Taking Ellie MCP Server Into Use

Available with Ellie 9.0

This guide explains how to connect Ellie's metadata to your AI-powered IDE tools using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The instructional videos below demonstrate these steps in Cursor, Claude Desktop, and Windsurf on macOS — the steps are similar on other operating systems and tools that support MCP.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that:

You have an active Ellie organization
You have an Ellie AI Provider token with appropriate permissions
You are using an AI client that supports Model Context Protocol (MCP)
(e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf)

1. Retrieve your API Token from Ellie

Before configuring your editor, you need your personal authentication token:

Log in to your Ellie.ai environment.
Navigate to Admin Tools -> AI Providers in the left-hand sidebar.
Navigate to the Ellie MCP Token section.
Copy the string found in the API Token field.

Token permissions: The generated token is read-only by default, as indicated by the Read only checkbox visible beneath each token. This means the token can be used to query and retrieve metadata from Ellie, but cannot make any changes to your Ellie environment. To enable write access, uncheck the Read only checkbox next to the token.

⚠️ Write Access: Unchecking Read only grants the token full write access to your Ellie environment. Only do this if write access is explicitly needed, and only share write-enabled tokens with trusted and responsible users who understand the implications. Treat write-enabled tokens with the same level of care as admin credentials.

2. Configuration for Your MCP supporting tool

A. Instructions for Cursor and Claude Desktop

Neither Cursor nor Claude Desktop currently support custom HTTP headers natively, so the configuration below using mcp-remote is required for both.

Requirements:

Node.js must be installed and available in your system PATH (LTS version recommended for stability).
npx must be available.
npm network/proxy access is required on first use.

You can verify your installation by running the following commands in your terminal (Command Prompt, PowerShell, or shell):

node -v
npm -v
npx -v

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ellie": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.ellie.ai/mcp/",
        "--transport",
        "http-only",
        "--header",
        "x-api-token:YOUR_API_TOKEN",
        "--header",
        "x-org-slug:your-org-slug",
        "--header",
        "x-org-server:ellie"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Setup steps in Cursor:

Open Settings: Click the gear icon (Cursor Settings) in the top right corner.
Navigate to MCP: Go to General → Tools & MCP.
Add Server: Click the + Add Custom MCP button.
Paste & Save: Paste the JSON block above into the configuration file.
Activate: Ensure the ellie toggle is Enabled (green). It should display "tools enabled".

09-04-2026_Ellie MCP_Instructions for Cursor.mp4

Setup steps in Claude Desktop:

Open Settings: Go to Settings → Developer.
Open Config: Click Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json.
Paste Config: Add the JSON block above under mcpServers.
Save File: Save the file.
Restart Claude Desktop: Quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again.

09-04-2026_Ellie MCP_Instructions for Claude.mp4

B. Instructions for Windsurf

Windsurf supports remote MCP servers natively via url and headers.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ellie": {
      "url": "https://mcp.ellie.ai/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "x-api-token": "YOUR_API_TOKEN",
        "x-org-slug": "your-org-slug",
        "x-org-server": "ellie"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: The URL must include the trailing slash (/mcp/). Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN and your-org-slug with your actual values (e.g., if your environment is acme.ellie.ai, the slug is acme).

Setup steps:

Open Settings: Go to the Windsurf menu → Settings → Windsurf Settings.
Navigate to MCP: Select Cascade from the sidebar and click Open MCP Marketplace.
Add Server: Click the plus (+) or Settings gear in the top right to open the config.
Paste & Save: Paste the JSON block into your mcp_config.json.

Activate: Locate ellie under "Installed MCPs" and ensure it is Enabled. It will show the active tools (e.g., "27 tools").

3. Ready to Go

Once you have enabled the connection:

Access Ellie Data: You can now query your Ellie metadata directly within your AI chat.
Example Prompts: Try asking: "What entities are available in the Finance folder?" or "Can you explain the structure of the Customer table from Ellie?"
Verification: In Cursor, look for the green "tools enabled" status. In Windsurf, ensure you see the list of available tools (e.g., "27 tools") under the Ellie MCP entry.

Once you have enabled the connection:

Access Ellie Data: You can now query your Ellie metadata directly within your AI chat.
Example Prompts: Try asking: "What entities are available in the Finance folder?" or "Can you explain the structure of the Customer table from Ellie?"
Verification: In Cursor, look for the green "tools enabled" status. In Windsurf, ensure you see the list of available tools (e.g., "27 tools") under the Ellie MCP entry. In Claude Desktop, navigate to Settings → Developer and confirm that the ellie_mcp server shows a "running" status.
Troubleshooting: If the connection does not appear active, try restarting the application. Claude Desktop in particular often requires a full restart to establish the connection.

Security note: Keep your Ellie MCP token confidential and treat it as a password. If the token is exposed (e.g. in screenshots, chat messages, or logs), rotate it immediately. If the setup fails, verify that x-api-token, x-org-slug, and x-org-server are correctly configured.

Need help? If you encounter any issues, please double-check your credentials or contact support@ellie.ai.