Claude
- In Claude, open Settings > Connectors and choose Add custom connector.
- Paste the server URL and add it.
- Choose Connect, sign in to Ads Lighthouse and approve access for your account.
Developers
Ads Lighthouse MCP server
Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI or Claude Code to your Ads Lighthouse data and ask about the ads on your brand searches in plain language. Included in every plan.
https://adslighthouse.com/api/v1/mcpStreamable HTTP. Sign in with your Ads Lighthouse account (OAuth 2.1 with PKCE). On Scale and above you can also send an API key as a bearer token.
The MCP server is included in every plan, including trials.
What it is
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets AI assistants call tools. Our hosted server gives an assistant the same data as the API: projects, keywords, saved checks with their ads, advertisers, affiliate findings, alerts and usage.
Try questions such as: Who advertised on our brand terms in the US last week? Which advertisers use our affiliate IDs? Did anything change on mobile since Monday?
Connect your assistant
ChatGPT
- In ChatGPT, turn on developer mode in Settings > Apps & Connectors > Advanced settings.
- Create a connector with the server URL and choose OAuth as the authentication.
- Sign in to Ads Lighthouse and approve access. Menu names can change; follow ChatGPT's help if they differ.
Claude Code
- Add the server from your terminal, then run /mcp in Claude Code and choose Authenticate.
claude mcp add --transport http ads-lighthouse https://adslighthouse.com/api/v1/mcpVS Code and GitHub Copilot
- Add the server to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace, or to your user configuration.
- Start it from the file and sign in when VS Code asks.
{
"servers": {
"ads-lighthouse": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://adslighthouse.com/api/v1/mcp"
}
}
}Gemini CLI
- Add the server to ~/.gemini/settings.json, then run /mcp auth ads-lighthouse to sign in.
{
"mcpServers": {
"ads-lighthouse": {
"httpUrl": "https://adslighthouse.com/api/v1/mcp"
}
}
}Cursor
- Add the server to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or to .cursor/mcp.json in a project.
- In Cursor's MCP settings, choose Connect next to ads-lighthouse, sign in to Ads Lighthouse and approve access for your account. This works on every plan.
{
"mcpServers": {
"ads-lighthouse": {
"url": "https://adslighthouse.com/api/v1/mcp"
}
}
}Use an API key instead of signing in
On Scale plans and above, any client that can send headers can use an API key instead: send Authorization: Bearer als_your_key with every request. A key acts for the whole account; create a read-only key unless the assistant needs to make changes. On other plans, connect by signing in.
Tools
Every tool that takes project_id accepts the project id, the brand domain or the exact project or brand name. Tools that change data need write access, and the assistant should ask you before using them.
| Tool | What it does | Access |
|---|---|---|
get_account | Plan, monthly allowances, usage and rate limit | Read |
list_projects | Projects in the account | Read |
get_project_details | One project's configuration and data coverage | Read |
create_project | Create a project and start its first checks | Write, uses checks |
list_keywords | Monitored keywords with saved checks and ads in a window | Read |
add_keywords | Add keywords to a project | Write |
remove_keyword | Stop monitoring one keyword | Write |
list_observations | Saved checks with the paid ads they found | Read |
list_advertisers | Advertiser domains with visibility and signals | Read |
list_affiliate_findings | Your affiliate IDs seen behind ads that use your brand | Read |
list_alert_events | Alerts fired for the account | Read |
run_realtime_check | Start an on-demand check of a project's keywords | Write, uses checks |
get_check_status | Progress of an on-demand check | Read |
Security
- You choose the account and whether the assistant may make changes when you approve the connection. Disconnect any app in Settings > API and MCP.
- Access tokens expire after one hour and refresh tokens rotate on every use. A reused refresh token ends the connection.
- The assistant acts as you: if you leave the account, or the account no longer has an active plan or trial, its access ends too.
- Creating a project and starting an on-demand check use your plan's allowance and need an idempotency key, so a retried call never runs the checks twice.
- Assistants can misread data. Check important findings in the app, where each observation shows its full context.
Start with the searches that matter to your brand.
Create a free account, then start a 7-day trial with a reminder email before the first charge. Cancel anytime before the trial ends from Settings > Billing.