Connect your AI tools

Connecting an AI tool to Rankbox means adding one remote MCP server, https://rankbox.xyz/mcp, to that tool. Once it's added, the tool can call Rankbox's three research tools when you ask for AI search questions, a content brief or meta descriptions.

The same setup steps are in the product at Dashboard → Integrations, where you can search for your tool, open its setup panel and copy the URL, command or config with one click. Every tool also has a public setup page at /integrations/<tool>, linked in the table below.

What you need to connect

• The server URL: https://rankbox.xyz/mcp. It's the same for everyone.
• A client that can add a remote MCP server by URL, using the Streamable HTTP transport. Some tools call it just HTTP.
• No key and no sign-in. The server needs no API key, token or OAuth. Choose the "no authentication" option your tool offers.

The connection is for research and planning. It doesn't publish to your site and can't see your Rankbox account. To publish automatically, use a website integration or the REST API.

General steps for any MCP client

1. Open the place your tool adds MCP servers or connectors. It is often called Connectors, MCP Servers, Tools or Integrations.
2. Add a new custom or remote server and name it rankbox or Rankbox.
3. Paste https://rankbox.xyz/mcp as the server URL.
4. Choose Streamable HTTP (or HTTP) as the transport if the tool asks.
5. Set authentication to none, and leave headers, tokens and OAuth fields empty.
6. Save, then turn the server or its tools on if the tool asks you to.

Then ask for something, for example: "Use Rankbox to build a content brief for “best running shoes for flat feet”."

Claude

Works on all Claude plans. The Free plan includes one custom connector; on Team and Enterprise, an owner adds it first. These steps cover Claude on the web and the Claude desktop app.

1. Open Customize → Connectors.
2. Click +, then Add custom connector.
3. Name it Rankbox and paste https://rankbox.xyz/mcp. Leave Advanced settings empty.
4. Click Add.

Setup page: /integrations/claude.

Claude Code

Works on any Claude Code plan. Run this in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http rankbox https://rankbox.xyz/mcp

Add --scope user to use it in every project. To share it with your team, put it in the project's .mcp.json instead:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rankbox": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://rankbox.xyz/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Setup page: /integrations/claude-code.

ChatGPT

Needs ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu, on the web, with Developer mode.

1. Open Settings → Security and login and turn on Developer mode.
2. Open ChatGPT Plugins and click +.
3. Name it Rankbox, choose Public endpoint, and paste https://rankbox.xyz/mcp.
4. Set authentication to No Authentication, then click Create.
5. In a chat, pick Rankbox from the Developer mode tools in the composer.

Setup page: /integrations/chatgpt.

Cursor

Works on all Cursor plans. Team admins can restrict MCP servers.

1. Add Rankbox to your global MCP config at ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or to .cursor/mcp.json in a project to share it:

   ~/.cursor/mcp.jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "rankbox": {
         "url": "https://rankbox.xyz/mcp"
       }
     }
   }

2. Open Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP and make sure Rankbox is on.

Setup page: /integrations/cursor.

VS Code with GitHub Copilot

Works on Copilot Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max. On Business and Enterprise, an admin turns on the MCP servers policy first.

1. Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Add Server.
2. Choose HTTP, paste https://rankbox.xyz/mcp, and name it rankbox.
3. Start the server and trust it when VS Code asks.

To share it with your workspace, add it to .vscode/mcp.json instead:

{
  "servers": {
    "rankbox": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://rankbox.xyz/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Setup page: /integrations/github-copilot.

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Windsurf became Devin Desktop in June 2026. Works on all plans; team allowlists and Enterprise settings can block new servers.

1. In the agent panel, open … → Open MCP config file.

2. Add Rankbox. The key is serverUrl, not url.

   ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "rankbox": {
         "serverUrl": "https://rankbox.xyz/mcp"
       }
     }
   }

3. Save, then refresh MCPs.

On Windows, the file is %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json. Setup page: /integrations/devin-desktop.

Lovable

Works on all Lovable plans. Rankbox works in the Lovable chat while Lovable builds, not inside your published app.

