@thespeakup/mcp-cli

Static-token Model Context Protocol transport proxy for SpeakUp.

Lets Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and any other MCP client connect to api.speak-up.pro without going through the OAuth flow that mcp-remote ships by default.

Why this exists

The MCP protocol requires the client to receive a response to its initialize JSON-RPC call within 60 seconds of attach. mcp-remote's OAuth flow (open browser → log in → consent → redirect back) often takes longer than that on a cold start, causing Claude Desktop to fatal-crash before the user finishes the login dance.

This proxy skips OAuth in the MCP transport entirely. You generate a long-lived Personal Access Token (PAT) once via the SpeakUp web UI, paste it into your Claude Desktop config under env, and the proxy sends it as a static Authorization: Bearer … header on every outbound request — so initialize returns immediately.

Install

You don't need to install it. Claude Desktop will fetch it via npx on first run. If you'd rather pin it locally:

npm install -g @thespeakup/mcp-cli

Requires Node ≥18.17. Claude Desktop bundles its own Node runtime, so this is usually a no-op for desktop users.

Get a token

1. Visit https://app.speak-up.pro/settings/mcp.
2. Click Generate token.
3. Copy the sk_speakup_… string. It's shown once — store it like any password.

Claude Desktop config

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "speakup": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@thespeakup/mcp-cli@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SPEAKUP_MCP_TOKEN": "sk_speakup_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. The speakup server should appear in the MCP picker within ~5 seconds, with the full tool catalog listed.

Claude Code

claude mcp add speakup -- npx -y @thespeakup/mcp-cli@latest \
  -e SPEAKUP_MCP_TOKEN=sk_speakup_xxx

Cursor

In ~/.cursor/mcp.json use the same shape as Claude Desktop above.

Environment

| Variable | Required | Default | Notes | | ------------------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | SPEAKUP_MCP_TOKEN | yes | — | PAT from the SpeakUp web UI. | | SPEAKUP_MCP_URL | no | https://api.speak-up.pro/v2/mcp/transport/ | Override for staging or local dev. | | SPEAKUP_MCP_SERVER_NAME | no | speakup | Reserved for future use; safe to ignore. | | SPEAKUP_MCP_DEBUG | no | unset | Set to 1 to log JSON-RPC payload previews (masked). |

The token is never written to disk by this proxy and never appears in logs unmasked. Token-like strings in error messages are redacted to sk_speakup_***xxxx (last 4 chars only).

Troubleshooting

Logs go to stderr, which Claude Desktop captures at ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-speakup.log.

| Symptom | Likely cause | | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | SPEAKUP_MCP_TOKEN is required | Env var not set in claude_desktop_config.json. Restart Claude Desktop after editing the config. | | SPEAKUP_MCP_TOKEN is malformed | Token was truncated on paste. Regenerate via the web UI. | | Server shows up but tools list is empty | Token was revoked or expired. Regenerate via the web UI. | | 401 Unauthorized | Same — backend rejected the PAT. Regenerate. | | ECONNREFUSED / ENOTFOUND | Network problem, or a custom SPEAKUP_MCP_URL is wrong. | | Logs flooded with forward … lines | Set SPEAKUP_MCP_DEBUG only when you need it; remove the env var once done. |

Local development

git clone https://github.com/TheSpeakUp/speakup-mcp-cli.git
cd speakup-mcp-cli
npm install
cp .env.example .env  # fill in your test PAT
npm run dev           # speaks MCP on stdio; useful with mcp-inspector

Tests:

npm test          # unit tests only
SPEAKUP_MCP_INTEGRATION_TOKEN=sk_speakup_xxx npm test  # + integration test against staging

Lint + build:

npm run lint
npm run build

Security model

• The PAT is a bearer credential. Anyone with it can act as you against the SpeakUp MCP surface. Treat it like a password.
• The proxy refuses non-loopback http:// URLs to prevent accidental plaintext token transmission. Use https:// for any remote endpoint.
• Revoke tokens any time at https://app.speak-up.pro/settings/mcp.
• This proxy does not persist the token to disk. It lives in process.env only.

Roadmap

This is a v0.x utility. Once Claude Desktop and friends ship native support for sane OAuth UX (e.g. background refresh, response within 60s), this proxy will be unnecessary. Until then we ship it as a stopgap.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.