---
updatedAt: 2026-09-28T14:49:41.000Z
agentTools:
  projectIndex: https://developer.searchblox.com/llms.txt
---

# Claude Desktop

# **Prerequisites**

Before configuring the SearchBlox MCP server, make sure you have:

* **Node.js: v18 or later** — required to run the MCP server via npx. Download from <https://nodejs.org/en/download>
* **Claude Desktop** — download from <https://claude.ai/download>
* **SearchBlox SearchAI version: v12**
* **Server URL** — your SearchBlox instance URL (e.g., https\://your-server)
* **SB-PKEY** — your SearchBlox Private Key. Find it in the SearchBlox Admin Console under **Administration → Users → (your admin user) → copy Private Key**

## **Configuring SearchBlox MCP in Claude Desktop**

1. **Locate the config file**
   * **macOS:** \~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude\_desktop\_config.json
   * **Windows:** %APPDATA%\Claude\claude\_desktop\_config.json\
     You can also reach it via Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config.
2. **Add the SearchBlox server**\
   Edit claude\_desktop\_config.json to include the SearchBlox MCP server under mcpServers:

   ```json JSON
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "searchblox": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": [
           "mcp-remote",
           "https://your-server/rest/v2/api/mcp",
           "--header",
           "SB-PKEY: your-SB-PKEY"
         ]
       }
     }
   }

   ```

**Note:** Replace your-server with SearchBlox server address and your-SB\
PKEY with SearchBlox API key.

3. **Multiple instances (dev / prod)**\
   Each instance gets its own named key so Claude can tell them apart:

```json JSON
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searchblox_dev": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://your-server/rest/v2/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "SB-PKEY: your-SB-PKEY"
      ]
    },
     "searchblox_prod": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://your-server/rest/v2/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "SB-PKEY: your-SB-PKEY"
      ]
    }

  }
}

```

<br />

4. **Restart Claude Desktop** for the config to take effect. The SearchBlox tools (all prefixed searchblox\_) will then appear in the tools menu.

## **Troubleshooting**

If the SearchBlox MCP server fails to connect, the fastest way to diagnose it is to pull the Claude Desktop MCP logs, copy the error, and ask Claude to interpret it.

1. **Locate the log files**\
   Claude Desktop writes a dedicated log file per MCP server:\
   macOS: \~/Library/Logs/Claude/\
   Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\
   Look for mcp.log (general MCP activity) and mcp-server-searchblox.log (errors specific to your SearchBlox server). The server-specific file is usually the one that shows why a connection failed.
2. **Copy the recent log output**\
   Open the file and copy the most recent entries, or grab the tail from a terminal:

**macOS / Linux:**\
bash

```shell Shell
 tail -n 100 ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-searchblox.log
```

**Windows (PowerShell):**\
powershell

```Text None
 Get-Content "$env:APPDATA\Claude\logs\mcp-server-searchblox.log" -Tail 100
```

3. **Paste the logs into Claude and ask**\
   Start a new chat, paste the copied error log, and ask Claude to diagnose it — for example:

```javascript JavaScript
"My SearchBlox MCP server won't connect to Claude Desktop. Here are the logs - what's going wrong and how do I fix it? [paste logs]"
```

## **Common errors and fixes**

* **Connection not detected:** Verify the URL ends with /rest/v2/api/mcp and the API key is correct.
* **Connection refused:** Check that the SearchBlox server is running and accessible from your machine.
* **Authentication errors:** Confirm your SB-PKEY is valid and has not expired.
* **Timeout errors:** Ensure network/firewall rules allow HTTPS traffic to the SearchBlox port.\
  **Tip:** To ensure you are seeing current data, completely shut down and restart Claude Desktop following any configuration updates. Because logs are only created upon a clean start, relying on older logs without a restart can lead to inaccurate troubleshooting.