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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 "Operational" status
  • 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 it to view details
  5. Click "Add to My Account"

The bundle is now enabled but might show "Needs Credentials" if it requires providers you haven't connected yet.

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: Connect and Verify Provider Credentials​

Most bundles require credentials to access external APIs (Smartlead, GitHub, Slack, etc.). Important: Adding credentials is a multi-step process—they must be connected AND verified before tools work.

Check What's Needed​

  1. On your bundle page, look for the "Bundle Readiness" section
  2. If it says "Blocked" or "Partial", you need to connect providers
  3. Click on any provider marked as "Not Connected"

Step 2A: Connect Your Credentials​

For OAuth providers (Slack, GitHub, Google, etc.):

  1. Click "Connect Provider"
  2. Click "Authorize with OAuth"
  3. Browser opens → log in to the provider
  4. Review requested permissions
  5. Click "Allow" or "Authorize"
  6. Redirected back to MCPBundles

Result: Credential is saved but shows "UNVERIFIED" with a yellow warning banner.

For API Key providers (Smartlead, OpenAI, etc.):

  1. Go to the provider's website → Settings → API Keys
  2. Generate a new API key
  3. Copy the key
  4. Back in MCPBundles, click "Connect Provider"
  5. Paste the API key
  6. Click "Save"

Result: Credential is saved but shows "UNVERIFIED" with a yellow warning banner.

Step 2B: Choose a Validation Tool​

After connecting, you'll see a large yellow banner:

"UNVERIFIED - CHOOSE A VALIDATION TOOL"

This means your credential is saved but not tested yet. To verify it works:

  1. Click "Choose Validation Tool"
  2. A modal opens showing available tools
  3. Pick a simple, read-only tool (look for names like list_campaigns, get_account_info, list_channels)
  4. Click "Use as validator" on the tool you selected
  5. Modal closes

Result: Validation tool is now selected for this credential.

Step 2C: Validate Your Credentials​

After choosing a validation tool, the banner changes to:

"UNVERIFIED - READY TO VALIDATE"

Now you'll see a large green button:

  1. Click "VALIDATE NOW"
  2. Wait 1-3 seconds while the tool tests your credentials
  3. Watch for the result:
    • ✅ Success: Status changes to "VERIFIED" (green checkmark)
    • ❌ Failed: Red error message appears—check your credentials and try again

If validation requires arguments: Some tools need input (like a campaign_id). If you see a "Validation Parameters" section, click "Configure", fill in the required fields, then click "VALIDATE NOW".

Result: Credential is now verified and working!

Need help? See Validating Credentials for detailed troubleshooting.

Step 2D: Confirm Bundle is Ready​

After verifying all required providers:

  1. Go back to your bundle page
  2. Check the "Bundle Readiness" section
  3. All required providers should show green checkmarks
  4. Bundle status changes from "Blocked"/"Partial" to "Operational"

Important: Your bundle will only work in your AI when it shows "Operational" status. If it's still "Blocked" or "Partial", verify any remaining providers marked as "Not Verified".

Step 3: Add Bundle to Your AI​

Before proceeding: Make sure your bundle shows "Operational" status. If it's still "Blocked" or "Partial", go back to Step 2 and verify any remaining providers.

Get Your Bundle URL​

  1. On your bundle page, confirm status is "Operational" ✅
  2. Find the MCP URL section
  3. It looks like: https://mcp.mcpbundles.com/bundle/your-bundle-slug
  4. Click "Copy MCP URL"

Add to Your AI Tool​

Choose your AI platform:

ChatGPT:

  1. Settings → Connectors → Advanced Settings
  2. Enable Developer Mode
  3. Click "Create a new connector"
  4. Paste your bundle URL
  5. Save

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 readiness shows "Operational" (most common issue)
    • If "Blocked" or "Partial": Go back to Step 2D and verify remaining providers
  2. All required providers show "VERIFIED" (green checkmark, not yellow "UNVERIFIED")
    • If any show yellow: Click into provider and complete validation
  3. Bundle is enabled on your account
    • Check dashboard to confirm bundle is added
  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

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.