Installation

Setting up the Snipcart MCP Server takes under two minutes. You'll need your private API key and an MCP-compatible client.

Getting your API key

  1. Log in to your Snipcart merchant dashboard.
  2. Go to Account → API Keys.
  3. Copy your Secret API key (starts with ST_ for test mode or SL_ for live mode).

We recommend starting with your test mode key (ST_...) to explore safely. You can switch to live mode once you're comfortable.

Claude Code

The fastest way is the CLI command:

claude mcp add Snipcart \
  -t http https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp \
  --header "X-Snipcart-Api-Key: YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY" \
  --scope user
  • --scope user makes the server available across all your projects. Use --scope project to restrict it to the current project only.

Alternatively, add it manually to your ~/.claude/settings.json (global) or .claude/settings.json (project-level):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "snipcart": {
      "url": "https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Snipcart-Api-Key": "YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY with the key you copied from your dashboard.

Verify the connection

Start Claude Code and try:

Show me my recent orders

If everything is connected, you'll see your most recent orders.

Claude Desktop

Open your claude_desktop_config.json configuration file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "snipcart": {
      "url": "https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Snipcart-Api-Key": "YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. You should see the Snipcart tools appear in the tools menu (the hammer icon).

Cursor

Open Settings → MCP in Cursor, or add directly to your .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "snipcart": {
      "url": "https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Snipcart-Api-Key": "YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to your ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "snipcart": {
      "serverUrl": "https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Snipcart-Api-Key": "YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tip: Windsurf supports environment variable interpolation in headers. You can use "X-Snipcart-Api-Key": "${env:SNIPCART_API_KEY}" to avoid hardcoding your key.

OpenAI Codex CLI

The fastest way is the CLI command:

codex mcp add snipcart --url https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp

Then edit ~/.codex/config.toml to add the header:

[mcp_servers.snipcart]
url = "https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp"
http_headers = { "X-Snipcart-Api-Key" = "YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY" }

Or use an environment variable for the key:

[mcp_servers.snipcart]
url = "https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp"
env_http_headers = { "X-Snipcart-Api-Key" = "SNIPCART_API_KEY" }

Other MCP clients

The Snipcart MCP Server uses the Streamable HTTP transport at:

https://snipcart-mcp.azurewebsites.net/mcp

It requires a single custom header for authentication:

X-Snipcart-Api-Key: YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY

Any MCP client that supports remote servers over Streamable HTTP (or SSE) with custom headers should work. Refer to your client's documentation for the specific configuration format.

Note about ChatGPT (web): ChatGPT's MCP connector only supports an authorization header — it does not allow custom headers like X-Snipcart-Api-Key. Use the Codex CLI or another client instead.

Self-hosting

If you prefer to run the MCP Server on your own infrastructure, it runs on Bun.

bun install
PORT=3000 bun run src/index.ts

Then point your MCP client to your self-hosted instance:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "snipcart": {
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-Snipcart-Api-Key": "YOUR_PRIVATE_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Docker

A Dockerfile is included for containerized deployments:

docker build -t snipcart-mcp .
docker run -p 3000:80 snipcart-mcp

Environment variables

Variable Default Description
PORT 80 HTTP port the server listens on
SNIPCART_TIMEOUT_MS 30000 API request timeout in milliseconds. Increase for stores with 100k+ orders.
RATE_LIMIT_MAX 100 Maximum requests per window per API key
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS 60000 Rate limit sliding window duration in milliseconds
CONCURRENT_LIMIT 10 Maximum concurrent in-flight requests per API key

Next up: Usage examples — See what you can do with the Snipcart MCP Server.

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