Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants (like Claude) connect directly to external systems such as SearchBlox. The AI can search content, manage collections, and pull analytics from SearchBlox in real-time through a single, secure connection.

Connecting to SearchBlox via MCP

Prerequisites:

• SearchBlox SearchAI version: v12
• Server URL: SearchBlox instance URL (e.g., https://your-server:8443)
• SB-PKEY: your SearchBlox Private Key. You can find it in the SearchBlox Admin Console under Administration → Users → (your admin user) → Private Key.
• MCP-compatible client: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code with Copilot, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI application.

Connection Configuration:

Below are the configuration formats for each supported client. In all cases, replace your-server:8443 with SearchBlox server address and your-SB-PKEY with SearchBlox API key.

Claude Desktop

File location:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searchblox": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://your-server:8443/rest/v2/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "SB-PKEY": "your-SB-PKEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Claude Code (CLI)

• File location: .mcp.json in your project root (or ~/.claude.json for global config)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searchblox": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://your-server:8443/rest/v2/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "SB-PKEY": "your-SB-PKEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or add it via the CLI:

claude mcp add searchblox --transport http 
https://your-server:8443/rest/v2/api/mcp --header "SB-PKEY: your-SB-PKEY"

VS Code with GitHub Copilot

• File location: .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace (or User Settings)

{
  "servers": {
    "searchblox": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://your-server:8443/rest/v2/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "SB-PKEY": "your-SB-PKEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Reload VS Code and enable the server from the Copilot Chat > MCP Servers panel.

Cursor

File location:

• Project-level: .cursor/mcp.json in your project root
• Global: ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searchblox": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://your-server:8443/rest/v2/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "SB-PKEY": "your-SB-PKEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Open Settings > MCP in Cursor to verify the server appears as connected.

What Can You Do After Connecting?

Your AI assistant instantly gets access to 82 tools - everything it needs to search, analyze, and manage Searchblox content.

Quick Start Examples

Ask your AI assistant naturally:

• Search the docs collection for articles about single sign-on

Behind the scenes, the assistant calls:

{
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "searchblox_search",
      "arguments": {
        "type": "keyword",
        "query": "single sign-on",
        "collection": "docs",
        "pagesize": 10
      }
    }
  }

AI-powered answers (RAG)

• In the docs collection, what are the system requirements for SearchBlox?

Behind the scenes, the assistant calls:

{
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "searchblox_search",
      "arguments": {
        "type": "rag",
        "query": "What are the system requirements?",
        "collection": "docs",
        "context_size": 5,
        "include_sources": true
      }
    }
  }

List all collections

• Show me all SearchBlox collections

Behind the scenes, the assistant calls:

{
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "searchblox_collection_list",
      "arguments": {
        "action": "list"
      }
    }
  }

Troubleshooting

• 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.