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Introduction to MCP

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open protocol that enables AI assistants to call external tools to obtain contextual information. Linkly AI Desktop has a built-in MCP service that starts automatically upon installation — no additional configuration required. You only need to add Linkly AI’s MCP endpoint to your AI assistant, and the AI can directly search, browse, and read your local documents.

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Three Access Modes

Linkly AI provides three MCP access modes for different scenarios:

Local Access

Use directly in local AI tools on your machine — no extra configuration needed. Suitable for Claude Code, Cursor, and other local applications.Endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:60606/mcp

LAN Access

Other devices on the same network can also connect. Requires enabling LAN access and using an access token.Endpoint: http://{LAN IP}:60606/mcp

Remote Access (Public)

Remotely access over the public internet via a tunnel. Suitable for online AI applications like ChatGPT and Claude.ai.Endpoint: https://mcp.linkly.ai/mcp
This page covers configuration for local access and LAN access. For remote access (public internet), see the Remote Access Guide.

HTTP MCP (Recommended)

Most AI assistants support the HTTP transport protocol. Connect directly to Linkly AI’s MCP endpoint without installing the CLI

Stdio MCP

Some AI assistants only support the stdio transport protocol and require Linkly AI CLI as a bridge
If you’re not sure which method to choose, go with HTTP MCP. You only need the Stdio method when your AI assistant explicitly does not support HTTP transport.

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Prerequisites

1

Install and launch Linkly AI Desktop

Go to linkly.ai to download and install the desktop application. After the first launch, complete the initialization wizard, and the app will automatically begin indexing your documents.
2

Confirm MCP service is running

Linkly AI Desktop automatically runs the MCP service upon startup. You can check the MCP service status and port number in the app settings.Default MCP endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:60606/mcp
If you choose the Stdio MCP method, you also need to install Linkly AI CLI.

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Usage

For AI assistants that support HTTP/StreamableHTTP transport protocol. No CLI installation needed — connect directly.
Run in your terminal:
claude mcp add --transport http linkly-ai http://127.0.0.1:60606/mcp
60606 is the default port number for Linkly AI’s MCP service. If you cannot connect, check the actual port number in the app settings.

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Stdio MCP

For AI assistants that support the stdio transport protocol. You need to install Linkly AI CLI first, then configure linkly mcp as the stdio bridge command in your AI assistant.
Run in your terminal:
claude mcp add linkly-ai -- linkly mcp

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LAN Access

If you need to access Linkly AI from another device on the same network (such as another computer or n8n running on a NAS), you can enable LAN access mode.
1

Enable LAN access

In Linkly AI Desktop, go to Settings → MCP, find the “LAN Access” section, and toggle it on.
2

Get the LAN URL and access token

Once enabled, the interface will display:
  • LAN URL: similar to http://192.168.x.x:60606/mcp
  • Access Token: a random string
Copy both pieces of information to the device you want to connect from.
3

Configure on other devices

When adding an MCP server in the AI tool on the other device, use the LAN URL as the endpoint and include the access token in the request header:
Authorization: Bearer <your access token>
If you are using Linkly AI CLI, you can connect like this:
linkly search "keyword" --endpoint http://192.168.x.x:60606/mcp --token <your access token>
LAN access uses plaintext HTTP transmission and is only recommended on trusted networks such as your home network. Do not enable this feature on public Wi-Fi or untrusted network environments.

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Verify Integration

After configuration, you can send the following prompt in your AI assistant to verify:

Search my documents for content about XX

If the integration is successful, the AI assistant will call Linkly AI’s search tool and return relevant results from your local documents.

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Use with Skills

We strongly recommend installing Linkly AI Skills alongside MCP configuration. Skills teach the AI assistant how to efficiently use Linkly AI’s tools, including when to search, when to browse outlines, when to read full text, and how to handle paginated reading of long documents.

Please install the Agent Skill linkly-ai-skills and complete the LinklyAI tool integration...

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Parameter Reference

The MCP service exposes three tools: search (retrieval), outline (outline), and read (read), forming a progressive document access workflow. Please refer to the tool documentation: Linkly AI MCP Tools Introduction