MCP server: connect Claude Desktop and Cursor to your store

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MCP server: connect Claude Desktop and Cursor to your store

LaunchMyStore exposes its admin tool catalog over the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Once connected, any MCP-aware client — Claude Desktop, Cursor, or your own LLM app — can manage products, orders, themes, and the rest of your store the same way Nova does, but from inside your editor or chat client.

Using Claude on the web or mobile (claude.ai)? It connects as a custom connector with an OAuth login instead of a pasted token — see Connect Claude on the web (claude.ai) to your store.

What MCP is, in 30 seconds

MCP is an open protocol from Anthropic that lets LLM clients call typed "tools" hosted by a server. LaunchMyStore implements the MCP SSE transport: the client opens a long-lived Server-Sent Events stream, posts JSON-RPC tool calls to a messages endpoint, and receives streamed responses back. The protocol is the same one Claude Desktop uses for its built-in integrations.

Outcome — what you can do once connected

After setup, you can type things into Claude Desktop or Cursor like:

  • "Create a Black Friday landing page on my LaunchMyStore store with a hero, 3 featured products, and a countdown."
  • "List the 10 most-refunded products this quarter and draft an investigation memo."
  • "Add the metafield definition custom.fabric_weight (number_decimal, 0–2000, unit: grams)."

...and your editor's AI runs them as real actions on your store.

Step 1 — Generate your MCP token

Your store has a single MCP access token. It's scoped to your account and bypasses the usual 24-hour login ceiling — it's designed to live in a config file. Generate it from the admin under Settings → AI Connector, then click Generate token and copy the value shown.

You can also mint it over the API with your merchant session:

POST https://api.launchmystore.io/mcp/token
Authorization: Bearer <your merchant session JWT>

The response contains token — copy it and keep it private. Generating again returns the same token, so the Settings → AI Connector page shows it on every visit. The token is valid for about a year. If it leaks, use Revoke & regenerate on that page (changing your account password also invalidates it) — this rotates the credential and disconnects every client until they're updated with the new token.

Step 2 — Configure Claude Desktop

Open Claude Desktop's MCP config file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add a launchmystore server entry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "launchmystore": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://api.launchmystore.io/mcp/sse",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>" }
    }
  }
}

Important: the URL is /mcp/sse, not /mcp. The type must be "sse" — Claude Desktop also supports stdio servers but the hosted LaunchMyStore server is SSE-only. Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Step 3 — Configure Cursor

Cursor's MCP settings live under Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP. Click Add new MCP server and paste the same shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "launchmystore": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://api.launchmystore.io/mcp/sse",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>" }
    }
  }
}

Cursor exposes the tools to its agent automatically — no further wiring needed.

Tip: the Settings → AI Connector page can generate a paste-ready config snippet for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and OpenAI Codex, each one pre-baked with your token — just copy the tab you need.

Verify the connection

Open a new conversation in your client and ask: "What MCP tools are available from launchmystore?" A working connection lists the LaunchMyStore tool catalog. If it returns nothing, double-check the token, the URL ends with /sse, and you've restarted the client.

Under the hood — the SSE wire format

Once the SSE stream opens, the very first event from the server is:

event: endpoint
data: /mcp/sse/message?sessionId=<sessionId>

That tells the client where to POST JSON-RPC requests. POSTs return 202 Accepted immediately; the actual tool response is delivered back over the SSE stream as a message event matched by request id. This is the standard MCP SSE pattern — most clients handle it transparently.

What tools are available

The MCP server exposes a curated subset of the same catalog Nova uses internally. That includes products, variants, collections, orders, customers, coupons, blogs, pages, themes, menus, shipping, taxes, payments, metafields, analytics, exports, and more. Destructive operations require explicit confirmation arguments to avoid accidental wipes.

Security & rate limits

  • Token scope. Your MCP token is bound to one store and inherits your account's role and permissions.
  • Revocation. Use Revoke & regenerate under Settings → AI Connector (or change your account password) to rotate the token. This invalidates the previous token immediately, so every connected client must be updated with the new one.
  • Rate limits. MCP shares your account's tier-based rate limits.

FAQ

What's the difference between Nova and MCP?

Nova is the in-admin chat UI; MCP is the external interface to the same tool catalog. You can use both at the same time — they share the underlying tools and your account's rate limits.

Does MCP usage consume Nova credits?

No. MCP tools run under the merchant token, not the Nova billing path. Nova credits are only consumed when actions originate from a Nova chat (in-admin or scheduled agent).

Why is the URL /mcp/sse instead of /mcp?

The MCP SSE transport requires a dedicated SSE endpoint. /mcp/sse opens the long-lived event stream; the server tells the client where to POST messages via the first endpoint event.

Can I use MCP and Nova at the same time on the same store?

Yes. They share the underlying tool catalog but use independent auth, so they don't interfere. You can chat with Nova in the admin while Cursor runs MCP-driven edits.

How long does the MCP token last?

It's valid for about a year. It's intended for config files, unlike the short-lived login token which expires in 24 hours. Generating again returns the same token until you revoke it.

What happens to my MCP connection if I rotate my password?

Changing your account password invalidates the MCP token, which disconnects every connected client. Generate or copy the new token from Settings → AI Connector and update your client configs to reconnect.

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