Self-hosted MCP

The self-hosted server is published on npm as @usestring/mcp. It runs locally and talks to your MCP client over stdio, forwarding requests to the String Web Access API with your API key.

Run it

The simplest way is npx, which requires no install:

STRING_AI_API_KEY=your-key npx @usestring/mcp

Or install it globally and run the string-ai-mcp binary:

npm install -g @usestring/mcp
STRING_AI_API_KEY=your-key string-ai-mcp

Environment

Variable	Required	Description
`STRING_AI_API_KEY`	Yes	Your String API key.

Client configuration

Add the server to your MCP client's config. The same block works for Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json), Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code:

mcpServers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "string-ai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@usestring/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "STRING_AI_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add the block to claude_desktop_config.json.

Cursor / Windsurf

Add a global MCP server with the same command and env.

VS Code

Add it to your user settings JSON, or a shared .vscode/mcp.json.

How it works

┌───────────────────┐   stdio (JSON-RPC)   ┌──────────────────┐   HTTPS   ┌──────────────────┐
│ VS Code / Cursor  │ ◄──────────────────► │  @usestring/mcp  │ ────────► │  String          │
│ Windsurf / Claude │                      │  (this server)   │           │  Web Access API  │
└───────────────────┘                      └──────────────────┘           └──────────────────┘

Your client spawns the server as a child process and talks to it over stdio.
When the model needs the web, it calls web_access_fetch, web_access_search, or web_access_sitemap.
The server forwards the request to the Web Access API using your STRING_AI_API_KEY and returns the result.

Test it

Use the MCP Inspector to try the tools interactively:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector npx @usestring/mcp

Don't want to run anything locally? Use the hosted server instead.