Developed by Anthropic, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that standardizes how applications provide context to LLMs. It is particularly helpful when building agents and complex workflows on top of LLMs.

Think of MCP like a USB-C port for AI applications. Just as USB-C provides a standardized way to connect your devices to various peripherals and accessories, MCP provides a standardized way to connect AI models to different data sources and tools.

-Anthropic

Learn more about the Model Context Protocol in Anthropic’s official documentation

Local MCP

Run MCP locally with our NPM or PyPi packages

Remote MCP

Use our hosted MCP endpoint

The Linkup MCP server is compatible with any MCP client, such as Cursor or Claude Desktop. Choose between local installation or our hosted endpoint based on your needs.

The Linkup MCP server provides seamless interaction with the Linkup /search API for any MCP client. For example, it can be integrated with Anthropic’s Claude:

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Local MCP

Run the Linkup MCP server locally using our official packages.

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Prerequisites

To use Local MCP, you need:

  • A Linkup API key
  • Python (v3.8 or higher) and uv (0.6 or higher) OR Node.js (v20 or higher)

Get your API key

Create a Linkup account for free to get your API key.

Linkup MCP NPM package

linkup-mcp-server

Linkup MCP PyPi package

mcp-search-linkup

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Setup Guide

1

Check Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have Claude Desktop correctly installed.

2

Configure Claude to use Linkup MCP

You need to edit the Claude configuration file to enables it to connect to MCP servers. Don’t worry, the configuration is really straightforward and is the official way to do it.

# Create the Claude desktop config file if it doesn't exist
touch "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"

# Opens the config file in TextEdit
open -e "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"

# Alternative method using Visual Studio Code
code "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"

Add the appropriate configuration based on your installation method:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linkup": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-search-linkup"
      ],
      "env": {
        "LINKUP_API_KEY": "{LINKUP_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace {LINKUP_API_KEY} with your actual Linkup API key.

3

Start Using MCP on Claude

  1. Restart your Claude Desktop application
  2. Look for the hammer icon at the bottom right of the text area
  3. Click the hammer to see available MCP tools
  4. Start asking questions like “Who won the last Vendée Globe? Can you give me his time?”

The Linkup MCP tool will automatically search through the internet to find grounding information to support Claude’s generation.

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Remote MCP

Use our hosted MCP endpoint for a quick setup without any local installation.

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Prerequisites

To use Remote MCP, you need:

  • A Linkup API key
  • Any MCP client that supports SSE (Server-Sent Events) connections

Get your API key

Create a Linkup account for free to get your API key.

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Endpoint Information

Our hosted MCP server is available at:

https://mcp.linkup.so/sse

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Authentication Methods

You can authenticate with your API key using one of two methods:

  1. Query Parameter (works with all clients):

    ?apiKey=<YOUR_API_KEY>

  2. Authorization Header (client support varies):

    Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>

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Client Configuration Examples

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "linkup": {
      "url": "https://mcp.linkup.so/sse?apiKey={LINKUP_API_KEY}"
    }
  }
}

Replace {LINKUP_API_KEY} with your actual Linkup API key.

Security Note: When using query parameter authentication, your API key will be visible in URLs and logs. Use header authentication when your client supports it for better security.

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When to Use Remote MCP

Remote MCP is ideal for:

  • Quick prototyping and testing
  • Environments where package installation is restricted
  • Teams wanting centralized MCP management
  • Reducing local resource usage

Facing issues? Reach out to our engineering team at support@linkup.so or via our Discord.