This guide covers the Claude Code setup for Get started with Pressidium MCP.
Read the main guide first for beta requirements, security considerations, supported operations, and general troubleshooting. Then follow the steps below to connect Claude Code.
1. Configure the Pressidium MCP server
Open the project directory where you want to use Pressidium.
You do not need the MCP server source code. A regular working directory is sufficient.
Create .mcp.json in that directory.
If the file already exists, merge the pressidium entry into its existing mcpServers object.
Add:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pressidium": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp-dashboard.pressidium.com/dashboard",
"headers": {
"X-Pressidium-Email": "${PRESSIDIUM_EMAIL}",
"X-Pressidium-Password": "${PRESSIDIUM_PASSWORD}"
}
}
}
}
Claude Code uses ${NAME} for environment variable references, whereas Cursor uses ${env:NAME}. Preserve the syntax shown for your AI application.
The .mcp.json file should contain variable references only. Do not replace ${PRESSIDIUM_EMAIL} or ${PRESSIDIUM_PASSWORD} with your actual credentials or store passwords in shared project configuration.
Claude Code reads these values from the environment when it connects.
2. Set your Dashboard credentials
The setup uses two local environment variables:
PRESSIDIUM_EMAILPRESSIDIUM_PASSWORD
These contain your Pressidium Dashboard credentials. They are not separate credentials issued by Pressidium.
macOS, Linux, or WSL
Open a terminal, run bash, then run:
read -r -p "Pressidium Dashboard email: " PRESSIDIUM_EMAIL read -r -s -p "Pressidium Dashboard password: " PRESSIDIUM_PASSWORD printf '\n' export PRESSIDIUM_EMAIL PRESSIDIUM_PASSWORD
The password is hidden while you type and is not entered as a shell command.
Windows PowerShell
Run:
$env:PRESSIDIUM_EMAIL = Read-Host "Pressidium Dashboard email" $env:PRESSIDIUM_PASSWORD = [System.Net.NetworkCredential]::new( '', (Read-Host "Pressidium Dashboard password" -AsSecureString) ).Password
These values remain available only for the current shell session.
Keep your Dashboard credentials out of AI conversations, screenshots, Git repositories, and shared configuration files.
3. Start Claude Code from the same terminal
After setting the credential variables, start Claude Code from the same project directory and shell by running claude.
This allows Claude Code to inherit PRESSIDIUM_EMAIL and PRESSIDIUM_PASSWORD.
If you open a new terminal session, set the variables again before starting Claude Code.
If Claude Code is already running, stop it and restart it from the configured shell.
4. Approve the MCP configuration
When Claude Code detects the project MCP configuration, review the server URL and headers before accepting it.
Confirm that the connection uses https://mcp-dashboard.pressidium.com/dashboard and the two Pressidium authentication headers.
5. Check the MCP connection
In Claude Code, run /mcp .
Confirm that pressidium appears and is connected.
If the server does not appear or the connection fails, check the .mcp.json file, environment variables, and troubleshooting section below.
6. Verify the connection
Start with this request:
Use pressidium_whoami to verify my connection and show the selected team if available. Then use pressidium_list_sites to list the websites I can access. Include website names and whether each is Managed Hosting or standalone EDGE. Do not change any website settings.
Check that the returned account, team, and websites match what you expect in the Pressidium Dashboard.
Inspect the actual tool results as well as Claude Code's summary.
If you belong to multiple teams, ask:
List my Pressidium teams. Show me their names and ask which team to select before continuing.
After selecting the intended team, ask Claude Code to list its sites again.
For larger accounts, ask it to continue through all available pages and state whether the list is complete.
For additional verification prompts, return to Get Started with the Pressidium MCP.
7. Add Pressidium Agent Skills (Optional)
Once your Pressidium MCP connection is working, you can optionally add Pressidium Agent Skills for reusable Pressidium workflows.
See Use Pressidium Agent Skills with Pressidium MCP for installation and verification instructions for Claude Code.
Troubleshooting
Problem | What to check |
Authentication fails | Verify your Dashboard email and password, account access, and that the dedicated beta account does not use MFA. Confirm both environment variables exist in the process running Claude Code without printing their values. |
No | Check that |
Credentials are set in the terminal but Claude Code cannot use them | Make sure Claude Code was started from the same shell where |
The variables are not expanded | Confirm the headers use |
Claude Code attempts an OAuth flow | Confirm the MCP configuration uses the HTTP server and custom headers shown above. The current beta does not support MCP OAuth. |
Wrong sites or no sites appear | Verify the connected account and selected team. List your Pressidium teams, select the intended one, and list its sites again. For larger accounts, check that all available pages were retrieved. |
A tool reports an unsupported environment or product | Confirm whether the target is Managed Hosting or standalone EDGE and whether you requested production or staging. Some operations are available only for particular products or environments. |
A write operation times out | Check the returned job ID or the Pressidium Dashboard before retrying. A timeout does not necessarily mean the underlying operation stopped. |
For authentication, permissions, unsupported operations, analytics, background jobs, and other issues that are not specific to Claude Code, see the troubleshooting section in Get Started with the Pressidium MCP.