Getting started

This is the quickstart for the public /mcp endpoint. By the end you’ll have listed the available tools and run a search against your indexed workspace.

Prerequisites: a Canvas account (sign up at app.canvasx.ai) and a terminal with curl. That’s it for the managed path — no install.

1. Create a workspace

Managed sandbox (open self-serve — sign up and go):

1. Sign in at app.canvasx.ai.
2. Create or join a workspace.
3. Open Settings.
4. Go to MCP access.

Self-hosted:

1. Deploy Sketch.
2. Open the web UI.
3. Complete onboarding to create the first admin account.
4. Open Settings.
5. Go to MCP access.

2. Create an API token

In Settings → MCP access:

1. Enter a token name, for example Claude Code or Cursor.
2. Click Create token.
3. Copy the plaintext token immediately — it is only shown once.
4. Copy the MCP URL. It should look like:

https://<your-connectors-host>/mcp

Set both values in your shell:

export CONNECTORS_MCP_URL="https://<your-connectors-host>/mcp"
export CONNECTORS_API_KEY="skp_..."

The server stores only a hash and a short display prefix for personal access tokens. You can revoke tokens later from the same Settings page.

3. Verify the connection

Call the MCP tools/list method:

curl -s "$CONNECTORS_MCP_URL" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONNECTORS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Mcp-Protocol-Version: 2025-03-26" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'

Expected result: a JSON-RPC response whose tools include sketch_search, sketch_search_entities, sketch_get_entity_context, and sketch_get_file_content.

4. Make your first call

Search indexed knowledge:

curl -s "$CONNECTORS_MCP_URL" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CONNECTORS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Mcp-Protocol-Version: 2025-03-26" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 2,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "sketch_search",
      "arguments": {
        "query": "latest Linear launch blockers",
        "kind": "task",
        "sortBy": "recency",
        "limit": 5
      }
    }
  }'

If the workspace has matching indexed content that your user is allowed to see, the response returns text results with sketchId, providerId, source, URL when available, and a summary or snippet.

Next

• Connect over MCP — wire this into Claude Code or Cursor.
• Public MCP tools — every tool, with inputs and outputs.
• App integrations — get your apps indexed so there’s something to search.