Cited

cited-mcp

MCP server for Cited: check whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Mode cite your website when buyers ask about what you sell, and get the fixes that get you cited. 21 tools over the Model Context Protocol: the 19 Cited tools, the same ones the hosted server at mcp.youcited.com serves, plus local login and logout.

Install

pip install cited-mcp

Or run directly without installing:

uvx cited-mcp

Usage

The hosted server is at https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp (streamable HTTP; your browser opens to log in on first use). The free_audit, account_status, agent_signup and search_docs tools work without logging in.

Quick setup: with the cited-cli installed, cited agent setup configures Claude Code, Cursor and Codex for you and prints the Claude Desktop connector steps (--dry-run to preview). It merges into existing config and backs up files before changing them.

Claude Desktop (Custom Connector — recommended)

No local install required. Claude connects to Cited's hosted MCP server directly:

1. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Customize > Connectors
2. Click "+" → "Add custom connector"
3. Enter URL: https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp
4. Click Add

Your browser will open for authentication on first use. See Anthropic's connector guide for details.

Requires: Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan.

Claude Desktop (Developer Config — alternative)

If Custom Connectors aren't available, use the developer config with mcp-remote:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cited": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Add to Settings → Developer → Edit Config, then restart Claude Desktop.

Prerequisite: Node.js must be installed for npx.

Claude Desktop (local stdio server)

If you prefer running the server locally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cited": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["cited-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CITED_TOKEN": "your-jwt-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Get your token by running cited login and then cited auth token with the cited-cli.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user cited https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp

Then run /mcp in Claude Code and choose Authenticate. For Cited slash commands, skills and the geo-analyst agent, also install the plugin with /plugin marketplace add YouCited/cited-plugins and /plugin install cited@youcited-cited-plugins.

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cited": {
      "url": "https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Then in Cursor: open Settings (Cmd+,) → MCP, click Login next to cited, and verify it shows a green status indicator. Use Cited tools in Agent mode.

Fallback (older Cursor versions without remote-server support) — proxy through mcp-remote, which needs Node.js (node --version should print v18+):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cited": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Codex

codex mcp add cited --url https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp
codex mcp login cited

Or add [mcp_servers.cited] with url = "https://mcp.youcited.com/mcp" to ~/.codex/config.toml.

Standalone

cited-mcp                          # stdio; uses `cited login`, CITED_TOKEN or an agent key
CITED_ENV=dev cited-mcp            # another environment

The tools are defined once, in the Cited API. On start the server reads the current list from GET https://api.youcited.com/agent/tools (falling back to the copy bundled with cited-core) and runs each call through POST /agent/tools/{name}, so it always behaves like the hosted server.

Updating to new Cited features

Clients cache the tool list. After a Cited release, reconnect the connector (or restart a local cited-mcp) to pick up new tools.

Tools

Start with account_status: it says who is signed in, the credit balance, the businesses and the next step.

Tool	What it does	Login
free_audit	Free check of how AI answers 5 buyer questions about a site; poll with report_token	no
agent_signup	Create an account for your human without a login; the key is saved locally, the claim link and code are returned	no
account_status	Who is signed in, balance, businesses, prices, next step	no
search_docs	Search the Cited docs, or read one with path	no
buy_credits	Checkout link for a credit pack or one audit, or redeem a voucher	yes
setup_business	Add a business from its website, or update it, its buyer personas and offerings	yes
get_business	List businesses, or one business's profile, questions, schedule and recent audits	yes
get_agent_brief	What to focus on next for a business	yes
draft_questions	Draft, extend or replace the buyer questions the audit asks	yes
quote_audit	What an audit costs, the balance and the models	yes
run_audit	Run a paid audit; returns the price first, spends only with confirm=true	yes
get_audit	List audits, or one audit's status and report	yes
compare_audits	Citations won and lost against an earlier audit	yes
schedule_recheck	Re-run the audit every N days, email and webhook alerts	yes
get_recommendations	What to change, with item keys, evidence, status and fixes	yes
update_recommendation	Mark an item done or dismissed, or open it again	yes
generate_fixes	Write fix files and steps for items (or all); asks before spending	yes
get_fixes	List fixes, or one fix's files, targets and steps	yes
update_fix	done, undo, or verify the fix on the live site	yes
login	Browser sign-in that stores a session on this machine (local server only)	no
logout	Forget the session or saved agent key (local server only)	no

Example Workflow

1. account_status, then free_audit with the website for a free first look.
2. agent_signup (or login), then setup_business with the website.
3. draft_questions, review them with the user, then quote_audit.
4. run_audit (the user approves the price), then get_audit until it finishes.
5. get_recommendations, generate_fixes, get_fixes for the files, then update_fix with done and verify.

Pricing: pay-as-you-go credits

No plans or subscriptions. 1 credit = $1; account_status and quote_audit show current prices. Purchase tools only return a Stripe checkout link for a person to open: nothing is bought until account_status shows the new balance. A short balance comes back as an error with status_code 402 and credits_needed.

Agent signup and keys

agent_signup makes an unclaimed account for an AI agent. The API key is saved on this machine (the OS keychain, or ~/.cited/credentials.json) and used for every call; it is never shown to the model. Give your human the claim link and 6-digit code so they keep the account. logout forgets the key.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
CITED_TOKEN	A Cited session token (cited login, then cited auth token). Optional.
CITED_AGENT_API_KEY	A Cited agent key (cak_...). Optional; agent_signup saves one for you.
CITED_ENV	prod (default), dev or local.

Development

pip install -e ../core -e ".[dev]"
pytest
ruff check src/ && mypy src/ --ignore-missing-imports

Privacy Policy

See youcited.com/privacy.

License

Proprietary — see youcited.com for terms.