Connect Palate

Get your token

1. 01

   Go to app.palatemcp.com and sign in with Google, GitHub, or a one-time email code. Palate is passwordless: there is no password to create, remember, or reset.

2. 02

   You land straight on the dashboard. (Free tier: 50 deep reference reads a month, search is unlimited, no card required.)

3. 03

   In the dashboard, open Tokens → Create token, give it a name (e.g. "Claude Code"), and copy the key. It starts with plt_live_ and is shown once, so save it somewhere safe.

Connect your tool

Pick your platform below. Everywhere you see YOUR_TOKEN, paste the plt_live_ key from step 1.

/plugin marketplace add jake-jiffi/palate-marketplace

/plugin install palate-website-builder@palate

mkdir -p ~/.ssh && ssh-keyscan -t ed25519 github.com >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts

claude mcp add --scope user --transport http palate https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

claude mcp add --scope user --transport http palate https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "palate": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "palate": {
      "url": "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "palate": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "palate": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

URL:     https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp
Header:  Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "palate": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer plt_live_YOUR_TOKEN"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

{
  "context_servers": {
    "palate": {
      "url": "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer plt_live_YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

# ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.palate]
url = "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "PALATE_MCP_TOKEN"

# Then export the token in your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc),
# NOT inside config.toml:
#   export PALATE_MCP_TOKEN="plt_live_YOUR_TOKEN"

Option A — one-shot CLI (recommended; -s user writes it globally):

gemini mcp add --transport http -s user -H "Authorization: Bearer plt_live_YOUR_TOKEN" palate https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp

Option B — hand-edit ~/.gemini/settings.json (note the key is httpUrl, not url):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "palate": {
      "httpUrl": "https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer plt_live_YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

ChatGPT -> Settings -> Apps & Connectors -> Create

Name:            palate
Description:     Palate MCP - the taste layer for AI website builders
MCP Server URL:  https://mcp.palatemcp.com/api/mcp
Authentication:  OAuth

# There is NO header / API-key field in ChatGPT's connector UI.
# The static bearer (Authorization: Bearer PLT_LIVE_TOKEN) is NOT used by ChatGPT.
# Connect via the OAuth browser flow (sign in to your Palate account at the consent screen).

Verify it works

Ask your agent to call a tool. A simple first call lists every vertical in the library:

Ask your agent: "Use Palate's refs_list_verticals tool and show me the verticals."

You should get back a list of verticals with counts. If you instead see 401 unauthorised, jump to troubleshooting.

Build a website

Connecting the MCP gives your agent the refs_* tools (look-ups). The Claude Code plugin adds the website-builder skill on top, so you can ask Claude to build a whole production site grounded by the library, not just query it. If you installed the plugin during setup you already have it; if you only ran claude mcp add, add it now (two separate commands):

/plugin marketplace add jake-jiffi/palate-marketplace

/plugin install palate-website-builder@palate

Run /reload-plugins (or restart Claude Code) so the newly installed skill loads.

Then just ask Claude, in plain language:

Build a site for {client}, {domain}. Brand assets at {path}.

The skill surveys the library for real design taste, then scaffolds a production Astro project (Sanity CMS, SEO, forms, the client's brand package) and can deploy a shareable preview. There's also a brand-package mode, "Build a brand package for {client}, assets at {path}." The bundled build-quality hooks make sure it actually draws on the library before it writes any code.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jake-jiffi/palate-website-builder/main/scripts/create-palate.sh | bash -s -- my-site codex

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jake-jiffi/palate-website-builder/main/scripts/palate-verify.sh | bash -s -- ./

Tools reference

Palate exposes ten refs_* tools. Your agent calls them automatically once connected.

Troubleshooting

401 unauthorised (token path)

The token is missing, mistyped, or revoked. Check the header is exactly Authorization: Bearer plt_live_… (the word "Bearer", a space, then the key). If it was revoked, create a new one in the dashboard.

The browser ended on a localhost page

That is the success step: after you approve, your own Claude Code (listening on your machine) receives the sign-in and shows "authorization successful". Return to your terminal. If that page says connection refused instead, the usual cause is running Claude Code on a different machine (SSH, a devbox) from your browser, the loopback cannot cross machines. Connect with a token instead (the deterministic path above), it has no browser step at all.

401 unauthorised (OAuth path)

Connected after the browser sign-in, but every call still returns 401? Your account needs to be provisioned once. Open the dashboard at app.palatemcp.com once to provision it, or run claude mcp remove palate and re-Authorise.

"MCP server palate skipped" after an update

An older bundled version is cached. Restart Claude Code (or run /mcp and reconnect) and the warning clears.

The sign-in code did not arrive

Codes come from send.palatemcp.com and usually land in seconds; check spam once, then use Resend code (a fresh code invalidates the old one). Google or GitHub sign-in also works immediately. Codes expire after 10 minutes.

Claude Desktop: "npx" or "mcp-remote" not found

Install Node.js 18+ (which includes npx), then fully restart Claude Desktop. That 18+ floor is for the Claude Desktop bridge only; running a build needs Node 22+.

Hitting the daily limit

The free tier allows 50 deep reference reads a month (search is unlimited). Upgrade to Pro for unlimited deep reads in the dashboard.