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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://lava.so/docs/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The Lava MCP is a remote MCP server hosted at https://www.lava.so/mcp. You install it once on the surface you use, and your AI chat can then call Lava’s tools (ask, connect_service, call_api, and others). This guide covers all three Claude surfaces (claude.ai web, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code) for both personal accounts and Team or Enterprise workspaces.

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Pick the Right Path

Your situationGo to
Personal Claude account on claude.ai (Pro or Max; Free works if you have no other custom connector)Web (claude.ai)
Personal Claude account, mainly use Claude DesktopClaude Desktop
You use Claude Code (CLI)Claude Code
Team or Enterprise Owner enabling Lava org-wideFor Org Admins
Team or Enterprise member, admin already enabled LavaFor Org Members

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Prerequisites

  • A Claude account.
    • For the personal-account path: any tier (Free, Pro, or Max).
    • For the org-admin path: Owner or Primary Owner role on a Team or Enterprise workspace.
    • For the org-member path: membership in an org where an admin has already enabled Lava.
  • For the Claude Code path: the Claude Code CLI installed (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code).

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Install on a Personal Account

This section covers personal Claude accounts on any tier. Add Lava once on claude.ai (web) and it auto-syncs to Claude Desktop and Claude mobile.

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Web (claude.ai)

Open https://claude.ai/settings/connectors and add Lava as a custom connector:
  1. Click + next to Connectors.
  2. Click Add custom connector.
  3. Enter Lava as the display name and https://www.lava.so/mcp as the URL.
  4. Click Add.
Shortcut. Click Add Lava to claude.ai to open the add-custom-connector dialog with Lava and https://www.lava.so/mcp prefilled, then approve to install. Free tier note. Free Claude accounts get one custom connector total. Lava can be that connector — Pro and Max remove the limit. Expected result. Lava appears in your connectors list. The first time you use a Lava tool, Claude redirects you to a browser to sign in (covered in Sign In and Confirm). Sync. Connectors added on the web sync automatically to Claude Desktop and Claude mobile, with no extra setup on those surfaces.

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Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reads remote connectors from the same place claude.ai (web) does, so the simplest install is to add Lava once on claude.ai (above) and let Desktop pick it up automatically. If you’d rather add Lava directly in Desktop:
  1. Open Claude Desktop → Settings and find the Connectors section.
  2. Click Add custom connector (the wording may differ slightly across Desktop versions).
  3. Enter Lava as the display name and https://www.lava.so/mcp as the URL.
  4. Click Add.
You do not need to edit claude_desktop_config.json. That file is for local stdio MCP servers; Lava is a remote MCP server, so the Settings UI is the right place. Expected result. Lava appears in Desktop’s connectors list and an MCP indicator shows in the chat input. The first tool call triggers the sign-in flow (covered in Sign In and Confirm). Mobile. If you also use Claude on iOS or Android, Lava picks up there automatically once it’s added on claude.ai (web).

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Claude Code

Claude Code has its own MCP subsystem. Add Lava with claude mcp add: 
claude mcp add --transport http lava https://www.lava.so/mcp
This installs Lava in local scope — available in the current project, on this machine. Verify: 
claude mcp list
You should see lava in the output. Inside Claude Code, type /mcp to authenticate Lava and see its connection status. Use a different scope (optional). Pass --scope user to make Lava available across all your projects on this machine, or --scope project to share Lava with teammates by writing .mcp.json at the project root: 
claude mcp add --transport http lava --scope user https://www.lava.so/mcp
For the full scope semantics — local vs project vs user, and how they interact with .mcp.json and ~/.claude.json — see Anthropic’s Claude Code MCP docs.

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Install for a Team or Enterprise Workspace

On Team and Enterprise plans, Lava is added once at the organization level by an Owner or Primary Owner. Members then individually authenticate with their own Lava accounts. Members cannot add Lava themselves at the org level — only Owners can.

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For Org Admins: Enable Lava Org-Wide

You must be an Owner or Primary Owner of the workspace.
  1. Open https://claude.ai.
  2. Click your organization name → Organization settings → Connectors.
  3. Click Add → Custom → Web.
  4. Enter Lava as the display name and https://www.lava.so/mcp as the URL.
  5. Click Add.
The org-level UI splits the same operation into Custom → Web, where the personal-account flow uses a single Add custom connector button. Expected result. Lava appears in the organization’s connector list. It is now available to members. Members must still authenticate individually. Adding the connector at the org level does not connect anyone’s account. Each member needs to go to Customize → Connectors, find Lava, and click Connect. Tell members the connector is ready and point them at the next section.

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For Org Members: Connect Lava After the Admin Enables It

Once an Owner has added Lava to the organization:
  1. Open https://claude.ai → click your profile → Customize → Connectors.
  2. Find Lava in the list.
  3. Click Connect.
  4. Complete the OAuth flow (covered in Sign In and Confirm).
If Lava is not in the list, your org admin has not enabled it yet. Ask an Owner to follow the admin steps above. Expected result. Lava is connected to your account in the org and is available wherever you use Claude: claude.ai (web), Claude Desktop, and mobile. Claude Code is configured separately; see the Claude Code section.

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Sign In and Confirm

The first time your chat uses a Lava tool, Claude redirects you to a browser to sign into Lava. Complete the sign-in flow and return to your chat. Expected result.
  • On claude.ai (web) and Claude Desktop: the chat confirms the connection and the Lava tool indicator appears in the chat input area.
  • In Claude Code: type /mcp in your session. lava shows as authenticated.
Once signed in, run a tool to check the install end-to-end: 
Ask Lava what services I have connected.
Lava responds with a list of any services already connected to your account (empty on a brand-new account). For a guided first run that connects a service and runs a real query, see the Quickstart.

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Troubleshooting

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”Lava doesn’t appear in my org’s connector list”

An admin (Owner or Primary Owner) hasn’t enabled Lava for your organization yet. Ask them to follow the For Org Admins steps. Once they do, Lava appears in your Customize → Connectors list.

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”Claude Desktop doesn’t show Lava after I added it on claude.ai”

Fully quit and relaunch Claude Desktop. Closing the window is not enough — use the menu bar to quit (Cmd+Q on macOS, File → Quit on Windows). Connectors load at startup.

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”Claude Code: claude mcp list doesn’t show lava”

local is the default scope, which means Lava is configured for the project you ran claude mcp add in. Switch to that project, or rerun the install command with --scope user to make Lava available across all your projects (see the Claude Code section above for the exact command).

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”First sign-in fails or hangs”

Clear cookies for lava.so in the browser Claude opened, then retry. If the issue persists, contact Lava support.

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Next Steps