Skip to main content

Quick Start Guide

Get your first MCP bundle working with ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI in just a few minutes.

Time to complete: 5–10 minutes

What You'll Accomplish​

By the end of this guide, you'll have:

  • A bundle enabled on your account
  • Provider credentials connected, verified, and working
  • Bundle showing "Ready" status with "Credentials valid" subtext
  • Bundle connected to your AI assistant
  • Successfully called a tool from your AI

What is MCP? (60 seconds)​

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard that lets AI tools discover and call external capabilities.

Instead of your AI being limited to what it was trained on, MCP lets it:

  • Access real-time data from APIs
  • Perform actions in external services
  • Extend its capabilities dynamically

A "bundle" is one MCP URL that exposes multiple related tools. Add the URL to your AI, and all the tools in that bundle become available.

Example: A "Marketing Automation" bundle might give your AI tools to list email campaigns, check replies, generate copy, and create contacts—all from one URL.

Prerequisites​

Before starting:

  • An MCPBundles account (Sign up free)
  • An AI tool that supports MCP (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, VS Code, etc.)
  • Credentials for any providers the bundle uses (API keys or OAuth)

Step 1: Choose or Create a Bundle​

Option A: Use an Existing Bundle​

  1. Go to Dashboard → Bundles
  2. Browse bundles by category (Marketing, Development, Analytics, etc.)
  3. Find one that fits your needs
  4. Click on the bundle card to view details
  5. On the bundle detail page, click "Add to My Account" (orange button in the header)

The bundle is now added to your account. If it requires credentials, you'll see "Setup Required" status until you configure the required providers in Step 2.

Option B: Create Your Own Bundle​

  1. Go to Dashboard → Bundles
  2. Click "Create Bundle"
  3. Enter:
    • Name: Descriptive (e.g., "My Marketing Tools")
    • Description: What it does
    • Category: Pick the closest match
  4. Click "Create"
  5. Click "Add Tool" to add tools to your bundle
  6. When done, click "Publish"
  7. Click "Add to My Account" to enable it

New to bundles? See Understanding Bundles for details on how they work.

Step 2: Configure Provider Credentials​

Most bundles require credentials to access external APIs (Smartlead, GitHub, Slack, etc.). You'll add and verify these credentials directly from your bundle page in just a few clicks.

Team Workspaces

If you're in a team workspace (2+ members), credentials are shared with all members. When one person connects a provider, everyone in the workspace can use it — no duplicate setup needed. See Understanding Workspaces for details.

Check What's Needed​

  1. On your bundle page, look at the status display in the header (below the bundle name):

    • "Ready" with subtext "Credentials valid" (green) = All providers configured ✅
    • "Setup Required" with subtext "Connect provider accounts" (amber) = Some providers still need credentials
    • "Connection Error" with subtext "Credentials expired" (red) = Some credentials are invalid

  2. Scroll down to the "Credentials" section (appears after the bundle header)

  3. You'll see individual cards for each required provider with their status:

    • "Not configured" badge (amber) = Needs credentials
    • "Verified" badge (green) = Ready to use
    • "Unverified" badge (amber) = Credential exists but not validated

  4. The section header shows a summary: "X of Y configured" or "All configured" with a green checkmark

Adding Credentials​

When you see a provider card marked as "Not configured":

  1. Click the "Add Credential" button on the provider card
  2. A credential setup panel slides in from the right side of your screen

Important: The credential panel stays open throughout the entire process - you won't lose your place!

For OAuth Providers (GitHub, Slack, Sentry, etc.)​

Once the credential panel opens:

  1. Enter an optional credential name (e.g., "Production Account", "Work Slack")
  2. Click the large blue "Connect with [Provider]" button
  3. OAuth window opens → Log in to the provider
  4. Review and approve the requested permissions
  5. OAuth window closes → You automatically return to the credential panel
  6. Validation tool picker automatically opens 🎉

The credential panel reopens automatically - no need to navigate back!

For API Key Providers (Smartlead, OpenAI, etc.)​

Once the credential panel opens:

  1. Get your API key from the provider's website (usually in Settings → API Keys)
  2. Paste the API key into the credential panel
  3. (Optional) Enter a credential name
  4. Click "Create Credential"
  5. ✅ Credential saved successfully!

Now you can optionally select a validation tool to test it.

Choose a Validation Tool​

After adding your credential (OAuth or API key), you'll see a validation tool picker:

What is a validation tool? A simple, read-only tool that tests your credentials by making a real API call.

Pick a tool marked "Recommended" - these:

  • ✅ Require no inputs
  • ✅ Are safe (read-only operations)
  • ✅ Work quickly

Good examples:

  • get_user - Gets account info
  • list_campaigns - Lists your data
  • analytics_links - Gets analytics
  1. Click "Use as validator" on a recommended tool
  2. The picker closes
  3. You'll see the "Validate Now" button appear

Validate Your Credentials​

After selecting a validation tool:

  1. Click the large green "Validate Now" button
  2. Wait 1-3 seconds while the tool tests your credentials
  3. Watch for the result:
    • ✅ Success: Status changes to "VERIFIED" ✓
    • ❌ Failed: Error message explains what went wrong

If validation succeeds: Your credential is ready! The panel will close and your bundle page updates. The provider card will now show a green "Verified" badge.

