IDE Setup

Configure the Greptile MCP server in your IDE to access code review tools and custom context.

Prerequisite: Get your API key from app.greptile.com/settings/api

Setup by IDE

Claude Code (CLI)
Cursor
Claude Desktop
VS Code

Add Greptile MCP Server

Run the following command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http greptile https://api.greptile.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_GREPTILE_API_KEY"

Replace YOUR_GREPTILE_API_KEY with your actual API key.

Verify Installation

Check that the server was added:

claude mcp list

You should see:

greptile: https://api.greptile.com/mcp (HTTP) - ✓ Connected

Start Using

Open Claude Code. The Greptile MCP tools are now available automatically.

Project-Level Configuration

For team-shared configuration, create a .mcp.json file in your project root:

{
  "servers": {
    "greptile": {
      "transport": "http",
      "url": "https://api.greptile.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${GREPTILE_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then set the environment variable:

export GREPTILE_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

Open Settings

Click the ⚙️ icon or press Ctrl + Shift + J (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + J (macOS).

Go to Tools & MCP

Click Tools & MCP in the left sidebar.

Add Custom MCP

Click Add Custom MCP.

Configure mcp.json

Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "greptile": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.greptile.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_GREPTILE_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_GREPTILE_API_KEY with your actual API key. Save the file.

Verify Connection

Return to Tools & MCP. You should see Greptile with all 11 tools enabled.

Claude Desktop is a standalone application (separate from Claude Code CLI).

Get Greptile API Key

Go to app.greptile.com/settings/api and create an API key.

Get GitHub Token

Generate a GitHub personal access token:

Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer settings

Click Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic)

Click Generate new token (classic)

Set name, expiration, and required scopes, then click Generate token

Copy the token immediately (you won’t see it again)

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Launch Claude Desktop → File → Settings → Developer tab → Edit Config

Edit Configuration

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "greptile": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["greptile-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GREPTILE_API_KEY": "your_greptile_api_key_here",
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "your_github_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace the placeholder values with your actual keys. Save and close.

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and relaunch Claude Desktop.

Verify Installation

Return to Developer tab. You should see greptile listed as a running MCP server.

Open a new chat and click the hammer icon to see available Greptile tools.

Open Command Palette

Press Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + P (macOS).

Add MCP Server

Type MCP and select MCP: Add Server.

Select HTTP Type

Choose HTTP (HTTP or Server-Sent-Events).

Enter URL

Enter: https://api.greptile.com/mcp

Select Scope

Choose Global or Workspace.

Add Authorization Header

An mcp.json file will be created. Add the Authorization header:

{
  "servers": {
    "greptile": {
      "url": "https://api.greptile.com/mcp",
      "type": "http",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_GREPTILE_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_GREPTILE_API_KEY with your actual API key.

Verify Installation

Run MCP: List Servers from Command Palette. You should see Greptile with status Running.

Verify Connection

Test your setup with curl:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_GREPTILE_API_KEY" https://api.greptile.com/mcp

Expected response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": null,
  "result": {
    "protocolVersion": "2025-03-26",
    "capabilities": {"tools": {}},
    "serverInfo": {"name": "Greptile MCP Server", "version": "1.0.0"}
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Server shows as disconnected

Check:

API key is correct and hasn’t expired
URL is exactly https://api.greptile.com/mcp
Authorization header format: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY (with Bearer prefix)

Fix: Restart your IDE after making configuration changes.

Authentication failed

Verify:

API key was copied without extra spaces
Your account has access to the repositories you’re querying
API key hasn’t been revoked

Test: Use the curl command above to verify your API key works.

No tools available

Solutions:

Restart your IDE completely
Check server shows “Connected” or “Running” status
Verify MCP is enabled in IDE settings

Tools return empty results

Check:

You have repositories indexed with Greptile
Your API key has access to those repositories
There are actual Greptile comments on your PRs

Claude Desktop: GitHub token validation failed

Check:

Token hasn’t expired
Token was copied without extra spaces or missing characters
Token has required scopes for the repositories you’re accessing

Fix: Generate a new token at github.com/settings/tokens

Claude Desktop: Failed to start server

Check:

Both GREPTILE_API_KEY and GITHUB_TOKEN are set in the config
The greptile-mcp-server package can be accessed via npx

Fix: Verify your config file syntax is valid JSON

Configuration File Locations

IDE	Config File
Claude Code	`~/.mcp.json` or project `.mcp.json`
Claude Desktop	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` (macOS)
Cursor	Set via UI (Settings → Tools & MCP)
VS Code	`~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json` (Linux) `~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/mcp.json` (macOS)

Getting Started

Code Review

Self-Hosting

Account

API Reference

How Greptile Works

Setup by IDE

Project-Level Configuration

Verify Connection

Troubleshooting

Configuration File Locations

Next Steps

Auto-Fix Workflow

Tools Reference

Getting Started

Code Review

Self-Hosting

Account

API Reference

How Greptile Works

​Setup by IDE

​Project-Level Configuration

​Verify Connection

​Troubleshooting

​Configuration File Locations

​Next Steps

Auto-Fix Workflow

Tools Reference

Setup by IDE

Project-Level Configuration

Verify Connection

Troubleshooting

Configuration File Locations

Next Steps