Connecting to Claude

The engine serves a remote MCP server. There’s nothing to install in Claude — you add one URL as a custom connector and authorize it. (The probe itself still runs on the LAN; see Deploying the probe.)

Add the connector

1. Copy your MCP URL from the Probe MCP dashboard — https://probe-mcp.lanpulse.com/mcp.
2. In Claude, go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.
3. Paste the URL and add it.
4. Claude opens a consent page. Approve it.
5. The connector shows as connected, and code_mode appears in Claude’s tools.

What the consent flow is doing

Probe MCP uses OAuth 2.1 with Dynamic Client Registration and PKCE (S256):

1. Claude registers itself as an OAuth client automatically — there’s no client ID to paste.
2. You’re sent to Probe MCP to authorize, which requires your Google session. If you aren’t signed in, you’ll be asked to sign in first.
3. Probe MCP issues Claude an access token bound to your account, scoped to probe:call.

That token is what makes the single shared MCP URL personal: every request Claude makes carries it, and the engine resolves it to your account and your probes.

Tokens are stored hashed — the engine never keeps a raw copy of a token it issued. Access tokens last 30 days and refresh automatically.

Where it works

Any Claude surface that supports custom connectors — Claude Desktop, Claude on the web, and Claude Code. The workflow prompts appear in the + menu on surfaces that support MCP prompts.

Verify it’s working

Ask Claude:

Using Probe MCP, list my probes.

If the connector is live but not authorized, Claude will say it can’t authenticate rather than returning an empty list — a useful distinction when debugging.

When authorization fails

• Redirect loop / “too many redirects” — usually a browser cookie problem during the Google hop. Try a normal (non-private) window, allow cookies for probe-mcp.lanpulse.com, and re-add the connector.
• “Not authenticated” on every call — the token was revoked, or the connector was added before you finished signing in. Remove the connector and add it again.
• Connected, but calls say a probe is offline — the MCP side is fine; the probe isn’t reachable. Check the probe is Online in the dashboard. See Troubleshooting.

Revoke access

Remove the connector in Claude, or revoke the token from the dashboard. Revoking is immediate — the next request Claude makes fails the bearer check. Removing the connector does not delete your probes or their data.