creatordb-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol server that exposes the CreatorDB V3 API to any MCP-compatible client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.).

43 tools across six surfaces:

• Creator-side data — profile, performance, audience demographics, contact, content-detail, performance history for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok
• Creator search — natural-language search across all three platforms, plus structured filter search per platform (country, language, follower thresholds, niches, hashtags, audience demographics, etc.)
• Brand-side / sponsor intelligence (YouTube + Instagram only — TikTok brand data is not indexed) — search CreatorDB's 10K+ indexed brands, pull a brand's full profile, list every creator a brand has sponsored, get aggregated audience demographics across a brand's sponsored creator pool, and cross-platform spend / CPM / CPE rollups. The heavier sponsor reads (get_sponsor_creators, get_sponsor_performance, get_sponsor_audience, get_sponsor_summary) cost 15 credits each — use deliberately. get_sponsor_information is 2, search_sponsors 2, list_sponsors 1.
• Content search — find individual TikTok videos by content-level filters (publish time window, view/like thresholds, hashtags, language, etc.). Different from creator search — this returns posts, not channels. (YouTube and Instagram content search are temporarily unavailable while their search is optimized for lower credit consumption; TikTok remains.)
• Topic + niche taxonomies — paged, searchable catalogs (~470 YT topics, ~16K YT niches, ~40K each on IG/TT) for resolving the per-creator topic/niche IDs returned in profile responses. Pass search to resolve a phrase to entry names rather than paging.
• Account — credit usage broken down by endpoint and platform.

Every tool returns the underlying V3 JSON plus a Credits used: N | Remaining: M footer line, so the AI knows exactly what it's spending.

Working with Claude Code? Open this README in Claude Code (or paste the URL into a Claude session) and say "set up this MCP for me." The steps below are written so an AI assistant can follow them top to bottom.

Quick start

There are two ways to connect, depending on your client:

• Local clients (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor) run the server as a subprocess via npx — see Install (local / stdio).
• Web / desktop / mobile clients connect to the hosted endpoint, or add CreatorDB straight from Claude's connector directory — see Remote connector.

Both expose the same 43 tools. Both need a CreatorDB V3 API key.

1. Prerequisites
   • For the local route: Node.js 22 or newer (node -v to check)
   • A CreatorDB V3 API key — get one from https://creatordb.app account settings, or ask your team admin
2. Pick a connection method below
3. Restart your MCP client so it picks up the new tools
4. Verify by running /mcp in Claude Code — creatordb should appear with status connected

Install (local / stdio)

For Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Cursor. The server reads one environment variable: CREATORDB_API_KEY (your V3 key).

Method A — npx from npm (recommended)

The package is published to npm as @creatordbai/mcp-server. No local clone, no SSH key, no GitHub access required:

Claude Code:

claude mcp add creatordb -s user \
  -e CREATORDB_API_KEY=YOUR_CREATORDB_API_KEY \
  -- npx -y @creatordbai/mcp-server

Claude Desktop — edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "creatordb": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@creatordbai/mcp-server"],
      "env": { "CREATORDB_API_KEY": "YOUR_CREATORDB_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

If you have GitHub org access and want to track main instead of the npm release, swap the npm name for git+ssh://git@github.com/CreatorDB/creatordb-mcp-server.git — the repo's prepare script will build on install.

Method B — clone and build locally

Good if you want to read/modify the source, or if npx from git doesn't work in your environment.

git clone https://github.com/CreatorDB/creatordb-mcp-server.git
cd creatordb-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

# Then register with Claude Code:
claude mcp add creatordb -s user \
  -e CREATORDB_API_KEY=YOUR_CREATORDB_API_KEY \
  -- node "$(pwd)/dist/index.js"

For Claude Desktop, use the same JSON as Method A but swap command + args:

"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/creatordb-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],

Method C — project-scoped via .mcp.json (best for teams)

Drop a .mcp.json into a CreatorDB project repo. Anyone who opens that repo in Claude Code gets prompted to enable the MCP — no per-person setup commands.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "creatordb": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "git+ssh://git@github.com/CreatorDB/creatordb-mcp-server.git"],
      "env": { "CREATORDB_API_KEY": "${CREATORDB_API_KEY}" }
    }
  }
}

${CREATORDB_API_KEY} reads from the user's shell environment, so the key stays out of git. Each teammate sets it once in their .zshrc/.bash_profile:

export CREATORDB_API_KEY=YOUR_CREATORDB_API_KEY

Remote connector (Claude web, desktop, mobile)

Claude clients that can't spawn a local subprocess connect to the hosted endpoint instead of running npx. There are two ways in.

From the connector directory (easiest). CreatorDB is listed in Claude's connector directory. In Claude: Settings → Connectors → Add → Browse connectors, search CreatorDB, open CreatorDB MCP, and click Connect to Claude.

Add it manually. You can also add it directly: Settings → Connectors → Add → Add custom connector, and enter the URL:

https://mcp.creatordb.app/mcp

Leave the Advanced OAuth Client ID / Secret fields empty — the server registers the client automatically.

Either way, you'll be prompted to enter your CreatorDB API key when you connect, and the same 43 tools appear.

Notes:

• You'll be prompted to enter your key when you connect; the connector seals it into an encrypted session token and keeps no separate copy. CreatorDB stores the key only as the credential it issued you.
• Programmatic clients calling the endpoint directly can instead send Authorization: Bearer <your CreatorDB V3 API key>.
• Health check: https://mcp.creatordb.app/health (no auth, 0 credits) — returns {"status":"ok",...} when the service is up.
• Hosted as a Firebase Cloud Function (gen 2) in asia-northeast1; source is in functions/.
• Don't have a key? Get one at https://app.creatordb.app or email hello@creatordb.app.

Changing your API key

You don't update a key inside the MCP server — it doesn't store keys. You change it in your client's MCP configuration and restart.

Local install (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor)

Edit the same config file you used during setup:

• Claude Desktop: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows)
• Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or the in-app MCP settings UI)
• Claude Code: ~/.mcp.json or your project's .mcp.json

Change the CREATORDB_API_KEY value, then fully restart the client (⌘Q + reopen for Claude Desktop, restart the Cursor app, etc.). MCP clients only read the key at process startup.

If you set the key from your shell environment (Method C above, with ${CREATORDB_API_KEY} syntax), update ~/.zshrc / ~/.bash_profile and restart your terminal before restarting the client.

Remote connector (Claude web, desktop, mobile)

In Settings → Connectors → CreatorDB, disconnect and reconnect, then enter the new key when prompted. (A programmatic client sending a Bearer token just starts sending the new key.)

One thing to know about rotating a leaked key

Changing the key on the client side only swaps which key your tools authenticate with. It does NOT invalidate the previous key. If you're rotating because the old key was exposed:

1. Go to your CreatorDB account and revoke the old key there — that's what actually kills it at the V3 API layer.
2. Then update the MCP client to use the new key as above.

The MCP server never persists your key past a single request, so there's no server-side "stored key" to purge.

Verify it works

After install, restart Claude Code (or your MCP client) and:

1. Run /mcp — you should see creatordb listed with status connected
2. Ask Claude something that uses the tools, e.g. "use creatordb to look up the YouTube profile for MrBeast (channelId UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA)"
3. The response should include creator data and a Credits used: 2 | Remaining: … footer

Troubleshooting