Connect Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop connects to RankKit SEO through mcp-remote, a small bridge that runs on your computer and forwards Claude's requests to your site's MCP endpoint with your agent token.

Because the bridge runs locally, Claude Desktop can reach a local or staging site as well as a live one.

Before you start

• Agent access is on: RankKit SEO → AI Agents → Allow AI agents to connect. See Connect an AI agent.
• Node.js is installed on your computer. The configuration starts mcp-remote with npx, which comes with Node.js. Without it, Claude Desktop can't start the server.

Tip If you use the Code tab of the Claude desktop app, you can use the one-line command from Connect Claude Code instead.

Step 1: Create a token

1. Go to RankKit SEO → AI Agents and click Create token.
2. Name it, for example "Claude Desktop", pick an expiry and a Permissions preset, and click Create token.

The token is shown once, and RankKit SEO fills it into the snippets in the Connect an AI client card. See Agent tokens, scopes and access levels.

Step 2: Add RankKit SEO to the config file

1. In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Developer → Edit config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json.
2. In RankKit SEO, open the Claude Desktop tab of the Connect an AI client card and copy the snippet:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rankkit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://example.com/wp-json/speedrank/v1/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer sr_your_token_here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Paste it into the file. If the file already has an mcpServers section, add only the "rankkit": { … } entry inside it, separated from the other servers by a comma.
4. Save the file.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again. It reads the config file only when it starts.

Step 4: Check that it works

Start a new chat and ask:

Run site_overview and summarise my site's SEO.

Claude calls the RankKit SEO tool and answers with your site's name, modules, content counts and audit score. In wp-admin, the token's Last used column now shows a time and a call count, and the call is listed in the Activity card on RankKit SEO → AI Agents.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
The RankKit SEO server doesn't start	Node.js isn't installed, or npx isn't on the path Claude Desktop uses.	Install Node.js, then restart Claude Desktop.
Claude Desktop doesn't show RankKit SEO at all	The JSON is invalid (often a missing comma or bracket), or Claude Desktop wasn't restarted.	Check the file, save it and restart Claude Desktop.
"Invalid or expired RankKit SEO agent token."	The token is wrong, revoked or expired.	Create a new token and replace it in the config.
"AI agent access is turned off. Enable it in RankKit SEO → AI Agents."	Agent access is off.	Turn on Allow AI agents to connect.

More error messages are explained in Fix MCP connection problems.

FAQ

Why does Claude Desktop need Node.js?

The configuration uses npx to run mcp-remote, a bridge that lets Claude Desktop talk to an HTTP MCP server such as RankKit SEO's. npx is part of Node.js.

Can I connect two sites?

Yes. Add a second entry under mcpServers with a different name, for example "rankkit-shop", the other site's endpoint and that site's token.

Is my token safe in the config file?

It is stored in plain text on your computer, like other Claude Desktop server settings. Give it only the permissions it needs, set an expiry, and revoke it in RankKit SEO → AI Agents if the computer is shared or lost.