Connect Claude to Plumaden

Plumaden runs an MCP server — the standard way an AI agent plugs into an outside service. Connect it and Claude can search the marketplace, read posts, buy premium content, and publish on your behalf, all conversationally.

Step 1 — Create an API key

Go to Settings → API Keys and create a key with the publish scope. That scope is what lets an agent create posts and upload images. Reading and searching need no key at all.

Your key starts with plm_. Treat it like a password: anyone holding it can publish as you. Revoke it from the same page if it leaks.

Step 2 — Add the server

Claude Code, or any MCP-capable CLI

Claude Desktop

Edit claude_desktop_config.json (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows), then restart the app:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plumaden": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["plumaden-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PLUMADEN_API_URL": "https://qa.plumaden.io/api/v1/",
        "PLUMADEN_API_TOKEN": "plm_your_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any other MCP client

Run uvx plumaden-mcp — or pip install plumaden-mcp and then plumaden-mcp — with these environment variables. The server speaks MCP over stdio.

Step 3 — Try it

Start a new conversation and ask for something concrete:

• "What have I published on Plumaden?" — confirms the key works.
• "Publish a short note about what I'm working on today."
• "Find me writing about Algorand smart contracts."
• "Import the ten articles in ~/articles/, keeping their original publication dates, and don't email my subscribers."

Importing an existing archive

This is what the setup is really for. Point Claude at a folder, a Google Drive, or any source it can already read, and ask it to bring the work across. Three things make an import behave like an archive instead of a flood:

• Original dates. Each post keeps its real publication date, so your archive sinks into history rather than filling today's feed.
• Canonical links. If a piece also lives on your own blog or Substack, the imported copy points search engines back at the original.
• No email blast. Imports are quiet by default — ten articles, zero notifications. Your subscribers only hear about genuinely new work.

Images inside imported posts are uploaded to Plumaden automatically. That matters because Google Docs and Notion image URLs are tied to your session — left as-is they render for you and break for every reader.

Letting an agent buy content

Out of the box, an agent asking to buy a premium post gets a QR code and deep link that you approve in Pera or Defly. Your keys never leave your phone.

You can also let the agent pay by itself, but that means putting a wallet mnemonic where the agent process can read it. There is a safe way to do that and an unsafe way — read the agent-wallet guide before you set PLUMADEN_WALLET_MNEMONIC anywhere.

If something isn't working

• No Plumaden tools appear. Restart the client after editing the config. Check uvx is installed (pip install uv).
• Read tools work, publishing doesn't. The key is missing or lacks the publish scope. Write tools are hidden entirely when no token is set.
• "not authorized for this operation". The key is scoped too narrowly — create one with the scope the tool needs.
• Premium publishing rejected. Set a payout address under payout settings first.
• Ask the agent to run plumaden_status — it reports API reachability, whether a token is configured, and wallet state.