MCP Server Configuration Guide

What is MCP Server?

Overview

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard protocol that lets AI assistants (such as Claude or ChatGPT) call PriceMinder data directly. Once configured, you can ask your AI client in natural language about competitor price trends, monitor status, and alerts — no need to open the panel by hand. Setup takes about 2 minutes.

Video Tutorial

About the video

The video walks through the whole flow: getting an MCP Key, copying the connection URL, adding the MCP Server to an AI client, and verifying the connection. Watch it first, then follow the steps below.

Step 1: Get your MCP Key

Every user has a personal MCP Key used for authentication. In the PriceMinder panel, go to Settings and click "Generate MCP Key". Keep the key private.

How to get it

Sign in to the PriceMinder panel → open Settings → find the MCP Server section → click "Generate MCP Key".

If the key leaks or you need to rotate it, click "Regenerate Key" — the old key stops working immediately.

Step 2: Copy the MCP connection URL

After generating the key, the panel shows the full MCP connection URL:

https://priceminder.online/mcp_server?key=YOUR_MCP_KEY

Heads up

Copy the complete URL including the ?key=xxx query parameter. No extra credential field is needed.

Step 3: Add the MCP Server to your AI client

Pick the AI client you use and follow the matching instructions.

Cherry Studio

Open Cherry Studio → Settings → MCP Servers → Add server, choose the Streamable HTTP type.

Config file path: no standalone file — settings live inside Cherry Studio (Settings → MCP Servers).

{
  "name": "shopee-sentinel",
  "type": "streamable-http",
  "url": "https://priceminder.online/mcp_server?key=YOUR_MCP_KEY"
}

WorkBuddy (Tencent, popular in China)

Open WorkBuddy → sidebar "Experts · Skills · Connectors" → Connectors tab → top-right "Custom connector" → "Configure MCP", then paste the JSON below.

Config file path: user-level ~/.workbuddy/mcp.json (applies across projects); project-level <project root>/.workbuddy/mcp.json (that project only).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shopee-sentinel": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://priceminder.online/mcp_server?key=YOUR_MCP_KEY"
    }
  }
}

After saving, return to the "MCP services" list and click Trust on the entry — the first connection must be trusted manually or tools will not load. The status turns "Connected" and 22 tools are listed when it works.

Note

WorkBuddy supports three transports: http (streaming), sse, and stdio. PriceMinder uses http. Some versions are strict about the type value: if saving reports an unrecognized type, change it to "type": "streamableHttp". If that still fails, delete the type line entirely — keeping url is enough for the client to infer HTTP.

Doubao (ByteDance, popular in China)

Doubao's custom connector is a form, not JSON:

Open the Doubao desktop client → sidebar "Plugins · Skills · Partners" → top-right "+ Add" on the plugins page → "New custom connector", then fill in:

Config file path: no standalone file — settings live inside the Doubao desktop client (custom connector form).

Field	Value
Server name	PriceMinder
Transport type	HTTP
Server URL	https://priceminder.online/mcp_server
Custom Headers	Authorization = Bearer YOUR_MCP_KEY

Keep the space after Bearer; without it the credential is rejected. Full walkthrough: Doubao integration.

After saving, a "PriceMinder" plugin card appears on the home page. Open it to see the tool list, then click "Try in chat" at the bottom right to verify.

Caveat

Doubao custom connectors work in the desktop client only (not the web version), and the client must run on your own machine. PriceMinder is a public HTTPS service, so nothing needs to be installed locally.

Claude Desktop

Edit the Claude Desktop config file (Settings → Developer → Edit Config) and add:

Config file path: Windows %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json; macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shopee-sentinel": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://priceminder.online/mcp_server?key=YOUR_MCP_KEY"
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Open Cursor → Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server, choose the HTTP type and paste the full URL from Step 2. Or create .cursor/mcp.json in the project root:

Config file path: project-level .cursor/mcp.json (project root); user-level ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shopee-sentinel": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://priceminder.online/mcp_server?key=YOUR_MCP_KEY"
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Open Windsurf → Cascade → Settings → MCP → Add MCP Server and paste the full URL from Step 2.

Config file path: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shopee-sentinel": {
      "url": "https://priceminder.online/mcp_server?key=YOUR_MCP_KEY"
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Verify the connection

Once configured, try these prompts in your AI client:

"How many products am I currently monitoring?"

"Which products dropped in price recently?"

"Show my Shopee monitoring overview."

Signs it worked

The AI client returns your monitoring data instead of an error or an empty result. If the connection fails, check that the MCP URL was copied in full and that the key is valid.

FAQ

What if my MCP Key leaks?

In the panel's Settings page, click "Regenerate Key" — the old key stops working immediately. Then update the MCP URL in your AI client.

Can I use it in several AI clients at once?

Yes. The same MCP URL can be configured in Cherry Studio, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and others without interfering with each other.

The AI client cannot connect.

Check the following:

1. The client supports Streamable HTTP (not SSE or stdio).
2. The URL includes the full ?key=xxx parameter.
3. priceminder.online is reachable from your network. The connection domain is priceminder.online, not mcp.priceminder.online.

How do I stop using it?

Delete the MCP Server entry in your AI client. To revoke access entirely, regenerate the key and do not save the new one — all old connections stop working.

Further Documentation

For the full MCP guide, tool parameters, and best practices, see the MCP Tools overview and the per-client setup docs.