Self-hosted MCP server

Overview

The self-hosted Dovetail MCP server runs locally on your machine using the STDIO transport. Use this option when your MCP client only supports STDIO transport (e.g., Claude Desktop).

For clients that support remote HTTP connections (e.g., Cursor, Windsurf, Microsoft Copilot Studio), we recommend using the hosted endpoint instead — no local setup required.

Requirements

• Node.js 22 or higher (download Node)
• A Dovetail API token (see Authorization)
• An MCP-compatible client

Installation

Option 1: Download pre-built script

1. Download the latest index.js here
2. Head over to configuration to continue

Option 2: Setup from source

1. Clone the repository:

   Bash

   git clone https://github.com/dovetail/dovetail-mcp.git
   cd dovetail-mcp

2. Install dependencies:

   Bash

   yarn install

3. Build the project:

   Bash

   yarn build

4. Locate the dist/index.js filepath for the configuration step:

   Bash

   realpath dist/index.js

Configuration

Add the following to your MCP client configuration. If your client supports remote connections (e.g., Cursor), use the hosted endpoint instead.

Claude Desktop: See the MCP website for step by step instructions

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dovetail": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["<path-to-your-index-js-file>"],
      "env": {
        "DOVETAIL_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace <path-to-your-index-js-file> with the full path to the downloaded or built index.js file, and <YOUR_TOKEN> with your Dovetail API token.