If validation fails:

  • Check your API key is correct (no extra spaces)
  • For OAuth: Try reconnecting and approve ALL permissions
  • See Troubleshooting for common issues

Confirm Bundle is Ready​

After adding credentials, check your bundle page:

Check the bundle status display in the header:

  • "Ready" with subtext "Credentials valid" (green) = ✅ All providers configured and verified!
  • "Setup Required" with subtext "Connect provider accounts" (amber) = Some providers still need credentials
  • "Connection Error" with subtext "Credentials expired" (red) = Some credentials are invalid or expired

Check the Credentials section:

  • Header shows: "All configured" with green checkmark = ✅ Ready!
  • Header shows: "X of Y configured" = Still need to add more credentials
  • All provider cards show "Verified" badges (green) = ✅ Ready to use!

When the bundle status shows "Ready" with "Credentials valid" subtext and all providers show "Verified", your bundle is ready!

Step 3: Add Bundle to Your AI​

Before proceeding: Make sure your bundle shows "Ready" status with "Credentials valid" subtext in the header. If it's still showing "Setup Required" or "Connection Error", go back to Step 2 and verify any remaining providers.

Get Your Bundle URL​

  1. On your bundle page, confirm the status display shows "Ready" with "Credentials valid" subtext ✅
  2. Scroll down to the "Quick Setup" section (only visible when bundle is operational)
  3. Find the MCP URL — it looks like: https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/your-bundle-slug
  4. Click the "Copy" button next to the URL
Quick Setup Section

The Quick Setup section only appears when your bundle is fully operational (enabled + all credentials configured). If you don't see it, check that:

  • The bundle status shows "Ready" with "Credentials valid" subtext
  • All providers in the Credentials section show "Verified" badges
  • The bundle is enabled (not just added to your account)

Add to Your AI Tool​

Choose your AI platform:

ChatGPT:

  1. Settings → Apps → Advanced settings
  2. Click "Create app"
  3. Enable Developer Mode (toggle in Developer mode section)
  4. Fill out the form:
    • Name: Your bundle name
    • MCP Server URL: Paste your bundle URL
    • Authentication: Select OAuth
  5. Check "I understand and want to continue"
  6. Click "Connect"

Cursor:

  1. Open .cursor/mcp.json in your project
  2. Add: 
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "your-bundle-name": {
          "url": "https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/your-bundle-slug"
        }
      }
    }
  3. Restart Cursor

Claude Desktop:

  1. Open Claude Desktop
  2. Settings → Custom Connectors
  3. Click "Add Connector"
  4. Paste your bundle URL
  5. Save

Claude Code (CLI):

claude mcp add --transport http my-bundle https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/your-bundle-slug
claude  # Start session
/mcp    # Authenticate tools

Other platforms: See Integration Guides for VS Code, Raycast, Windsurf, and more.

Step 4: Test Your Tools​

Let's confirm everything works by calling a tool from your AI.

Test in Bundle Studio First

Before testing in your AI, you can use Bundle Studio—an interactive tool testing environment right in your dashboard. Great for debugging or learning what a tool does before using it in production.

→ Learn about Bundle Studio

In Your AI:​

  1. Open a new conversation
  2. Ask your AI to list available tools: 
    What MCP tools do you have available?
  3. Your AI should show tools from your bundle
  4. Try calling one: 
    Use the list_campaigns tool to show my email campaigns
  5. Tool executes and returns results!

If Tools Don't Appear​

Check these in order:

  1. Bundle status shows "Ready" with "Credentials valid" subtext (most common issue)
    • If "Setup Required": Go back to Step 2 and add missing credentials
    • If "Connection Error": Go back to Step 2 and fix invalid/expired credentials
    • Check the Credentials section header shows "All configured"
  2. All required providers show "Verified" (green badge, not amber "Unverified")
    • If any show amber: Click "Add Credential" on that provider card and complete validation
  3. Bundle is enabled on your account
    • The header should show "Open Studio" button (green) when operational
    • If you see "Enable Bundle" instead, click it first
  4. You restarted your AI client after adding the URL
    • Close and reopen ChatGPT/Cursor/Claude
  5. You're using the correct MCP URL
    • Should include /bundle/your-bundle-slug
    • Copy it from the Quick Setup section on your bundle page

Still stuck? See Troubleshooting for common issues.

What's Next?​

Now that you have a working bundle, explore more:

Learn the Concepts​

Expand Your Setup​

Get Help​

Real-World Examples​

Once you're set up, explore what you can build:

Marketing Automation:

  • "Check my Smartlead campaigns and create a performance report"
  • "Add these 5 contacts to HubSpot with their info"
  • "Send a Slack message to #marketing with today's metrics"

Developer Productivity:

  • "List my GitHub repos and summarize open PRs"
  • "Get the latest API schema and generate TypeScript types"
  • "Check build status and notify me if it fails"

Need Help?​

  • Email: help@mcpbundles.com
  • Docs: Browse the sidebar for detailed guides
  • Community: Coming soon

Congratulations! You're now using MCP bundles to extend your AI with real-world capabilities.