MCP SERVER

What it is

@vendbro/mcp-server is a Model Context Protocol server that connects an AI assistant to your VendBro account. Drop it into Claude Desktop, Cursor, Zed, or any other MCP-capable client and the assistant gets tools to scan cards, look up prices, read your scan history, and manage inventory and sessions — all running as you, scoped by an API key you control.

It's published to npm, so there's nothing to clone or build. Your MCP client fetches the package at startup. The package is Apache-2.0 licensed.

Install

Add this to your MCP client's config. Nothing to install up front — npx fetches the package the first time the client starts the server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vendbro": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@vendbro/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "VENDBRO_API_KEY": "vb_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows), paste the snippet above, and restart Claude Desktop. The tools appear under the hammer icon.

Cursor / Zed / other clients

Any MCP client that spawns a stdio subprocess works — same config shape. Drop it into the client's MCP settings block. Some clients want an absolute path in command; if so, use the full path to your npx.

Get an API key

Sign in at app.vendbro.com, open your profile → API Keys → Create key. The full vb_live_… token is shown once — copy it into the VENDBRO_API_KEY env block above.

Keys carry a list of scopes. The Create button picks a sensible default set; scope down for a narrower integration (a read-only analytics bot, say). Available scopes:

The 15 tools

Organized by workflow. The scope each tool needs is on the right.

Optional config

VENDBRO_API_BASE overrides the API root. Defaults to https://api.vendbro.com/api. Point it at a local backend for development.

Troubleshooting

"VENDBRO_API_KEY not set" — the env var didn't reach the subprocess. Check the env block in your client config; some clients need an absolute path in command.

API error 401 on a specific tool — the key is valid but doesn't carry that tool's scope. Revoke it on the API Keys page and create a new one with the right scopes (revokes propagate in ~60s).

API error 429 on vendbro_recognize_card — the daily scan quota is used up. Free tier gets a modest daily limit; Pro is unlimited.

Ideas to build

• A Discord bot that posts each scan to a trade channel.
• A "what's my collection worth?" Slack slash command.
• An auto-lister that pushes everything tagged ready in a binder to a marketplace.
• A price-history dashboard pulling a user's last 500 scans.