Claude (claude.ai, the Desktop app and mobile) connects as a custom connector and signs in with your BranchDeploy account, so there's no config file and no API key to paste.

1. In Claude, open Settings → Connectors and choose Add custom connector. On a Team or Enterprise plan, an owner adds it once from the organisation's connector settings.
2. Name it BranchDeploy and enter https://mcp.branch-deploy.dev/mcp as the URL.
3. Click Connect, choose Sign in with BranchDeploy, and approve the access shown on the consent screen.
4. In a chat, turn BranchDeploy on from the tools menu in the composer, then ask it to deploy a ticket.

Connectors added on claude.ai also appear in the Desktop and mobile apps. Claude asks before every deploy or publish, and BranchDeploy refuses a deploy that wasn't previewed first.

Using the MCP API key instead

Claude Desktop's config file only accepts local (stdio) servers, so with an API key BranchDeploy connects through the mcp-remote bridge. It needs Node.js installed for npx.

1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config, or edit the file directly:
   ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS)
   %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows)
2. Merge the snippet below into the file, keeping any servers you already have.
3. Fully quit Claude (⌘Q on macOS, tray icon → Quit on Windows) and reopen it — closing the window is not enough.
4. Open the tools menu in the composer; branchdeploy should be listed.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "branchdeploy": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.branch-deploy.dev/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer your-mcp-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

The key goes in env, not inline after --header, so the space in Bearer … isn't split into a separate argument.

Claude Code talks to remote MCP servers directly. One command registers it.

1. Run the command below in your project. Add -s user to register it for every project instead of just this one.
2. Check it connected with claude mcp list.
3. Inside Claude Code, run /mcp to see the BranchDeploy tools.

claude mcp add --transport http branchdeploy https://mcp.branch-deploy.dev/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer your-mcp-api-key"

If the BranchDeploy ChatGPT app is available for your account or workspace, add it inside ChatGPT and sign in — no config file and no API key to paste. The MCP API key is for the other clients.

1. Open the ChatGPT Plugins directory and search BranchDeploy. Workspace admins may need to enable plugins first.
2. Click Connect.
3. Choose Sign in with BranchDeploy and approve the access shown on the consent screen.
4. Start a chat, add BranchDeploy from the tools menu in the composer, then ask it to deploy a ticket.

ChatGPT signs in with your BranchDeploy account, so it doesn't use the MCP API key above — but the account still needs a Pro licence and a saved Azure DevOps PAT. If you do not see BranchDeploy in ChatGPT yet, use one of the API-key MCP clients above. Deploys ask for your confirmation before anything is queued, exactly like the other clients.

VS Code reads MCP servers from .vscode/mcp.json — note it uses the servers key, not mcpServers.

1. Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace with the snippet below.
2. Save the file, then click Start in the code lens above the server entry.
3. Open Copilot Chat and switch it to Agent mode.
4. Open the tools picker and confirm the BranchDeploy tools are selected.

{
  "servers": {
    "branchdeploy": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.branch-deploy.dev/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-mcp-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

.vscode/mcp.json is usually committed to the repo. To avoid checking your key in, use a ${input:…} placeholder so VS Code prompts for it, or add the server globally with MCP: Add Server from the command palette.

Cursor supports remote MCP servers directly, globally or per project.

1. Create ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project, or .cursor/mcp.json inside one project.
2. Open Cursor Settings → MCP and check branchdeploy shows as connected.
3. Use it from the Agent — the tools appear automatically.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "branchdeploy": {
      "url": "https://mcp.branch-deploy.dev/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-mcp-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any client that supports remote Streamable HTTP MCP servers works — Windsurf, Cline, Zed and the rest all follow the same URL + bearer-header pattern. Older clients that only speak SSE can use https://mcp.branch-deploy.dev/sse instead.

Transport: Streamable HTTP
URL:       https://mcp.branch-deploy.dev/mcp
Header:    Authorization: Bearer your-mcp-api-key

Clients cache the tool list from the moment they connect. After changing this config, restart the client fully rather than reloading the window.