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

# Add a client

> Connect any MCP-capable agent to Merv by hand, and what it takes to become a first-class adapter.

## Any MCP client, by hand

Merv is a plain HTTP MCP server. Register it the way your client registers any remote server:

* **URL**: `https://experiments.rapidreview.io/mcp` (or your self-hosted brain's `/mcp`)
* **Auth**: if the client implements MCP OAuth discovery (RFC 9728/8414), dynamic client registration, PKCE, and refresh, leave headers empty and let the 401 start the browser flow. Otherwise create a project key at [rapidreview.io/merv](https://rapidreview.io/merv) and send `Authorization: Bearer <key>`.
* **Version header**: clients send `X-RP-Client-Version`; anything below the floor published at `/api/meta` gets HTTP 426.

Then paste the Merv skill text the agent needs (the `research-workflow` skill at minimum) into its instructions, and use a second session for reviews. `merv-client env` prints a ready-made header-based MCP entry for headless clients.

## Becoming a native adapter

A first-class client gets: one-command install, OAuth by default, skills delivered natively, reviewer subagents, and a long-run wake recipe. Concretely that means a thin adapter under `merv/clients/<id>/` (or a marketplace manifest), reusing the canonical `skills/` and `agents/` trees, plus:

1. A URL-only MCP registration — no credential header in anything committed (tests enforce this).
2. A documented sign-in command or UI path.
3. Skills delivery: auto-discovery, manifest, or the hosted content-versioned catalog.
4. Reviewer handoff: auto-discovered agents, plugin-injected subagents, or a delegate mechanism.
5. A `merv_run` wake recipe (see [Long runs](/docs/merv/clients/long-runs)).
6. A row in the client matrix and an entry in the UI's Connect list.

Open an issue or PR on [rapidreview-io/Merv](https://github.com/rapidreview-io/Merv) — the adapter table in `merv/docs/CLIENTS.md` is the current contract.