Up-to-date documentation for coding agents covering public and private libraries, APIs and services, in a token-efficient way.
Setup
Choose your client, copy the config, then fill in any required environment variables.
Local
claude mcp add ref --env REF_API_KEY='<REF_API_KEY>' -- npx -y ref-tools-mcp~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.ref]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "ref-tools-mcp"]
env = { REF_API_KEY = "<REF_API_KEY>" }
# codex mcp add ref --env REF_API_KEY='<REF_API_KEY>' -- npx -y ref-tools-mcp~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"ref-tools-mcp"
],
"env": {
"REF_API_KEY": "<REF_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"ref": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"ref-tools-mcp"
],
"env": {
"REF_API_KEY": "<REF_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}~/.gemini/settings.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"ref-tools-mcp"
],
"env": {
"REF_API_KEY": "<REF_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"ref-tools-mcp"
],
"env": {
"REF_API_KEY": "<REF_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.trae/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"ref-tools-mcp"
],
"env": {
"REF_API_KEY": "<REF_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Remote
claude mcp add --transport http ref https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp --header 'Authorization: Bearer <SMITHERY_API_KEY>'~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.ref]
url = "https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "REF_SMITHERY_API_KEY"
# codex mcp add ref --url https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp --bearer-token-env-var REF_SMITHERY_API_KEY
# export REF_SMITHERY_API_KEY=<SMITHERY_API_KEY>~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"url": "https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer <SMITHERY_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"ref": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer <SMITHERY_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}~/.gemini/settings.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"httpUrl": "https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer <SMITHERY_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}claude_desktop_config.json · Customize › Connectors › Add custom connector
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp",
"--header",
"Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"
],
"env": {
"AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer <SMITHERY_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.trae/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ref": {
"url": "https://server.smithery.ai/@ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer <SMITHERY_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Environment variables
REF_API_KEY
Replace the placeholders with your own credentials and keep them out of version control.