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

# MCP server

> Use BackQuant's crypto options, GEX and flow data directly inside Claude, Cursor or any MCP client. OAuth sign-in or an API key, 19 tools, no code required.

BackQuant ships a remote **Model Context Protocol** server, so the same data
behind the v2 API is available conversationally inside your own AI client.

```
https://mcp.backquant.com/mcp
```

`https://api.backquant.com/mcp` is the same server if your client prefers the
API hostname.

There are two ways in. Clients that speak OAuth (Claude, Cursor, VS Code) need
nothing but your BackQuant login: sign in once, approve, done. Clients that only
send a static header (the OpenAI Responses API, LangChain, n8n, your own
scripts) use your existing API key as a bearer token. Either way your AI client
calls the tools on your behalf and reads the answers back to you.

<Note>
  The server carries **crypto only**. Equities are not exposed through the API or
  MCP for upstream licensing reasons.
</Note>

## What you need

An active subscription that includes API access. That means any of:

| Plan                                                | Includes MCP                    |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| Crypto API (`api_only_monthly` / `api_only_yearly`) | Yes                             |
| Terminal + API                                      | Yes                             |
| Terminal Yearly                                     | Yes, at starter limits          |
| Terminal Monthly                                    | No, this plan has no API access |

Your subscription must be **active**. A trial does not grant API access, so it
does not grant MCP either. If you connect without an eligible plan the server
tells you that during sign-in rather than failing later with a confusing tool
error.

## Connect with your login

For **Claude**, **Cursor**, **VS Code** and anything else that speaks OAuth.
If your client only sends a static header, skip to
[clients that do not do OAuth](#clients-that-do-not-do-oauth) instead.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add the server to your client">
    Point your MCP client at `https://mcp.backquant.com/mcp`.

    In **Claude** (Desktop or Web), add it under Settings, Connectors, Add custom
    connector. In **Cursor**, add it as a remote MCP server. Any client that speaks
    Streamable HTTP with OAuth will work the same way.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign in">
    Your client opens a BackQuant login page. Sign in with the account that holds
    your subscription and approve the connection.

    Clients that support **dynamic client registration** (RFC 7591) register
    themselves automatically, so there is nothing to configure by hand.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ask something">
    Try *"What are the BTC gamma levels right now?"* or *"Where did aggressors buy
    calls on ETH today?"* The client picks the right tool and calls it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Clients that do not do OAuth

Some clients never run the sign-in dance. They send one static header and
expect that to be the whole story: the **OpenAI Responses API**, **LangChain**,
**n8n**, and anything you write yourself.

For those, pass your BackQuant API key as a bearer token. It is the same key
you already create at [the API dashboard](https://backquant.com/api-dashboard),
not a separate MCP credential, and it carries the same plan and quota.

```bash theme={null}
curl https://mcp.backquant.com/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer bq_live_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}'
```

With the OpenAI Responses API, give the tool your MCP URL and put the same key
in `authorization`. OpenAI does not perform the OAuth exchange itself, so the
bearer path is the supported route there:

```json theme={null}
{
  "type": "mcp",
  "server_label": "backquant",
  "server_url": "https://mcp.backquant.com/mcp",
  "authorization": "bq_live_your_key_here"
}
```

<Note>
  Treat the key like any other secret. A bearer token is sent on every call, so
  prefer an environment variable over pasting it into a shared workflow, and
  rotate it from the dashboard if it is ever exposed.
</Note>

## Local clients that only speak stdio

Older MCP clients launch a local process and talk to it over stdin/stdout
rather than calling a URL. Bridge them with `mcp-remote`, which runs locally and
forwards to the server. It needs Node; there is nothing to install by hand,
`npx` fetches it on first run.

Add this to your client's MCP config (`claude_desktop_config.json` for Claude
Desktop, `.cursor/mcp.json` for Cursor):

```json theme={null}
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backquant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.backquant.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

That opens a browser once to sign in, then caches the token. To skip the
browser entirely, hand the bridge your API key instead:

```json theme={null}
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backquant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.backquant.com/mcp",
        "--header", "Authorization: Bearer bq_live_your_key_here"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

Restart the client after editing its config. If you already connect over a URL,
you do not need any of this.

## Tools

Nineteen tools, grouped by what you would ask for. Each returns a shaped,
compact answer rather than a raw dump, so a question costs a sensible number of
tokens.

**Positioning and levels**

| Tool                     | Answers                                                   |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| `get_gex_levels`         | Gamma flip (HVL), call wall, put support for a market     |
| `get_gex_strike_profile` | Dealer gamma broken down by strike                        |
| `get_greek`              | Dealer exposure for a single greek, in several cuts       |
| `get_max_pain`           | The strike where the most option value expires worthless  |
| `compare_symbols`        | Gamma levels for several assets side by side, in one call |

**Flow and tape**

| Tool                 | Answers                                                     |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| `get_tape`           | Individual prints and aggregates over them                  |
| `get_flow_by_strike` | Where aggressors actually bought and sold, strike by strike |
| `get_dealer_flow`    | Dealer hedging pressure over time, measured from the tape   |

**Volatility and pricing**

| Tool                | Answers                                                 |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| `get_iv`            | Implied volatility in whichever cut you need            |
| `get_expected_move` | The move the market is pricing for an expiry            |
| `get_probability`   | Market-implied odds of finishing above or below a price |
| `get_basis`         | The dated-futures curve, annualised basis by expiry     |

**Structure and history**

| Tool                 | Answers                                                |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `get_oi`             | Open interest by expiry or over time                   |
| `get_expiry_summary` | Every listed expiry with DTE, ATM IV and open interest |
| `get_opex`           | Upcoming expiries and how much OI rolls off at each    |
| `get_history`        | How a positioning metric has changed over time         |
| `get_liquidation`    | Where leveraged perp positions get liquidated          |

**Discovery**

| Tool            | Answers                                                 |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| `list_symbols`  | Which markets are covered and which have data right now |
| `list_expiries` | Valid expiry tokens to pass to the other tools          |

## Limits

MCP runs on the **same entitlements as the REST API**. There is no separate MCP
quota: a tool call is a request, counted against your plan's monthly allowance
and per-minute burst exactly like a REST call. See
[Rate limits](/concepts/rate-limits).

One question from a model often fires several tool calls in quick succession,
which is why the starter burst allowance is set well above one call per
question.

## How it relates to the AI panel

They are complements, not substitutes.

|                  | AI panel in the terminal      | MCP                   |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------- |
| Requires         | A terminal plan               | An API plan           |
| Runs             | In the BackQuant terminal     | In your own AI client |
| Data             | Everything the terminal shows | Crypto v2 data        |
| Sees your screen | Yes, it reads your panels     | No                    |

The panel gives depth inside our product. MCP puts our data inside your
workflow.

## Technical details

For anyone implementing a client rather than using one:

|                     |                                                                                       |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Transport           | Streamable HTTP                                                                       |
| Protocol revisions  | `2025-06-18` (preferred), `2025-03-26`                                                |
| Authorization       | OAuth 2.1, PKCE required (`S256`), or an API key as a bearer token                    |
| Grants              | `authorization_code`, `refresh_token`                                                 |
| Discovery           | `/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server` and `/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource` |
| Client registration | Dynamic, RFC 7591, at `/oauth/register`                                               |
| Issuer              | `https://api.backquant.com`                                                           |

Private-use redirect schemes (RFC 8252) are accepted, so desktop clients that
use a custom scheme rather than a loopback URL connect without special-casing.

<Note>
  Tokens are scoped to the BackQuant account that approved them. Revoking the
  connection in your AI client, or the subscription lapsing, stops access at the
  next call.
</Note>

## See also

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="What to ask it" href="/mcp-examples" icon="comments" />

  <Card title="Limits and errors" href="/mcp-limits" icon="triangle-exclamation" />
</CardGroup>