Build with metaphor cards

Cursor and Cline share the same MCP config format. The block is identical to Claude's.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "makcards": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.makcards.online/v1",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer mk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Two options. MCP node (available in recent n8n builds) – point at https://mcp.makcards.online/v1, set the Authorization header in credentials. HTTP Request node – call REST directly:

URL:      https://app.makcards.online/api/v1/public/draw
Method:   POST
Headers:  Authorization: Bearer mk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
          Content-Type: application/json
Body:     { "scope": "any", "count": 1, "image_width": 1024 }

Custom GPT Actions reads OpenAPI. Use the AI-safe subset so the chat cannot accidentally spend pearls.

Action source: https://makcards.online/api/v1/public/openapi.ai.json
Authentication: API Key (Bearer)
Auth value:     mk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Local stdio MCP. The key never leaves your machine – it goes straight to our REST API as Bearer. Requires Node.js 20+.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "makcards": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@maccards/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "MAKCARDS_API_KEY": "mk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

No Node.js? Run the same binary as a container. The image is published only for linux/amd64, so Apple Silicon needs one extra flag (see below). If you have Node 20+, the npx tab above is simpler.

linux/amd64 hosts (Intel Mac, Intel/AMD Linux, Windows WSL2):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "makcards": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "MAKCARDS_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/makcards/mcp:latest",
        "node", "dist/transports/stdio.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MAKCARDS_API_KEY": "mk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Apple Silicon (M1 / M2 / M3 / M4): add --platform linux/amd64 so Docker pulls the amd64 image and runs it through Rosetta. Works, but startup is slower than the native npx option above.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "makcards": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "--platform", "linux/amd64",
        "-e", "MAKCARDS_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/makcards/mcp:latest",
        "node", "dist/transports/stdio.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MAKCARDS_API_KEY": "mk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

If your agent already runs in a shell (Claude Code, Cursor agent mode, Aider, Codex, any container), this is the shortest path: plain HTTPS + Bearer, JSON responses, no MCP runtime to install. The four recipes below cover everything our MCP tools wrap.

# One-time setup
export MAKCARDS_API_KEY=mk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
BASE=https://app.makcards.online/api/v1/public
H="Authorization: Bearer $MAKCARDS_API_KEY"

# List decks your key can read
curl -s -H "$H" "$BASE/decks" | jq

# Draw 3 cards from any accessible deck
curl -s -X POST "$BASE/draw" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"scope":"any","count":3,"image_width":1024}' | jq

# Save the first card image straight to disk
curl -s -X POST "$BASE/draw" -H "$H" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"scope":"any","count":1,"image_width":1024}' \
  | jq -r '.drawn[0].image_url' \
  | xargs curl -s -o card.jpg

# Inspect rate-limit state
curl -s -H "$H" "$BASE/usage" | jq

Two reasons to prefer Bash over MCP: smaller agent context (no tool schemas to load) and one fewer process to manage. Reasons to prefer MCP instead: your client has no shell (ChatGPT Apps, Claude Desktop, Cursor without agent mode), or you want slash-command prompts.