MCP Setup Guide

This guide walks you through setting up the Templated MCP server with different AI assistants.

Before you begin, make sure you have:

1. A Templated account — Sign up for free
2. Your API key — Find it in your dashboard

For local server mode, you’ll also need:

• Node.js 18 or higher installed

Claude Desktop supports both remote and local MCP servers.

Templated is listed in the Claude connectors directory, so there is nothing to install or paste.

1. Open the Templated listing

   Go to claude.ai/directory/templatedio. You can also find it in Claude Desktop under Settings → Connectors, or on Claude.ai under Customize → Connectors, by searching for Templated.

2. Connect

   Click Connect (on Team and Enterprise plans, Connect for your team).

3. Sign in to Templated

   When prompted, sign in to your Templated account to authorize the connection.

4. Verify the connection

   Look for a tools icon (hammer) in the chat input area. Click it to see available Templated tools.

1. Locate your config file

   The Claude Desktop configuration file is located at:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Edit the configuration

   Open the file and add the Templated MCP server:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "templated": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["mcp-server-templated"],
         "env": {
           "TEMPLATED_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
         }
       }
     }
   }

   Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key.

3. Restart Claude Desktop

   Completely quit and reopen Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.

4. Verify the connection

   Look for a tools icon (hammer) in the chat input area. Click it to see available Templated tools.

The fastest way is the install button, which opens Cursor with the server pre-configured:

Then click Login next to the server and sign in to your Templated account.

1. Locate your config file

   The Cursor MCP configuration file is located at:

   • macOS/Linux: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
   • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json

2. Create or edit the configuration

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "templated": {
         "url": "https://mcp.templated.io/mcp"
       }
     }
   }

3. Restart Cursor

   Close and reopen Cursor for the changes to take effect.

4. Sign in when prompted

   Cursor shows a Login button on first use. Click it and sign in to your Templated account to authorize the connection.

5. Start using Templated

   In the Composer or Chat panel, you can now ask Cursor to use Templated tools.

For automations, or if you prefer not to use OAuth, include your API key directly in the URL instead:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "templated": {
      "url": "https://mcp.templated.io/mcp?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY"
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key.

1. Locate your config file

   Same location as above.

2. Edit the configuration

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "templated": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["mcp-server-templated"],
         "env": {
           "TEMPLATED_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
         }
       }
     }
   }

3. Restart Cursor

ChatGPT supports MCP servers through Connected Apps in the settings.

1. Open ChatGPT Settings

   Go to Settings → Connected Apps → Add MCP Server

2. Enter the server URL

   https://mcp.templated.io/mcp

3. Set authentication to OAuth

   Select OAuth for authentication type. ChatGPT will prompt you to sign in to your Templated account to authorize the connection.

4. Click Create

   ChatGPT will verify the connection and add Templated to your connected apps.

5. Start using Templated

   In any conversation, you can now ask ChatGPT to use Templated tools to generate images, manage templates, and more.

For automations, or if you prefer not to use OAuth, include your API key directly in the URL and set authentication to “No Auth”:

https://mcp.templated.io/mcp?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key.

Claude.ai uses the same connectors directory as Claude Desktop.

1. Open the Templated listing

   Go to claude.ai/directory/templatedio, or open Customize → Connectors in the sidebar and search for Templated.

2. Connect

   Click Connect (on Team and Enterprise plans, Connect for your team).

3. Sign in to Templated

   When prompted, sign in to your Templated account to authorize the connection.

4. Start chatting

   The Templated tools will now be available in your conversations, including on the mobile apps and in Cowork.

Claude Code supports the Templated MCP server through the CLI.

1. Add the server

   Run this command in your terminal:

   claude mcp add --transport http templated https://mcp.templated.io/mcp

2. Authenticate

   Inside Claude Code, run:

   /mcp

   and follow the prompts to sign in to your Templated account.

3. Start using Templated

   Once connected, you can ask Claude Code to use Templated tools.

When building multi-tenant applications (e.g. a chat interface where each customer edits their own templates), you can scope the MCP server so that each session only has access to a specific subset of resources. This is enforced at the server level, making it immune to prompt injection.

You can scope by folder ID, external ID, or both.

If you already use externalId to link templates to your own customers (e.g. via the Embedded Editor), you can use the same identifier to scope MCP access.

When set, the MCP server will:

• Only list templates and renders matching that external ID
• Automatically assign the external ID to new templates
• Reject any operation on a template that doesn’t match

https://mcp.templated.io/mcp?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY&externalId=CUSTOMER_123

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "templated": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-templated"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPLATED_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "TEMPLATED_EXTERNAL_ID": "CUSTOMER_123"
      }
    }
  }
}

You can also restrict access to a specific folder. When set, the MCP server will:

• Only list templates and renders from that folder
• Automatically move new templates into the folder
• Reject any operation on a template outside the folder
• Hide folder management tools (since the folder is fixed)

https://mcp.templated.io/mcp?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY&folderId=FOLDER_ID

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "templated": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-templated"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPLATED_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "TEMPLATED_FOLDER_ID": "FOLDER_ID"
      }
    }
  }
}

You can use both scoping parameters together for stricter isolation. For example, to restrict access to a specific folder AND external ID:

https://mcp.templated.io/mcp?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY&folderId=FOLDER_ID&externalId=CUSTOMER_123

If the tools don’t appear after configuration:

1. Completely restart the AI assistant (not just close the window)
2. Check the config file location — it must be in the exact path specified
3. Verify JSON syntax — use a JSON validator to check for errors
4. Check for existing configs — you may need to merge with existing mcpServers

If using local server mode:

# Verify Node.js version
node --version  # Should be 18.0.0 or higher

# Test the MCP server directly
TEMPLATED_API_KEY=your_key npx mcp-server-templated

If you’re still having issues:

• Check our GitHub Issues
• Contact us at support@templated.io