> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rime.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connecting

> Connect Claude Code, Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, OpenAI Codex, or any MCP-compatible client to Rime's hosted MCP server.

The connector URL is `https://mcp.rime.ai`. The server speaks stateless Streamable HTTP, and both the root URL and `https://mcp.rime.ai/mcp` serve the MCP endpoint — use whichever your client expects.

You can connect without any credentials to browse the voice catalog and generate integration code; add your API key to unlock synthesis and the linguistics tools. See [Authentication](/mcp-reference/authentication).

## Claude Code

```bash theme={null}
claude mcp add --transport http rime https://mcp.rime.ai \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $RIME_API_KEY"
```

Omit the `--header` flag to connect without a key.

## Claude.ai and Claude Desktop

Add `https://mcp.rime.ai` as a custom connector: **Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector**.

## OpenAI Codex

```bash theme={null}
codex mcp add rime --url https://mcp.rime.ai \
  --bearer-token-env-var RIME_API_KEY
```

Or add the server to `~/.codex/config.toml` directly — the Codex IDE extension reads the same file:

```toml theme={null}
[mcp_servers.rime]
url = "https://mcp.rime.ai"
bearer_token_env_var = "RIME_API_KEY"
```

Codex reads the key from the `RIME_API_KEY` environment variable rather than storing it in the config. Omit `--bearer-token-env-var` (or the `bearer_token_env_var` line) to connect without a key.

## Other MCP clients

For clients that use a JSON configuration (Cursor, Windsurf, and others):

```json theme={null}
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rime": {
      "url": "https://mcp.rime.ai",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_RIME_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Verify the connection

Ask your assistant to list Rime's voices, or call `list_voices` directly — it needs no API key, so it confirms connectivity regardless of how you authenticated.