

If you have verbitas-mcp installed globally, you can run the init command to generate the config snippet automatically:

Terminal window
verbitas-mcp init
# → prints the JSON snippet for Claude Desktop / Cursor

API key security

Do not hardcode your API key in the config file if that file is committed to version control. Instead:

  1. Use an environment variable reference if your MCP client supports it.
  2. Or store the key in a secrets manager and pass it via a wrapper script.

Example wrapper script (/usr/local/bin/verbitas-mcp-wrapper):

#!/bin/bash
export VERBITAS_API_KEY=$(doppler secrets get VERBITAS_API_KEY --plain)
exec verbitas-mcp "$@"

Then in config: "command": "verbitas-mcp-wrapper".

Verifying the installation

Ask your agent: “What Verbitas tools are available?”

The agent should list the 6 tools: vb_sign, vb_verify, vb_lookup, vb_recipes_list, vb_recipe_create, vb_get_audit_log.

Or run the MCP server directly to test:

Terminal window
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}' | VERBITAS_API_KEY=vb_live_... npx verbitas-mcp

Version pinning

For production pipelines, pin to a specific version rather than @latest:

{
  "args": ["-y", "[email protected]"]
}

Find the latest version on npm: verbitas-mcp.