Claude Desktop

Connect Claude Desktop to the Lightcast MCP server to access real-time Lightcast labor market intelligence and structured data directly within Claude.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• A Lightcast account with access to the MCP server
• Claude Desktop version 3.0 installed
• Your Lightcast MCP endpoint URL: https://mcp.ai.api.lightcast.io

If this is your first time connecting, you'll be prompted to authenticate using the Interactive lightcast-ai authentication pop-up browser.

Connect Claude Desktop

Follow these steps to connect Claude Desktop to the Lightcast MCP server.

1. Open Claude Desktop

   Launch the Claude Desktop application.

   

2. Open the Connector Settings

   Navigate to Customize → Connectors

   
   

3. Add a Custom Connector

   Click Add, then select Add Custom Connector.

   

4. Configure the MCP Connector

   Enter the following information and click Add to save the connector.

   

   Field	Value
   Name	Lightcast MCP
   URL	https://mcp.ai.api.lightcast.io​

5. Authenticate

   Click Connect to begin authentication.

   A browser window will open, prompting you to sign in with your Lightcast account. Complete the authentication flow to authorize Claude Desktop.

   

6. Verify the Connection

   After authentication completes successfully, Claude Desktop displays the connector as connected.

   

   You can also verify the connection status from the Connectors tab.