MCP Server quickstart

This page shows how to connect an MCP client to the Sales Layer MCP Server and confirm that the connection works.

Before you start, make sure you have:

• A Sales Layer account with catalog access.
• A Catalog Token. See Authentication for how to request one.
• An MCP client that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth 2.0 and PKCE, or a local MCP setup.

The hosted server runs at https://mcp.saleslayer.com. The path you enter depends on the client.

Claude Web requires the base URL. Entering https://mcp.saleslayer.com/mcp in Claude Web is a known cause of connection failure.

Two additional endpoints fix the access profile in the URL itself, instead of selecting it during authorization:

https://mcp.saleslayer.com/onlyread/mcp
https://mcp.saleslayer.com/full/mcp

Use onlyread unless the workflow needs to write. See Access profiles and permissions.

The exact menu path differs per client, but the sequence is the same.

1. Add a new MCP server or custom connector in your client, using the endpoint from the table above.
2. Start the connection. The client opens the Sales Layer authorization screen in a browser.
3. Select the access profile. Choose Read only for a first connection.
4. Paste your Catalog Token into the Sales Layer authorization screen and validate it.
5. Confirm the detected catalog and access profile, then continue. Leave the browser window open until the redirect finishes.
6. Return to the client and check that the server shows as connected.

Do not enter the Catalog Token as a bearer token or API key in the client configuration. It is only ever entered in the Sales Layer authorization screen. See Authentication.

Step-by-step instructions with current screenshots for each client are maintained in the Support Center:

• MCP Server setup
• Claude Web and Claude Desktop
• ChatGPT
• Microsoft Copilot Studio
• Google Gemini
• Cursor, VS Code, and GitHub Copilot
• Automation platforms
• Other MCP-compatible clients

Some clients are configured with a file instead of a form.

Cursor, connecting directly to the remote server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sales-layer": {
      "url": "https://mcp.saleslayer.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code and GitHub Copilot, in .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "sales-layer": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.saleslayer.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

When a client cannot start the OAuth flow on its own, a local bridge can run it:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sales-layer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.saleslayer.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Never commit a Catalog Token to any of these files or to a repository.

Ask the assistant to list what it can do. A working connection discovers the Sales Layer tools; Read-only omits all writes, while Full access includes the complete 71-tool catalog.

Then confirm the token and catalog resolve correctly:

Validate my Sales Layer token and tell me which catalog it points to.

This runs the validate_token tool. Follow it with a structural question:

What tables are available in my catalog, and how many records does each one have?

This combines list_custom_entities and get_entity_counts, and gives you a catalog overview to work from.

If no tools appear, or authorization fails, see Troubleshooting.

• Tool reference — everything the assistant can call.
• Recipes — worked conversational examples.
• Access profiles and permissions — before enabling writes.

• MCP Server overview
• Authentication
• Local development
• Troubleshooting
• Catalog REST API overview