---
title: "Quick Start with Claude"
slug: "polarity-mcp-claude-quickstart"
updated: 2026-08-04T16:46:25Z
published: 2026-08-04T16:46:25Z
canonical: "knowledge.threatconnect.com/polarity-mcp-claude-quickstart"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledge.threatconnect.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quick Start with Claude

**The Polarity AI Features that power the built-in chat and LLM-optimized reducers for the MCP are configured in the Admin panel under Server Configuration.**

> [!WARNING]
> **You must be a Polarity administrator to access these settings.**

## Client Prerequisites

- Node.js 18 or later and `npx` must be available.
  - On macOS: `brew install npm`
- The connector package `@polarityio/mcp-connector`) is fetched and run automatically via `npx` on each connection — no manual install required
- Network access to the Polarity server URL from this machine
- If the Polarity server presents a certificate not trusted by the system store (self-signed or internal CA), set `NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS` to the path of the CA file (e.g., `/path/to/ca.crt` or `./ca.pem`)
- Run `/mcp reconnect` in Claude Code, or restart Claude Code, after any config change

## Server Prerequisites

- Polarity server v5.7 or later, running and reachable at the configured URL
- A valid (non-expired) Polarity API key generated under Settings → API Keys
- The API key's user account must have access to the integrations you want to query — assign integrations via Actions → View Details in the API Keys UI
- Each integration must be configured with valid upstream credentials, network reachability from the Polarity server, and status "running"
- Add `HERMES_MCP_SERVER=true` to the Polarity `.env` file
- Add the following block to `/app/caddy/config/Caddyfile`:

```plaintext
handle_path /mcp/* {
        rewrite * /mcp{uri}
        reverse_proxy {
                to {$POLARITY_PLATFORM_API_HOSTNAME}
                header_up Host {$POLARITY_HOSTNAME}
                transport http {
                        tls
                        tls_insecure_skip_verify
                }
        }
}
```

> [!WARNING]
> RESTART Polarity

## Claude Set Up

Add the following to the `mcpServers` block in your `~/.claude.json`:

```plaintext
"mcpServers": {
  "polarity": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@polarityio/mcp-connector"],
    "env": {
      "POLARITY_SERVER_URL": "https://<your-polarity-server>",
      "POLARITY_TOKEN": "<your-polarity-api-key>",
      "NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS": "</path/to/ca.crt>"
    }
  }
}
```

Three things that differ from other MCP server configs:

- No headers key
- No `/mcp` suffix on the URL — use the base server URL only
- `POLARITY_TOKEN` is the raw JWT — no Bearer prefix

`NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS` is only required if the Polarity server uses a self-signed or internal CA certificate.

> [!WARNING]
> RESTART Claude

## Verify the Connection

Run these commands to confirm the server is connected and the tools are registered:

```plaintext
claude mcp list
```

```plaintext
claude mcp get polarity
```

Then ask Claude to run `list_available_integrations` — it should return your Polarity integrations.