Claude Desktop: add Sume's hosted MCP as a custom connector

To add Sume's hosted MCP server to Claude Desktop, open Customize > Connectors, choose + Add, then Add custom connector, and paste https://mcp.sume.com/mcp. Remote servers do not go in claude_desktop_config.json: Anthropic's help article says remote connectors are brokered through your Claude account, while that file holds local servers that run on your machine.

Anthropic's side comes from Get started with custom connectors using remote MCP and the MCP project's Connect to remote MCP servers, both read on 2026-10-02. Sume's side comes from the MCP quickstart and OAuth and API keys.

What are the exact steps in Claude Desktop?

The help article lists the Pro and Max path. The MCP project's guide adds that on desktop the settings shortcut is Ctrl+Comma, and that Connectors is in the settings sidebar. Anthropic renames menus now and then, so if a label differs, look for the Add custom connector entry.

• Open Customize > Connectors and click + Add, then Add custom connector.
• Enter a name such as Sume, then the server URL https://mcp.sume.com/mcp, and click Continue.
• Review the authentication settings. For OAuth, leave the default client option unless you have a reason to change it.
• Click Add, then complete the sign-in on the MCP host page that opens.
• In a new chat, ask Claude to call mcp_health and then tools_list.

What happens during sign-in?

Sume's server answers an unauthenticated request with an OAuth challenge and protected-resource metadata. Claude then sends you to https://mcp.sume.com/oauth/authorize, which continues to the consent page on the MCP host, not to app.sume.com. The consent page shows Permissions: Read is locked on, and Write is off by default.

Leave Write off for a first run. With mcp:read only, Claude sees read-only tools such as jobs_list, catalog_list and crawl_scrape. Paid and mutating tools such as generate_image are hidden, and a call to one returns insufficient_scope. Turn Write on when you want Claude to submit paid generations. There is no separate paid scope; spend is gated by your wallet and by idempotency_key on every paid call.

Can Claude Desktop reach Sume at all?

Anthropic's article says a remote server must be reachable over the public internet from Anthropic's IP ranges, and that servers behind a VPN or firewall will not connect. mcp.sume.com is the public production endpoint, so Sume is not a private-network case. What matters is that the URL you paste is the production one: Sume's docs say customer configs should use mcp.sume.com, and the development host is for Sume's own environments.

How do I check it worked?

Ask Claude to call mcp_health first. Sume documents it as the call that confirms the endpoint, the auth source and the safety posture; on an OAuth session authenticated.auth_source reads mcp_oauth. Then call tools_list to see exactly which tools this session can use, and tools_schema with a tool name for one contract.

Before any paid call, ask for dry_run=true or generation_admission_preview, and set max_spend_usd if you want a cap. A wait on a long video job returns within 55 seconds and can be repeated, so a slow render does not need a long client timeout; the jobs and results page has the rules.

What does this not do?

The connector gives Claude the tools Sume lists in tools_list. It does not cover Sume Image 1.0 and Video 1.0, which stay on the REST API, and hosted MCP is not full parity with the HTTP API. Claude cannot read files from your laptop through Sume either: uploads go create-upload-URL, your client PUTs the bytes, then assets_complete. If you prefer a key over OAuth, the connector dialog has a request-headers field; see Claude Desktop connector sign-in options.