MCP Server Setup

This guide walks you through setting up the Tailwind MCP Server with your AI assistant.

Prerequisites

A Tailwind account with API access
Your Tailwind API key
Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or another MCP-compatible client

Installation

Claude Desktop connects to MCP servers over stdio. Use mcp-remote to bridge to the Tailwind remote server.

Locate your Claude Desktop config file
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Edit the configuration

Open the file and add the Tailwind MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tailwind": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.tailwind.ai",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key_here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new configuration.
Verify the connection

Ask Claude: “What Pinterest accounts do I have connected to Tailwind?”

If configured correctly, Claude will list your accounts.

Claude Code supports remote MCP servers natively via HTTP.

Add the server to your project or global config

Run the following command:

claude mcp add tailwind \
  --transport http \
  --url https://mcp.tailwind.ai \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key_here"

Add --scope user to make it available across all projects.

Verify the connection

Ask Claude: “What Pinterest accounts do I have connected to Tailwind?”

Open Cursor Settings

Go to Settings > Features > MCP Servers
Add the Tailwind server

Click “Add Server” and enter:
- Name: tailwind
- Type: http
- URL: https://mcp.tailwind.ai
Set the authorization header

Add your API key as a Bearer token in the headers:
```
Authorization: Bearer your_api_key_here
```
Save and restart

Save the configuration and restart Cursor.
Test the connection

In a chat, ask about your Tailwind accounts to verify it’s working.

The Tailwind MCP Server is hosted at https://mcp.tailwind.ai and uses the Streamable HTTP transport.

For clients that support remote HTTP servers, configure with:

URL: https://mcp.tailwind.ai
Authorization header: Bearer your_api_key

For clients that only support stdio, use mcp-remote as a bridge:

Command: npx
Arguments: -y mcp-remote https://mcp.tailwind.ai --header "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key"

Refer to your client’s documentation for specific configuration steps.

Troubleshooting

Connection errors

Ensure your API key is correct and starts with tw_pk_
Check that the URL is exactly https://mcp.tailwind.ai
Restart your AI assistant application
For Claude Desktop: verify Node.js is installed (node --version) since mcp-remote requires it

”Unauthorized” errors

Verify your API key is valid in Tailwind settings
Check the key hasn’t been revoked
Ensure the key is correctly copied without extra spaces
Confirm the Authorization header uses the Bearer prefix

Server connects but no tools appear

Wait a few seconds - the server needs to initialize
Try asking about your accounts to trigger the connection
Check your client’s MCP server logs for errors

Logs are available at:

macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-*.log
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp-*.log

Verifying Your Setup

Once configured, try these commands to verify everything works:

Check accounts: “List my Pinterest accounts”
View boards: “What boards do I have on [account name]?”
See scheduled posts: “Show me my queued posts”
Create a test draft: “Create a draft pin with the image https://example.com/test.jpg”

Security Best Practices

Keep keys private - Never share or commit API keys to version control
Rotate keys periodically - Generate new keys every few months
Use separate keys - Create dedicated keys for the MCP server
Monitor usage - Check your API usage in Tailwind settings