Claude Desktop with Verdictan

Add Verdictan to Claude Desktop as a custom MCP connector, so you can ask Claude to search request history or lint a policy. The connector adds tools only. Claude's own model requests still go to Anthropic, not through your gateway.

note

This setup authenticates with a Bearer header, which needs the connector's Request headers option. That option is an Anthropic beta. If your Claude Desktop doesn't show it, use another MCP client.

Before you start

• An agent with a publication that has a resolved public hostname. See Gateway Setup for IDEs.
• That hostname reachable from Anthropic's infrastructure. Claude connects from there, not from your computer, so a local gateway on 127.0.0.1:41002 cannot work: it answers MCP requests with 404 and mcp_publication_required.
• An active Access Key or Gateway Key for the connector. See API Tokens for IDEs.
• A Claude Desktop version with Request headers in the custom connector dialog.

Configure Claude Desktop

1. Open Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector. On a team plan, an organization owner may need to add it first.

2. Enter the URL:

   https://<published-hostname>/mcp

3. Under Authentication, choose No sign-in. OAuth would take over the Authorization header that Verdictan needs.

4. Under Request headers, add Authorization with the value Bearer followed by the client API token. Claude sends it unchanged on every request.

5. Save the connector.

Verdictan accepts only the Bearer scheme. See Anthropic's custom connector documentation for the dialog fields.

Verify

1. Check that the connector shows as active.
2. Ask Claude to use one Verdictan tool, for example history_search to find a recent request.
3. Read the tool result. An empty search is a valid result; a permission error means the token lacks access.

This proves MCP access only. verdictan events tail shows model decisions, so Claude's requests don't appear there.

Model-traffic boundary

Claude sends its model traffic to the Anthropic API. Verdictan doesn't record it or apply policy to it. To govern model traffic, use a client that accepts an OpenAI-compatible base URL; the IDE Integration Overview lists them.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
The connector does not connect	The URL is local or unpublished, or Anthropic's infrastructure cannot reach the hostname	Use the agent's published hostname and check it is reachable from the internet.
401 from the connector	The Authorization header is missing, or it is not Bearer plus a vdt_ token	Check the header in the connector dialog and the token status in the Console.
Connected, but a tool call fails	The token has no access to the publication, or the policy config limits the tool	Check the token's limits and the mcp section of the policy config.
No Claude events in verdictan events tail	Claude's model traffic does not go through the gateway	Expected with this setup.

For endpoint problems, see IDE Integration Troubleshooting.

Next steps

• Gateway MCP Surface: every tool and resource on the MCP endpoint.
• API Tokens for IDEs: scope and rotate the connector's token.