Authentication and Transports

Authentication

Every request to the Scrapeless MCP Server is authenticated with your Scrapeless API Token. Log in to Scrapeless and copy the token from your dashboard.

How you pass the token depends on the transport:

Stdio — set it as the SCRAPELESS_KEY environment variable.
Streamable HTTP — send it as the x-api-token request header.

Keep the token secret: treat it like a password, store it in environment variables or a secrets manager, and never commit it to source control.

Transports

The server supports two transport modes. Both expose the identical tool set — the only difference is where the server runs and how it is reached.

	Stdio	Streamable HTTP
Where it runs	Locally, launched by your client via `npx`	Hosted by Scrapeless
Best for	Desktop clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline)	Remote agents, serverless, hosted platforms
Auth	`SCRAPELESS_KEY` env var	`x-api-token` header
Prerequisites	Node.js + `npx` available locally	Network access to `api.scrapeless.com`

Stdio (local execution)

The client spawns the server as a local subprocess:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Scrapeless MCP Server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "scrapeless-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SCRAPELESS_KEY": "YOUR_SCRAPELESS_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Streamable HTTP (hosted API mode)

The client connects to the hosted endpoint — nothing runs locally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Scrapeless MCP Server": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://api.scrapeless.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-api-token": "YOUR_SCRAPELESS_KEY"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "alwaysAllow": []
    }
  }
}

Which should I use?

Choose Stdio for local development and desktop clients where running npx is easy.
Choose Streamable HTTP for hosted agents, CI, or any environment where you cannot (or prefer not to) run a local Node process.

For per-session tuning such as profiles and timeouts, see Configuration.

Tools by Product Configuration