1. Open Connectors from your dashboard or a project, click +, then MCP server.
2. Name it Rankbox, keep Direct connection, and paste https://rankbox.xyz/mcp.
3. Set Authentication to No authentication, then click Add server.

In a shared workspace, an admin may need to allow members to add their own MCP servers first. Setup page: /integrations/lovable.

Codex and Gemini CLI

Both terminal agents add Rankbox with one command.

codex mcp add rankbox --url https://rankbox.xyz/mcp

gemini mcp add --transport http -s user rankbox https://rankbox.xyz/mcp

For Codex, the CLI, IDE extension and ChatGPT desktop app share this setting; it needs a ChatGPT plan that includes Codex, or an API key. Codex cloud tasks can't use MCP servers. To use a config file instead, add [mcp_servers.rankbox] with url = "https://rankbox.xyz/mcp" to ~/.codex/config.toml.

For Gemini CLI, which is free with a Google account, the config-file key is httpUrl in ~/.gemini/settings.json; url means the older SSE transport.

Setup pages: /integrations/codex and /integrations/gemini-cli.

All supported AI tools

Every tool below can add a remote MCP server by URL with no sign-in, and has its exact steps on its setup page and in Dashboard → Integrations. Menu names were checked against each maker's own docs on 22 September 2026; makers move menus, so if a step doesn't match, follow the maker's docs linked from the setup page.

AI assistants

AI app builders

Coding agents

Automation

Any other MCP client

Anything that adds a remote MCP server by URL works, even if it isn't listed: add https://rankbox.xyz/mcp, choose Streamable HTTP, and leave authentication off. See /integrations/mcp.

Dashboard → Integrations also lists the website connectors (WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Framer, Square) and the REST API. Those publish articles rather than add research tools; see How publishing works.

Tools that can't connect

These tools can't add an outside MCP server by URL, so they can't use Rankbox. Searching for one in Dashboard → Integrations shows "can't connect yet" with the reason.

Check that the connection works

1. Look for Rankbox's tools in your client's tool list. You should see three: generate_ai_questions, generate_content_brief and write_meta_descriptions.
2. Ask for something one of them does, for example: "What questions do people ask AI about home solar batteries? Use Rankbox."
3. Approve the tool call if your client asks.
4. Wait for the result. A brief can take 20 seconds or more, because each call is a live AI model call.

To rule out your client, test the server directly with MCP Inspector or curl, as shown in The Rankbox MCP server.

Troubleshooting

The client asks me to sign in or authorize

Rankbox doesn't use OAuth. Choose your client's no-authentication option (No Authentication, No auth, None or Not required) and leave tokens and headers empty. Rankbox's OAuth discovery address returns 404 on purpose. A client that only accepts servers with OAuth can't connect.

The client only runs local servers

Some desktop clients only launch local (stdio) servers from a config file and can't add a remote URL. For those, a local bridge such as the open-source mcp-remote package can relay to Rankbox. It needs Node.js and isn't maintained by Rankbox.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rankbox": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://rankbox.xyz/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Hosted tools listed in Tools that can't connect can't use a bridge either.

The server is added but no tools appear

• Check that the URL is exactly https://rankbox.xyz/mcp, with no trailing path.
• Check the transport is Streamable HTTP or HTTP, not SSE. In Gemini CLI, use httpUrl; in Devin Desktop, use serverUrl.
• Turn the server or its tools on. Cursor, Bolt, Figma Make, Macaly and others add servers switched off or need them enabled per project.
• In a team or enterprise workspace, ask your admin whether custom MCP servers are allowed.

A tool call fails

A result that says tool execution failed means the AI model didn't return usable output. Try again, or rephrase the topic or keyword. Input errors such as a topic shorter than two characters come back as Input validation error. See Errors.

The tool times out

Content briefs can take 20 seconds or more. Raise your client's tool timeout to at least 60 seconds if it allows.

Related

• The Rankbox MCP server — transport, access, testing and privacy
• MCP tool reference — inputs, outputs and example prompts
• How publishing works — connecting your website instead
• API overview — working with your articles from code