Connect Hive MCP

Connect Hive MCP in one supported client and verify one live crypto answer. Start with an API key, add the remote MCP server, make one provider-backed tool call, inspect discovery, and choose the right surface for your app or agent.

Get an API key -> Open client setup View live catalog

Connection sequence

After these steps, Hive is connected in one client, live data calls work, and the tool-discovery loop is visible before you move into deeper references.

1. Create your key

Create or select a Hive API key at /dashboard/keys. Every plan can access the full tool catalog; your plan controls monthly credits and rate limits.

Use this header in new integrations:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_HIVE_API_KEY

The legacy x-api-key header is still accepted, but new docs and examples use Bearer auth.

2. Connect one AI client

Use the client you already work in. Switching clients just to try Hive adds avoidable setup work.

Every client guide uses the same managed remote MCP server:

For all supported client setup examples on one page, use Client Setup.

3. Verify one live tool call

After the client is connected, start a fresh session and ask:

"Use Hive tools to get the current price of Bitcoin and Ethereum in USD."

You are ready to continue when the answer includes a visible Hive tool call and live provider-backed data. If the client does not show a tool call, reload the client, re-check the API key, and confirm the MCP server is enabled.

If you are building a backend or want a client-independent smoke test, run the same first call over REST:

curl -X POST https://mcp.hiveintelligence.xyz/api/v1/execute \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_HIVE_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "tool": "get_price",
    "args": {
      "ids": "bitcoin,ethereum",
      "vs_currencies": "usd"
    }
  }'

For the REST smoke test, you are ready to continue when:

• ok is true.
• The response includes current price data.
• meta includes provider, runtime status, and fetched_at.
• 401 errors are resolved by fixing the key.
• 429 errors are handled by waiting for the Retry-After window or checking usage in the dashboard.
• Tool-name errors are resolved through Live Catalog or authenticated GET /api/v1/tools.

4. Verify tool discovery

Hive's root MCP endpoint intentionally keeps tools/list compact. General-purpose agents should discover task tools, inspect schemas, then execute.

For REST discovery:

curl -X GET "https://mcp.hiveintelligence.xyz/api/v1/tools?search=wallet%20risk&limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_HIVE_API_KEY"

For root MCP workflows, the expected loop is:

1. Call search_tools or read hive://toolsets.
2. Call get_api_endpoint_schema for the exact tool.
3. Call invoke_api_endpoint with schema-valid args.
4. Report provider, freshness, runtime status, and any degraded state.

Use category-scoped MCP endpoints only when you intentionally want a smaller direct tool list for one domain such as market data, wallet analysis, security, or prediction markets.

5. Pick the production surface

Before production rollout, assign one owner for each component: key storage, execution surface, tool discovery, error handling, rate-limit handling, and user-visible provenance.

Production readiness

Before shipping:

• Store Hive keys in a secret manager or environment variable, never in client-side code.
• Verify the official MCP endpoint before approving a client connection: https://mcp.hiveintelligence.xyz/mcp. Do not approve a look-alike MCP URL or marketplace entry that points somewhere else.
• Decide whether your app will call root MCP, category MCP, REST, or the TypeScript adapter.
• Use client tool-call approval or review prompts where your MCP client supports them.
• Use live discovery before hard-coding tool names.
• Show fetched_at, source/provider, and runtime status when answering users.
• Handle 401, 429, provider unavailability, and degraded runtime status without hiding failures.
• Keep outputs bounded with limit, cursor, page, per_page, or equivalent arguments.
• Use token security and risk tools before any workflow that could lead a user to sign or swap.
• Review MCP Security before enabling stateful tools, B2B subject writes, or downstream actions.

Next steps

• Quick Start - fuller examples for REST, MCP, category MCP, and CLI
• Install Hive - all supported AI clients
• Agent Resources - MCP, Skills, CLI, REST, adapters, and machine-readable docs
• Live Catalog - discovery surfaces and current catalog shape
• Errors - retry and failure handling