---
title: "Install SHINE in Claude"
description: "Connect SHINE AI to Claude.ai and Claude Desktop as an MCP server. Takes about two minutes."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shineai.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Install SHINE in Claude

Connect SHINE AI to Claude as an MCP server so you can ask Claude questions grounded in your organization's meetings, calls, and files. Works in Claude.ai (web) and Claude Desktop. Takes about two minutes.

## Before you start

You need:

- A SHINE AI account on a plan that includes MCP access
- A Claude account (any plan — Free, Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise)

No API key setup is required. Claude handles authentication through OAuth; you'll sign in to SHINE from inside Claude when you add the connector.

## Add the connector

### In Claude.ai (web)

1. Go to **Settings → Connectors** at [claude.ai/settings/connectors](https://claude.ai/settings/connectors).
2. Click **Add custom connector** at the bottom of the page.
3. Fill in:
   - **Name**: `SHINE`
   - **Remote MCP server URL**: `https://mcp.shineai.io/v1/mcp`
4. Click **Add**.
5. Claude opens a sign-in window for SHINE. Sign in with the same credentials you use at [shineai.io](https://shineai.io).
6. Approve the scopes Claude requests. The connector appears in your list, enabled by default.

### In Claude Desktop

The desktop app reads connectors from your Claude account, so the steps above cover both. If you added it from the web, open Claude Desktop and it will appear in the connector list within a few seconds.

## Try it

Start a new chat and ask something only your SHINE corpus would know:

> *"What did Brian from Outsell say about pricing in our last call?"*

> *"Summarize the three most recent conversations tagged with Trimark."*

> *"Find the SOC 2 documents and tell me when our last audit was."*

Claude will call the `shine_ask` tool, retrieve grounded context from your indexed meetings and files, and answer with citations.

## What Claude can do with SHINE

Once connected, Claude has access to four tools:

- **`shine_ask`** — ask a natural-language question; SHINE retrieves and synthesizes an answer with sources
- **`shine_search`** — raw semantic search over your corpus
- **`search`** — MCP-standard search endpoint (used by ChatGPT, also available to Claude)
- **`fetch`** — retrieve a specific document or transcript by ID

See [tools](/mcp/tools/shine_ask) for the full reference.

## Troubleshooting

**Sign-in window doesn't open.** Allow popups from `claude.ai` and `mcp.shineai.io`, then click **Reconnect** on the connector row.

**"Connection failed" after sign-in.** Check that your SHINE plan includes MCP access at [shineai.io/mcp-api-keys](https://shineai.io/mcp-api-keys). If it does and the error persists, revoke the connector in Claude's settings and re-add it.

**Tools don't appear in the chat.** Make sure the connector toggle is on, then start a new chat — existing chats don't pick up newly added connectors until refreshed.

## Revoke access

To disconnect:

1. **In Claude** — Settings → Connectors → SHINE → Remove.
2. **In SHINE** — go to [shineai.io/mcp-api-keys](https://shineai.io/mcp-api-keys) and revoke the OAuth client that identifies as "Claude".

Revoking in only one place leaves the other side holding a dead reference; do both when you want a clean break.

Source: https://docs.shineai.io/mcp/install/claude/index.mdx