Overview
The Reel25 MCP server exposes the same capabilities as the REST API but through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — an open standard that lets AI assistants use external tools directly. Instead of writing API calls, you describe what you need in plain language and your AI handles the rest. Supported clients: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and any MCP-compatible client. Prerequisites: Node.js 18+, an active Reel25 plan, and an API key.Setup
1. Get your API key
Create a key at Settings → API Keys. See the Authentication page for details on key format and security.2. Configure your AI client
- Claude Desktop
- Claude Code
- Cursor
- VS Code
- Windsurf
- Smithery
Add to your config file:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json - Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
3. Restart your AI client
After adding the config, restart your application. The 26 Reel25 tools will appear automatically. You can verify by asking: “What Reel25 tools do you have access to?”Available tools (26)
Videos — free
Accounts — free
Content Radar — 100 credits
AI Video Analysis — 5 credits
Folders — free
Analytics and Workspace — free
For full credit costs and plan details, see the Credits page.
Async tools
Two tools involve background processing:search_content and analyze_video.
Both handle polling internally — when called, the MCP server waits for results and returns the complete response. No extra steps needed from the user or agent.
- Content Radar (
search_content): 30-60 seconds. The system generates search queries, scrapes platforms, filters and ranks results. - AI Video Analysis (
analyze_video): 15-30 seconds. Downloads video, runs AI models for hook, structure, CTA, and UGC analysis.
Environment variables
Example prompts
Discovery and Research- “Search for the top UGC skincare product demos on TikTok from the last week”
- “Find trending fitness content on Instagram Reels about home workouts”
- “What kind of hooks are working best in the protein supplement niche right now?”
- “Track this TikTok video and add it to my Competitors folder: [url]”
- “Track these 5 creator accounts and pull their engagement metrics”
- “Show me all videos I’m tracking that were posted in the last 7 days”
- “Analyze this video and tell me what makes the hook effective”
- “Show me my top 10 performing videos by engagement rate”
- “Compare growth trends for all accounts in my Influencers folder”
- “How many credits do I have left?”
- “Create a new folder called Q2 Campaign and add these 3 videos to it”
- “What’s my current plan and how many videos am I tracking?”
Troubleshooting
Server not found after setup
Server not found after setup
Restart your AI client completely. On Claude Desktop, quit the app fully (not just close the window) and reopen.
Authentication failed
Authentication failed
Double-check your API key starts with
reel25_sk_ and is set correctly. Regenerate keys at Settings → API Keys if needed.npx command fails
npx command fails
Ensure Node.js 18+ is installed (
node --version to check). On Windows, try the cmd /c wrapper mentioned in the setup section.Tools not appearing
Tools not appearing
Some clients cache tool lists. Remove and re-add the MCP server config, then restart. In Cursor, click the refresh button in MCP settings.
Search or analysis timing out
Search or analysis timing out
Content Radar and AI Analysis can take 30-60 seconds. If your client has a short timeout, increase it in your MCP config.
Links
- npm package —
npx -y reel25-mcp - GitHub — source code and issue tracker
- Get API Key
- API Reference — full REST API docs