Setup

Setup Skill

Use this skill when the task is about getting Synapse connected inside Claude Code: API keys, MCP configuration, project-level .mcp.json, or connection debugging.

Scope

This skill covers:

• creating or locating a Synapse API key
• configuring MCP with SYNAPSE_URL and SYNAPSE_API_KEY
• preferring project-level .mcp.json so sub-agents inherit access
• verifying access with synapse_checkin()

This skill does not cover day-to-day research or experiment execution. Hand off to:

• research for literature and research-question work
• experiments for experiment planning and execution
• sessions for plugin hook behavior and multi-agent parallel execution
• autonomy to drive the CC-client autonomous research loop

Recommended Flow

1. Get an API key from the Synapse Agents page.
2. Set SYNAPSE_URL and SYNAPSE_API_KEY in one place (see "Where the credentials live" below).
3. Restart Claude Code so it reloads MCP config and re-evaluates env.
4. Call synapse_checkin() and confirm expected roles/tools are visible.

The plugin already ships its own .mcp.json (at public/synapse-plugin/.mcp.json inside the plugin bundle), so you do not need to copy a .mcp.json into your project. Installing the plugin makes the MCP server available; the only thing you supply is the env values.

Where The Credentials Live (Important)

The plugin's bundled .mcp.json carries ${SYNAPSE_URL} and ${SYNAPSE_API_KEY} placeholders. Claude Code substitutes them at MCP-server-startup time from your env. You only put the real values in one location:

• User-level Claude Code settings — ~/.claude/settings.json's env block. Best for personal use across projects.

  {
    "env": {
      "SYNAPSE_URL": "http://localhost:3000",
      "SYNAPSE_API_KEY": "syn_..."
    }
  }
  

• Project-level Claude Code settings — <project>/.claude/settings.json's env block. Best when several teammates share a project but each needs their own key (use .claude/settings.local.json for personal values; never commit the key).
• Shell environment — export SYNAPSE_URL=...; export SYNAPSE_API_KEY=... in your shell rc, before launching Claude Code. Ad-hoc only.

The plugin's bash hooks (SessionStart, PostToolUse, etc.) also read the same two env variables, so a single env source covers both the MCP server and the hook scripts.

Plugin's Own .mcp.json (For Reference)

You don't need to edit or copy this file — the plugin ships and loads it automatically:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "synapse": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "${SYNAPSE_URL}/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${SYNAPSE_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

If you have a strong reason to override (e.g. add X-Synapse-Project filter headers for one project), you can add a .mcp.json at your project root that defines a different synapse server entry — Claude Code project-level config takes precedence.

Roles That Matter

Set the agent's roles on the Agents page based on what you expect Claude Code to do:

• pre_research — paper search, literature reading.
• research — research-question CRUD.
• experiment — create/start/report/submit experiments, compute tools.
• report — document and synthesis tools.
• admin / pi_agent — needed if Claude Code should call synapse_review_experiment to carry the user's verbal approve / reject from the terminal into Synapse. Without one of these, /api/experiments/<uuid>/review returns 403.

If the same Claude Code agent should both execute experiments and verbally-approve them, give it both experiment and admin (or pi_agent).

Verification

Use:

synapse_checkin()

If the connection is wrong, check:

• the key starts with syn_
• SYNAPSE_URL is reachable
• Claude Code has reloaded the MCP config
• the env variables actually reach the MCP server process (echo $SYNAPSE_URL from the same shell that launches Claude Code)
• the agent has the roles needed for the tools you expect to use

Reference

• Synapse overview
• Setup reference
• Common tools