Pre-Trip MCP server

A Model Context Protocol server that gives an AI assistant (Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP hosts) the ability to screen regulated-health marketing copy against Pre-Trip's source-cited compliance rulesets, from inside the assistant you already draft in.

This is the assist layer. MCP is model-controlled, so the model decides when to call the scan while you write. For a hard pre-publish gate (a machine that must block on a fail), call the REST API directly instead, documented at https://scan.kesey.agency/developers/. Both ride the same engine.

Your draft is scanned to run the check and is not stored.

Tools

• scan_content — screen a piece of copy. The model supplies the copy, the asset type, the state, the vertical, and whether the advertiser is a HIPAA covered entity. Returns a pass, or a fix list where each flag quotes the line, names the rule, and cites the statute.
• get_coverage — list the valid verticals, asset types, and states, so the model fills the scan facets correctly.

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or newer.
• A Pre-Trip API key. Create one at https://scan.kesey.agency under API keys. Keyed scans spend your account's Bus Pass or tokens.

Install

No install step needed. Point your client at npx pretrip-mcp (below) and it fetches and runs the latest version on demand; Node.js 18 or newer is the only requirement. To pin it or run it globally instead, npm install -g pretrip-mcp and use the pretrip-mcp command in place of npx pretrip-mcp.

Configure your client

Claude Desktop

Edit claude_desktop_config.json (Settings, Developer, Edit Config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pretrip": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "pretrip-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PRETRIP_API_KEY": "pt_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. You should see a Pre-Trip tool available.

Cursor

Create or edit .cursor/mcp.json in your project (or the global Cursor MCP config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pretrip": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "pretrip-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PRETRIP_API_KEY": "pt_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any MCP host that speaks stdio works the same way: run npx pretrip-mcp with PRETRIP_API_KEY in the environment.

Use it

Once configured, just ask, in the middle of drafting:

Check this ketamine clinic landing page for California compliance before I publish it: [paste your copy]

The assistant calls scan_content and reads back the verdict and the cited fix list. If it is unsure which vertical or state to use, it can call get_coverage first.

Configuration

• PRETRIP_API_KEY (required): your pt_live_ key.
• PRETRIP_API_BASE (optional): defaults to https://scan.kesey.agency/api/v1. Set it only to point at a staging endpoint.

Privacy and posture

The server sends the copy you ask it to check to the Pre-Trip API and stores nothing. Aggregate scan metadata is recorded against your API key for usage and billing, never the copy. A pass is a screen, not legal advice or a certification; you and your counsel remain responsible for what you publish.

Roadmap: a hosted remote server

This local stdio server is the fastest way to try Pre-Trip in an AI client, but it asks each user to run a process and hold a key in their config. The hosted version is a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP with OAuth, so a user adds one URL and signs in, no local install and no key to paste. It reuses the exact same scan endpoint underneath. That is the follow-up to this package.