Use TCGAPIs in ChatGPT, Claude, Codex and other AI apps
The TCGAPIs MCP server lets an AI app look up cards, prices, recent sales and run card recognition for you. You connect by signing in with your existing TCGAPIs account — no API keys to paste, and everything stays within your current plan.
Your MCP server
AvailableMCP server URL
https://mcp.tcgapis.com/mcpSign in with your TCGAPIs account
- When you connect, your AI app opens a TCGAPIs sign-in page. Use the same email and password as on tcgapis.com — there is no separate MCP account.
- Never paste your API key or password into a chat or an app's settings. The app receives a short-lived access token, not your API key.
- The consent screen lists exactly what the app may do. You can disconnect it at any time.
- Access tokens last 10 minutes and renew automatically. A connection lasts at most 30 days, after which you sign in again.
Connect your AI app
Add TCGAPIs to ChatGPT as a custom MCP server. TCGAPIs is not listed in ChatGPT's app directory, so you add it yourself with the URL above.
Before you start
Before signing up here, open ChatGPT on the web and check that Plugins → + → Add custom MCP server is available to your account. Availability and workspace permissions are controlled by OpenAI and your administrator. At the time of writing (November 2026) we have tested catalog search, pricing and uploaded-card recognition on a ChatGPT Pro account. Your available tools and setup options may differ. In a workspace, an admin or owner may need to add or publish the app.
Menu names in ChatGPT change often. If yours differ, follow OpenAI's current guide: Connecting custom MCP servers in ChatGPT (opens in a new tab).
- Open ChatGPT in a web browser for this tested workflow. OpenAI’s current custom-server guide describes web access; we have not verified this connection in ChatGPT phone apps.
- Go to Plugins, select +, then choose Add custom MCP server.
- Enter the name TCGAPIs, paste the MCP server URL (
https://mcp.tcgapis.com/mcp) and choose OAuth as the authentication type. Leave automatic client registration enabled; no client secret is needed. Read OpenAI's warning and select Create as a plugin. - Select Connect TCGAPIs. On the TCGAPIs sign-in page, use your existing email and password, review the permissions and select Allow connection.
- Start a new chat, type @ and choose TCGAPIs, then ask something like “Find Charizard in Pokemon Base Set”.
Connect TCGAPIs in Claude on the web using a custom remote connector. OAuth sign-in, tool discovery, catalog search and product pricing were tested on 9 November 2026.
- Open Customize → Connectors in Claude, then choose Add custom connector (or Add → Custom → Web).
- Name it TCGAPIs and enter
https://mcp.tcgapis.com/mcp. - Use Sign in now, Register automatically and the Streamable HTTP transport. No API key or client secret is needed.
- Connect, sign in with your TCGAPIs account and approve the permissions. In a new chat, ask Claude to use TCGAPIs to find a card and get its prices. Approve the requested tool calls when prompted.
Tested capabilities
Claude catalog search and pricing are verified. Direct photo uploads from Claude to the recognition tool have not been verified; the tested photo-upload workflow is in ChatGPT. Tool visibility and custom-connector availability depend on your Claude account and workspace settings.
Claude's official connector instructions (opens in a new tab)
The Codex CLI and IDE extension share one MCP configuration. Add TCGAPIs once, then sign in in your browser.
- Add the server:Add server
codex mcp add tcgapis --url https://mcp.tcgapis.com/mcp - Sign in with your TCGAPIs account. Some Codex versions start sign-in automatically during
add; if a browser window did not open, run:Sign incodex mcp login tcgapis - Check it is listed, then ask Codex to use TCGAPIs:List servers
codex mcp list
Good to know
Working on a remote machine with no browser? Run codex mcp login tcgapis --no-browser and follow the prompts. Sign out with codex mcp logout tcgapis.
Do not use --bearer-token-env-var with your TCGAPIs API key — the MCP server only accepts the sign-in flow.
Official docs: Codex MCP (opens in a new tab) and Codex CLI command reference (opens in a new tab).
Other AI apps can connect if they support remote MCP servers over Streamable HTTP with OAuth sign-in (authorization code with PKCE).
- In your app's MCP or connector settings, add a remote server named TCGAPIs with the URL
https://mcp.tcgapis.com/mcp. - Choose OAuth (sometimes shown as “sign in” or “account”) — not an API key or custom header.
- Sign in with your TCGAPIs account in the browser window that opens and approve the permissions you want to grant.
