Skip to content
Jina Connect

MCP Server Setup

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Jina Connect includes a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets AI agents interact with your messaging infrastructure through natural language. The MCP server exposes 15 tools for sending messages, managing contacts, running campaigns, and monitoring provider health.

Architecture

Section titled “Architecture”
AI Agent (Claude, GPT, etc.)
    │
    ▼
MCP Client (Claude Desktop, VS Code, etc.)
    │
    ▼ HTTP (stateless)
Jina Connect MCP Server (FastMCP)
    │
    ▼ API Key → Tenant resolution
Django ORM → PostgreSQL

The MCP server uses:

  • FastMCP framework with stateless_http=True
  • JSON responses for structured tool outputs
  • API Key auth — each tool requires an api_key parameter that resolves to a (Tenant, TenantWAApp) pair

Setup

Section titled “Setup”

  1. Create an API Key

    In Django Admin → Tenant Access Keys → Add:

    • Select your tenant
    • Name: “MCP Access Key”
    • Save and copy the generated key

  2. Configure your MCP client

    Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "jina-connect": {
          "command": "python",
          "args": ["-m", "mcp_server"],
          "cwd": "/path/to/jina-connect-unified-cpaas",
          "env": {
            "DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE": "jina_connect.settings"
          }
        }
      }
    }

  3. Test the connection

    Ask your AI agent:

    “List my WhatsApp templates using API key your-key-here”

Authentication

Section titled “Authentication”

Every MCP tool requires an api_key parameter. The server resolves the key:

mcp_server/auth.py
def resolve_tenant(api_key: str) -> tuple[Tenant, TenantWAApp]:
    access_key = TenantAccessKey.objects.get(key=api_key)
    tenant = access_key.tenant
    wa_app = TenantWAApp.objects.get(tenant=tenant)
    return tenant, wa_app

Invalid or missing API keys return an error response.

Running Standalone

Section titled “Running Standalone”
Terminal window
# From the project root
python -m mcp_server

This starts the MCP server with Django settings loaded.