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MCP Setup

Use Configure with Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client.

Quick Start

  1. Authenticate:
bash
npx configure-mcp login

This opens your browser. Sign in with Google/GitHub, enter your agent name to get an API key, then verify your phone number. Your credentials are saved to ~/.configure/.

  1. Add to your MCP client config:

Claude Desktop

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "configure": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "configure-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

.cursor/mcp.json:

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "configure": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "configure-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

No env vars needed — the MCP server reads credentials from ~/.configure/. You can override with env vars if preferred (see Environment Variables).

  1. Restart your MCP client. You'll see Configure tools in the tools menu.

How Authentication Works

Configure uses phone-based identity federation. Your phone number is how Configure identifies you across all agents — same phone, same profile, same memory.

When you ran npx configure-mcp login, two things happened:

  • Developer auth (Google/GitHub): Created your developer account and API key
  • Phone verification: Created your federated user profile

The API key identifies your agent. The phone-verified token identifies you as a user. Together, they unlock all Configure tools.

Two Scopes

ScopeAuthWhat it does
Agent selfAPI key onlyYour agent's own identity, memory, skills, and notes. Read-only by default.
User profileAPI key + phone-verified tokenYour profile — identity, preferences, connected tools (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Notion), memories across all agents.

If you skipped phone verification during npx configure-mcp login, only agent self tools are available. Run npx configure-mcp login again to complete verification.

Available Tools

All tools use a configure_ prefix in MCP.

Agent Self Tools (API key only)

Your agent's own persistent filesystem — its identity, accumulated knowledge, and configuration.

ToolDescription
configure_self_get_profileGet your agent's assembled profile: soul, config, skills overview, memory summary
configure_self_get_memoriesGet your agent's memory entries with optional date filtering
configure_self_readRead from a specific path in your agent's filesystem
configure_self_lsList files and directories in your agent's filesystem
configure_self_searchSearch your agent's filesystem by keyword
configure_self_rememberSave a fact to your agent's memory

User Profile Tools (requires phone verification)

Your profile as a user — shared across every agent you use.

ToolDescription
configure_get_profileGet your full profile (identity, preferences, integrations, agents, summary)
configure_rememberSave a fact or preference to your memory
configure_get_memoriesQuery your memories with agent and date filters
configure_ingestExtract and save memories from conversations or text
configure_profile_readRead specific data by path
configure_profile_lsList files and directories in your profile
configure_profile_writeWrite to your profile (scoped to agent namespace)
configure_profile_searchFull-text search your profile
configure_profile_rmDelete from your profile (scoped to agent namespace)
configure_get_documentsGet auto-generated user identity documents
configure_generate_documentsRegenerate user identity documents

Search Tools (requires phone verification)

Search your connected tools. Results are saved to your profile automatically.

ToolDescription
configure_search_emailsSearch Gmail with query operators
configure_get_calendarGet calendar events (today, tomorrow, week, month)
configure_search_filesSearch Google Drive
configure_search_notesSearch Notion workspace
configure_search_webSearch the web (always available, no connection needed)
configure_fetch_urlFetch a web page's content by URL (always available)

Action Tools (requires phone verification)

ToolDescription
configure_create_calendar_eventCreate a Google Calendar event
configure_send_emailSend an email via Gmail

Environment Variables

Override ~/.configure/ credentials or configure advanced options:

VariableRequiredDefaultDescription
CONFIGURE_API_KEYNo*From ~/.configure/credentialsYour API key
CONFIGURE_USER_TOKENNo*From ~/.configure/tokenYour phone-verified JWT
CONFIGURE_USER_IDNoYour own user identifier (alternative to token — see Server-side users)
CONFIGURE_SELF_WRITENofalseEnable agent self-write tools (self_write, self_rm, self_remember)
CONFIGURE_API_URLNohttps://api.configure.devCustom API endpoint

*Required if ~/.configure/ credentials don't exist.

Set either CONFIGURE_USER_TOKEN (phone-authenticated) or CONFIGURE_USER_ID (server-side). If neither is set, the MCP server runs in agent-only mode.

Self Write Mode

By default, the LLM can only read your agent's data. To allow the LLM to write to your agent's memory and filesystem, set:

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "configure": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "configure-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CONFIGURE_SELF_WRITE": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

This adds three tools: configure_self_write, configure_self_rm, configure_self_remember.

When to enable: Autonomous agents, personal assistants, small-team tools where the LLM should be able to learn and update its own knowledge.

When to leave off: Agents serving many users where per-conversation self-writes would flood the agent's profile.

Troubleshooting

  • "No user token found" — Run npx configure-mcp login and complete phone verification.
  • Only seeing self tools — You skipped phone verification. Run npx configure-mcp login again.
  • "Tool not connected" — Connect Gmail/Calendar/etc at configure.dev. Use configure_get_profile to check connection status.
  • "Permission denied" — User profile writes are restricted to /agents/{your-agent}/.
  • Token expired — Tokens last 30 days. Run npx configure-mcp login to re-authenticate.

For programmatic access beyond MCP, see the SDK Reference.

Identity and memory infrastructure for AI agents