SEC EDGAR API in Claude: add an MCP connector for SEC filings (2026)
Ask Claude what insiders did at a company last week and, without a tool, it will give you a confident answer built from training data that ends months ago. It has no way to check.
MCP gives it one. You add a connector, approve it once, and now Claude pulls the actual filing mid-conversation instead of guessing at it.
Here is the setup, the OAuth sign-in, the config-file route if you prefer it, and the handful of things that stop the tools from showing.
https://api.edgrapi.com/mcp. Claude runs the OAuth sign-in in your browser, so there is no key to paste. Approve it and seven tools appear: insider trades, 8-K events, filings, sections, fundamentals, ratios, and company profiles. There is a config-file route too, and a free tier of 100 credits a month with no card.How do you add an SEC EDGAR connector to Claude?
Through the Connectors screen, not a config file. Open Settings, go to Connectors, choose Add custom connector, and paste the server URL. That is the whole setup for a hosted server.
For Edgrapi the URL is https://api.edgrapi.com/mcp. Claude reaches it, sees it needs sign-in, and walks you through OAuth in the browser. When you come back, the connector is on and its tools are available in any chat. Anthropic's own guide covers the same screen if you want the official reference.
One thing worth knowing up front: a custom connector connects to the server from Anthropic's cloud, not from your laptop. The server has to be reachable on the public internet, which a hosted API already is.
Which way should you add it: connector, config file, or extension?
Three routes exist, and for a remote server the connector is the easy one because Claude does the OAuth for you.
The config file, claude_desktop_config.json, was built for servers that run on your own machine over stdio. Pointing it at a remote server means adding the mcp-remote bridge in between, which is more to set up and more to break. The .mcpb desktop extension installs on a double click, but only if the provider ships one. For Edgrapi, use the connector.
How does the OAuth sign-in work?
You approve it once in a browser and never handle a key. The handshake is automatic from there.
Claude calls the server and gets back a 401 carrying a WWW-Authenticate header that points at the protected-resource metadata. It follows that to the authorization server, registers itself, and opens a browser for you to approve. You sign in, and Claude holds a token that expires on its own. The MCP docs on remote servers describe the same flow if you want the spec.
The token lives in Claude, not in a file on disk, and it can be revoked. That is the argument for OAuth over a static key. If you would rather use a key anyway, the config-file route takes a Bearer header instead, and both reach the same tools.
What can you ask it?
Plain questions. Claude reads each tool's description, decides which one fits, and calls it, so you never name the tool or its arguments.
Where this pays off is a research question that needs more than one call. Ask for a one-page brief on a company and Claude will pull the risk factors, the ratios, and the recent insider trades and write them up together. The tool worth trying first is insider activity, because it is the question a model with no tools gets most confidently wrong. Ask which insiders bought with their own money and you get code-P purchases parsed from Form 4, not a guess. The guide to tracking insider buying explains why that code is the one that counts.
What tools does Claude get?
Seven, and they cost credits by weight when they run. Discovery is free, so Claude can list them before you ever authenticate.
| Tool | What it returns | Credits |
|---|---|---|
get_insider | Parsed Form 4 trades: who, the code, shares, price, 10b5-1 flag | 5 |
get_events | 8-K material events with item codes labelled | 1 |
get_filings | Filing history by form, linked to SEC.gov | 1 |
get_sections | Risk Factors, MD&A and other 10-K sections as text | 5 |
get_fundamentals | Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow | 3 |
get_ratios | 14 named ratios computed from the statements | 3 |
get_company | Profile, CIK, and whether financials exist at all | 1 |
The same seven tools work in Cursor and any other MCP client, since it is one server behind the connector.
Why can't Claude see the tools?
Almost always one of the first three things on this list, in order.
If you took the config-file route, the file has to be in the right folder, which is %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on Mac. A single stray comma or bracket in that JSON silently disables every server, not just the one you were editing, so validate it. And closing the window is not the same as quitting, so exit fully from the system tray, wait ten seconds, and reopen.
There is also a known quirk where a remote server connects and lists its tools, yet Claude still does not surface them to the model. A full restart usually clears it. To check the server independently of Claude, list its tools directly, which needs no key:
curl -s https://api.edgrapi.com/mcp \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}'
If that returns seven tools, the server is fine and the problem is in Claude's setup.
How does this compare to other SEC MCP servers?
There are a few now, and they are not all after the same thing, so here is the honest version rather than a table that flatters us.
EdgarTools ships a free, open-source MCP server with no API key. If you want something you run yourself and never pay for, start there. edgar.tools is a hosted server with a free tier and its own analytics.
Edgrapi is hosted, so there is nothing to run, and the same key and credits cover both the REST API and MCP. What it does that the general-purpose servers mostly do not is parse Form 4 into scored transactions and label 8-K item codes, which is the difference between handing Claude a filing and handing it an answer. If all you need is fundamentals, the free options are genuinely fine.
Add it and ask one question
Grab a free key from the dashboard, add the connector in Claude with https://api.edgrapi.com/mcp, approve it, and ask what insiders have been buying at a company you follow.
The free tier is 100 credits a month with no card. The docs cover the REST endpoints behind each tool, and the agent guide covers the same data through function calling. If you would rather see it before wiring anything up, the insider radar is public.
Edgrapi surfaces public SEC filings for research. It is not investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add an SEC EDGAR MCP server to Claude?
The simplest route is a custom connector. Open Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and paste the server URL, which for Edgrapi is https://api.edgrapi.com/mcp. Claude handles the OAuth sign-in in your browser, so there is no key to paste and nothing to install. Once approved, seven tools appear and Claude can call them in any chat.
Where is the Claude Desktop config file?
claude_desktop_config.json lives at %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows and ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on Mac, and you can open it from Settings, then Developer, then Edit Config. That file is built for local servers though, so a remote server like Edgrapi is easier as a custom connector. Use the file route only if you prefer JSON.
Do I need an API key, or does OAuth handle it?
For a custom connector, OAuth handles it. Claude calls the server, gets a 401 pointing at the metadata, registers itself, and opens a browser for you to approve. The token lives in Claude, expires on its own, and can be revoked. If you use the config-file route instead, you can pass a static Bearer key. Both reach the same tools and the same credit balance.
Why can't Claude see my MCP tools?
Usually one of three things. The config must be in the right folder (%APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows). A single stray comma or bracket in the JSON silently disables every server. And a window close is not a quit, so fully exit Claude from the system tray, wait ten seconds, and reopen. Developer settings shows the connection status and logs if it still fails.
Does the connector run on my computer or in the cloud?
A custom connector connects to your MCP server from Anthropic's cloud, not from your machine, so the server has to be reachable on the public internet. Edgrapi is hosted, so that is already true. A locally run server would instead go in the config file, or be reached through the mcp-remote bridge if it is remote.
Is there a free SEC EDGAR MCP server for Claude?
Yes, a few. EdgarTools ships a free open-source MCP server that needs no API key, and edgar.tools offers a hosted one with a free tier. Edgrapi's free tier is 100 credits a month with no card. They parse different things, so choose on the data you need. Edgrapi's focus is parsed Form 4 insider trades and labelled 8-K events rather than fundamentals alone.