Claude Code Setup

Connect Anthropic’s Claude Code CLI to Civic

Claude Code supports direct HTTP Streaming connections to Civic — no local bridge required. Follow the steps below to connect in a few minutes. Hub Bridge is also available as a fallback if needed.

Overview

Claude Code (Anthropic’s command-line coding assistant) uses Model Context Protocol (MCP) to talk to external tools. Claude Code supports direct HTTP connections to Civic — no local bridge required.

Prerequisites

• Anthropic Claude CLI (claude) installed and authenticated
• A Civic account — create one free at app.civic.com

How authentication works

Civic supports two methods depending on how your client connects:

Client type	Method	How it works
Interactive clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Goose, Windsurf)	OAuth	When you connect, your client opens a browser window to app.civic.com. Sign in once — no manual token needed.
Automated agents (LangChain, custom scripts, OpenAI SDK, Anthropic SDK)	Civic Token	Generate a bearer token at app.civic.com → Install → MCP URL. Pass it as an Authorization: Bearer header.

See Get Your Credentials for full details.

Quick Setup

Claude Code supports two connection methods. Choose the one that works best for you:

HTTP Transport (Recommended)

Direct Connection via HTTP

Claude Code now supports direct HTTP connections to Civic without needing a local bridge.

1. Register the Civic server with HTTP transport

   Run this command to add Civic via HTTP:

   claude mcp add --transport http civic https://app.civic.com/hub/mcp
   

   This configures Claude Code to connect directly to Civic over HTTP.

2. Launch Claude Code

   Start the Claude CLI session:

   claude
   

   Tip: add the --debug flag if you want to watch MCP logs while connecting.

3. Connect and sign in

   Inside the Claude session, run the MCP menu command:

   /mcp
   

   Select the civic server. A browser window opens to app.civic.com — sign in with your Civic account. Once complete, Claude confirms the server is connected and ready to use.

Hub Bridge (Alternative)

Local Bridge Connection

What is Hub Bridge? Hub Bridge (@civic/hub-bridge) is a lightweight local proxy that runs on your machine via npx and bridges stdio-only MCP clients to Civic’s remote HTTP endpoint. Use it when your client doesn’t support remote HTTP MCP connections natively. If your client supports HTTP/Streamable HTTP MCP — use that instead (it’s simpler and has no Node.js dependency).

Full Hub Bridge setup guide →

Use this method if you run into issues with the HTTP transport path above.

1. Register the Civic server

   Run this command to add the Civic Hub Bridge MCP server:

   claude mcp add civic "npx @civic/hub-bridge"
   

   This installs the bridge (if needed) and stores the connection in your Claude MCP config.

2. Launch Claude Code

   Start the Claude CLI session:

   claude
   

   Tip: add the --debug flag if you want to watch MCP logs while connecting.

3. Connect and sign in

   Inside the Claude session, run the MCP menu command:

   /mcp
   

   Select the civic server and follow the browser sign-in flow to authorize Civic. Once the login completes, Claude confirms that the server is available for tool execution.

Verify the Connection

• In Claude, run /mcp again to check that civic shows as connected
• Test a Civic command (for example, request a tool list) to confirm the session is authorized

Troubleshooting

• If the connection shows failed, re-run claude --debug to view detailed logs in your terminal
• Ensure you have an active Civic session in your default browser; the MCP flow opens a new window for login
• Delete and re-add the server with claude mcp remove civic followed by the setup command if you need to refresh credentials

Resources

Hub Bridge Guide

Full Hub Bridge configuration details

Client Compatibility

MCP support matrix for Claude Code

Troubleshooting

Common Claude Code connection fixes

Installing into an agent

Deploy Civic in autonomous agents and automation platforms