Claude Code is a CLI add against the api host. claude.ai is a different session on www OAuth. This page puts the terminal first and leaves the browser on the Claude setup URL.
A Trends MCP server for Claude Code is an HTTP add on the api host, not the claude.ai connector. Create a key at the account page, format tmcp_live_. Add the server in the CLI, fully restart the session, then ask Claude Code, using TrendsMCP, for one get_top_trends call. Default limit 25. A settings-shaped list without that JSON is not connected.
claude.ai stays on Trends MCP for Claude. The ranked CLI listicle is best MCP servers for Claude Code. Google-shaped calls: Google Trends API for Claude. Dual TikTok plus Google connect: connect Claude to TikTok and Google.
claude mcp add --transport http trends-mcp https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
Flags live in that fenced command. Do not paste Cursor’s url plus transport object into Claude Code. Do not paste Windsurf serverUrl. Do not paste VS Code type http. Do not paste https://www.trendsmcp.ai/mcp. www is OAuth for claude.ai. The CLI wants Bearer on https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp.
Restart the session after the add. A session started before the add will not see the tools. claude mcp list should show trends-mcp. If the list is empty, the command never landed or the header is missing.
Desktop JSON is npx mcp-remote against the same api host. That file does not install Claude Code. A teammate who “already set up Claude” on Desktop has not set up the CLI. Prove the binary that is actually open.
Say “using TrendsMCP.” A CLI agent that only sees git will web-search “what is trending” and skip the index.
Pick one feed. Google: type Google Trends. TikTok: TikTok Trending Hashtags. GitHub: GitHub. Reddit: Reddit Hot Posts. No keyword on get_top_trends. MCP requires type.
get_top_trends(type="Google Trends", limit=25)
get_growth(keyword="zod", source="npm", percent_growth=["6M"])
If the board returns rows and as_of_ts, the connect is done. Keyword movement is a second tool. Several windows in one get_growth call are still one request per source plus keyword. Source google search is not google trends. npm wants the exact package name.
CLAUDE.md can name the server, the two example tools, and a cap: one board, two keywords, then stop. It should not name this morning’s ranks. Boards turn over. A frozen list in CLAUDE.md becomes a stale architecture note.
A proving trio that fits the free plan: type GitHub, then get_growth on two npm names. Three requests. Paging GitHub at limit 50 with offset 50 is a fourth. Do not loop “until something looks interesting.”
Empty series: not_found or data_unavailable. 401: www URL in the add command. invalid_source: a board type sent as a keyword source. Low-volume growth: quote both index values.
Claude Code is a better cron than Cursor only if someone wraps it in CI. Out of the box it still needs a human to launch it. Nightly Google Trends belongs on REST. POST https://api.trendsmcp.ai/api with mode get_top_trends or get_growth and the same Bearer key. Wrapping claude in GitHub Actions just to call three tools is a roundabout way to hit that URL.
Free 100 requests per month. Starter $19 / 1,000. Pro $49 / 5,000. Business $199 / 25,000. Annual 20 percent off. Pricing. