Getting Started with Claude Desktop and ClaudeFinLab Finance MCP

What You Need

• Claude Desktop installed (download from claude.ai/download)
• A ClaudeFinLab API key (free — 100 calls/day, no credit card)
• A text editor (Notepad, VS Code, nano — any will do)

Step 1 — Get Your Free API Key

Click Get Free API Key on the ClaudeFinLab homepage. Enter your email and you'll receive the key immediately. Keep it handy for the next step.

Step 2 — Find Your Claude Desktop Config File

The config file location depends on your operating system:

OS	Path
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

If the file doesn't exist yet, create it. If it's empty, start with {}.

Step 3 — Add Your First MCP Server

Open the config file in a text editor and add (or merge) this block. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "claudefinlab-valuation": {
      "url": "https://claudefinancelab.com/valuation/sse",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    },
    "claudefinlab-accounting": {
      "url": "https://claudefinancelab.com/accounting/sse",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    },
    "claudefinlab-compliance": {
      "url": "https://claudefinancelab.com/compliance/sse",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

You can add as many servers as you like. If you already have other MCP servers in your config, merge the mcpServers keys — don't replace the whole file.

Step 4 — Restart Claude Desktop

Fully quit Claude Desktop (don't just close the window — use Quit from the menu or Cmd+Q / Alt+F4) and reopen it. Claude will load the new MCP servers on startup.

You'll see a small hammer icon (🔨) or tool indicator appear in the Claude interface when MCP servers are connected successfully.

Step 5 — Run Your First Finance Tool

Try any of these prompts to confirm everything is working:

• "Run a DCF model on a company with $50M revenue, 20% FCF margins, growing at 20% for 5 years, 10% WACC, 3% terminal growth, 10M shares outstanding."
• "Screen the name 'Global Trade Partners LLC' against OFAC sanctions lists."
• "Generate variance commentary for a P&L where revenue is $2.1M actual vs $2.4M budget, and COGS is $900K vs $1.1M budget."

Claude will call the relevant MCP tool and return structured financial output directly in the conversation.

Adding More Servers

ClaudeFinLab has 10 MCP servers covering different finance domains. Add as many as you need by extending the mcpServers block:

Server	URL path	Best for
Valuation	/valuation/sse	DCF, LBO, M&A, comps
Accounting	/accounting/sse	Variance analysis, forecasting, close
Compliance	/compliance/sse	OFAC screening, SOX, vendor fraud
Portfolio Risk	/portfolio/sse	VaR, factor models, stress testing
SEC EDGAR	/edgar/sse	10-K/10-Q filings, insider trades
Market Data	/market/sse	Options pricing, volatility, rates
Crypto	/crypto/sse	DeFi arbitrage, on-chain data
Startup	/startup/sse	Unit economics, runway, cap table
Real Estate	/realestate/sse	CRE underwriting, joint ventures
Quant Advanced	/quantadvanced/sse	ML strategies, HFT signals, alt data

Troubleshooting

Claude doesn't show the tool indicator

Make sure you fully quit and restarted Claude Desktop (not just closed and reopened the window). Check the config file is valid JSON — paste it into jsonlint.com to validate.

Tool calls return an error

Check your API key is correct (no extra spaces). Verify the server URL is exactly as shown — no trailing slashes. If you've exceeded your daily limit (100 calls/day on free tier), you'll receive a 429 response — it resets at midnight UTC.

Config file doesn't exist

Create it manually at the path for your OS (see table above). Make sure it contains valid JSON — at minimum {"mcpServers": {}}.