Connect a client

This page walks through installing the K-AI MCP servers (Retrieval and Audit) into the major MCP-compatible clients. Both servers use Streamable HTTP transport and the same OAuth 2.1 Authorization Server (auth-api.kai-studio.ai) — a token obtained from one is accepted on the other.

Client	Install method	Notes
Cursor	One-click deep-link (plus manual fallback)	Per-server deep-link.
Claude Desktop	UI only (Custom Connectors)	Pro / Max / Team / Enterprise plan required.
Mistral Le Chat	UI only (Custom MCP Connector)	May require Admin privileges.
Other MCP clients	Manual OAuth + Streamable HTTP	See OAuth flow.
Autonomous agent platforms	Organization API key in the Authorization header	No consent screen. See Autonomous agents.

Cursor

Cursor supports one-click installation via deep-links. Click each button to install (each opens Cursor and pre-fills the MCP config):

Install K-AI Retrieval (stable)

Install K-AI Audit

Manual fallback — add to your Cursor MCP config at ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (per-project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kai-retrieval": {
      "url": "https://api-retrieval.kai-studio.ai/mcp"
    },
    "kai-audit": {
      "url": "https://api-audit.kai-studio.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

On some Linux distributions (notably Debian), cursor:// deep-links may fail to open the app. Use the manual config above if the buttons don't work.

On first use Cursor will open a browser tab for OAuth authentication. Sign in (local credentials or Microsoft SSO) and grant access; tokens are stored and refreshed automatically.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop does not expose a public deep-link scheme for MCP installation. Remote MCP servers must be added through the web Custom Connectors panel, not via claude_desktop_config.json (which is reserved for local stdio servers).

K-AI Retrieval

1. Open claude.ai and sign in (requires Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan).

2. Click your profile icon, then Settings → Connectors.

3. Click + then Add custom connector.

4. Enter the URL: https://api-retrieval.kai-studio.ai/mcp.

5. Complete the OAuth flow in the browser popup.

K-AI Audit

1. Open claude.ai and sign in (requires Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan).

2. Click your profile icon, then Settings → Connectors.

3. Click + then Add custom connector.

4. Enter the URL: https://api-audit.kai-studio.ai/mcp.

5. Complete the OAuth flow in the browser popup.

Mistral Le Chat

Le Chat does not expose a public deep-link scheme. Add each connector through the web UI.

K-AI Retrieval

1. Open chat.mistral.ai and sign in.

2. Click the toggle panel button (sidebar).

3. Expand Intelligence → click Connectors.

4. Click + Add Connector → select the Custom MCP Connector tab.

5. Fill in the form:

   • Connector name: kai-retrieval

   • Connection server: https://api-retrieval.kai-studio.ai/mcp

   • Description: K-AI document retrieval

   • Authentication: OAuth 2.1 (auto-detected)

6. Click Connect and complete the OAuth flow.

7. In any chat, click the Tools button (four-squares icon) and enable the kai-retrieval connector.

K-AI Audit

1. Open chat.mistral.ai and sign in.

2. Click the toggle panel button (sidebar).

3. Expand Intelligence → click Connectors.

4. Click + Add Connector → select the Custom MCP Connector tab.

5. Fill in the form:

   • Connector name: kai-audit

   • Connection server: https://api-audit.kai-studio.ai/mcp

   • Description: K-AI document audit

   • Authentication: OAuth 2.1 (auto-detected)

6. Click Connect and complete the OAuth flow.

7. In any chat, click the Tools button (four-squares icon) and enable the kai-audit connector.

Adding Custom Connectors may require Admin privileges on the Le Chat workspace.

Custom MCP client

For clients without UI integration, configure manually:

• K-AI MCP server URLs:

  • Retrieval: https://api-retrieval.kai-studio.ai/mcp

  • Audit: https://api-audit.kai-studio.ai/mcp

• Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless.

• OAuth discovery: GET https://api-retrieval.kai-studio.ai/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server or https://api-audit.kai-studio.ai/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server. Both return identical metadata pointing to auth-api.kai-studio.ai.

• Required flow: Dynamic Client Registration (RFC 7591) + Authorization Code with PKCE (S256). Refresh tokens are rotated on every use.

See OAuth flow (detailed) for the full sequence, endpoint reference, and troubleshooting. The full OAuth 2.1 narrative is in Authentication → OAuth 2.1.

Autonomous agents (no human)

The flows above all open a browser for user consent. An agent platform running unattended has nobody to grant it, so it authenticates with an Organization API key sent directly in the Authorization header instead:

Authorization: Bearer ks_org_REDACTED

No OAuth, no browser, no token-exchange step. See Autonomous agents (API key) for the setup, the access prerequisites, and the 401/503 retry contract.

First-connection flow (OAuth clients)

1. The MCP client fetches the discovery document at /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server.

2. It registers itself dynamically (DCR — RFC 7591).

3. A browser window opens for user authentication (Microsoft SSO or local login).

4. Tokens are exchanged and stored by the client.

5. Subsequent tool calls are authenticated transparently; refresh tokens are rotated automatically every ~15 minutes.

This sequence applies to OAuth clients only — a key-authenticated agent skips all five steps.