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Overview

Stdio is the default transport for the ChainStream MCP server. It communicates over standard input/output, making it the standard choice for local IDE and desktop integrations. 
chainstream-mcp
or without a global install: 
npx @chainstream-io/mcp
No additional flags are needed — stdio is used automatically when --transport is not specified.

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Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop MCP configuration file:
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chainstream": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@chainstream-io/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY": "your-key"
      }
    }
  }
}
If you installed the package globally, you can use the binary directly: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chainstream": {
      "command": "chainstream-mcp",
      "env": {
        "CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY": "your-key"
      }
    }
  }
}
Restart Claude Desktop after saving the configuration. The ChainStream tools will appear in your tool list automatically.

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Claude Code

Add the MCP server to Claude Code using the CLI: 
claude mcp add chainstream -- npx @chainstream-io/mcp
Set the API key as an environment variable before launching Claude Code: 
export CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY=your-key
Alternatively, add the server configuration to your project’s .mcp.json: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chainstream": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@chainstream-io/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY": "your-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Cursor

Open Cursor Settings and navigate to Features > MCP Servers. Click Add new MCP server and enter the following:
FieldValue
Namechainstream
Typestdio
Commandnpx @chainstream-io/mcp
Then set your API key in Cursor’s environment configuration: 
CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY=your-key
Alternatively, add to your project-level .cursor/mcp.json: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chainstream": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@chainstream-io/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY": "your-key"
      }
    }
  }
}
Cursor uses the same MCP configuration format as Claude Desktop. If you already have a working Claude Desktop config, you can reuse the same mcpServers block.

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Troubleshooting

Ensure CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY is set correctly in the env block. If the key is missing or invalid, tool calls will fail with API errors. Test by running the command manually in your terminal:
CHAINSTREAM_API_KEY=your-key npx @chainstream-io/mcp
The first run with npx downloads the package, which may take a few seconds. Install globally with npm install -g @chainstream-io/mcp for faster startup, then use chainstream-mcp as the command.
If you encounter permission issues with global npm installs, either use npx or configure npm to use a user-level prefix:
mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH

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Next Steps

HTTP Transport

Deploy as a remote server for cloud and team environments.

Tools Reference

Explore all MCP tools available through the server.