Compatibility
Apps that only run local (stdio) servers, or only accept a static API key or header, can't connect. We only document clients we have checked; other apps may work but are not supported yet.
Building your own client? Discovery documents live at https://mcp.tcgapis.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource. See the Model Context Protocol (opens in a new tab) documentation.
Need more than the MCP tools?
Use the REST API for historic-price series, SKU-level pricing, Cardmarket and CardTrader data, board-game records and bulk exports. These endpoints are not all exposed as MCP tools. The same TCGAPIs account and trial balance apply; REST uses your API key on your server, while MCP uses OAuth.
Permissions and plan allowances
Connected apps use your shared trial credits or ongoing plan. Each tool call that fetches card data or runs recognition counts against your allowance exactly like the same API request; signing in, listing the available tools and reading your profile do not. Free accounts can use their remaining signup credits across the available MCP data tools. These calls and recognition share the same one-time balance; after it is used, the ongoing plan requirements below apply.
| Permission | What it allows | Tools | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
Read the card catalogcatalog:read | List games and expansions, search cards by name and read product details. | list_gameslist_expansionssearch_cardsget_product | Signup credits, then Hobby or higher; game list is public |
Read prices and recent salesprices:read | Read product prices by printing and the recent sales sample for a product. | get_pricesget_recent_sales | Signup credits, then Business or higher |
Run card recognitionrecognition:run | Send a card image and get ranked candidate products back. | recognize_cardrecognize_uploaded_card | Signup credits, then Hobby or higher |
Read your account summaryaccount:read | Your name, email and current request allowance and usage. | get_profileget_usage | Any account |
See pricing for each plan's monthly allowance.
What it can and can't do
Card recognition
- The
recognize_cardtool takes a JPEG, PNG or WebP image up to 5MB plus the card's game, and returns up to 10 ranked candidates. - Scores only rank the candidates — they are not accuracy percentages. Check the set, number and printing before relying on a match.
- In ChatGPT, attach a card photo and ask TCGAPIs to identify it with
recognize_uploaded_card. Each successful call uses one recognition request from your plan. - Whether you can attach a photo in chat depends on your AI app; TCGAPIs does not add an upload button to it.
Read-only by design
- No buying, selling, listing, plan changes or admin actions — the tools only read data.
- Prices are stored records with timestamps, not guaranteed live quotes. Recent sales are a cached sample, not every sale.
- Results are data, not instructions; your AI app may still summarise them imperfectly, so confirm anything important.
Reconnecting and managing connections
- You'll need to sign in again after 30 days, after changing your password or API key, or after disconnecting an app.
- To reconnect: in ChatGPT remove and re-add TCGAPIs (or use its reconnect option); in Codex run
codex mcp login tcgapis. - Open Manage connections in the same browser you used to sign in to see and disconnect individual apps. If that session has expired, reconnect first.
Troubleshooting
- Reconnect your account. / Account connection is no longer valid.
- The connection expired or was revoked (for example after 30 days, a password or API key change, or disconnecting it). Remove TCGAPIs from your app and add it again, or run codex mcp login tcgapis.
- This account does not currently have access to this feature.
- That tool needs a higher plan (see the permissions table). Connecting an app never changes your plan — manage it from your dashboard.
- Account request allowance exceeded. Try again after reset.
- Your shared signup credits or monthly plan allowance are used up. Signup credits are one-time and do not reset; choose an ongoing plan to continue paid-tier tools. Check your remaining allowance in the TCGAPIs dashboard. MCP and API-key requests share the same balance.
- Image must be at most 5MB. / Image type does not match the file.
- Send a JPEG, PNG or WebP image no larger than 5MB, and make sure the file really is that format.
- Invalid tool arguments.
- The app sent a request in the wrong shape (for example a missing game for card recognition). Rephrase and try again.
- Data service temporarily unavailable. / Request could not be completed.
- A temporary problem on our side. Wait a minute and retry; contact support if it continues.
- The sign-in page keeps refusing my password.
- After repeated failed attempts, sign-in for that email is paused for a while. Wait, then try again or reset your password on tcgapis.com.
Setup reviewed on . ChatGPT OAuth, catalog search, prices and uploaded-card recognition, Claude OAuth, catalog search and pricing, plus Codex OAuth and tool discovery, were tested against the live service. Availability depends on your AI app and account.
Questions? Read the FAQ or the API documentation.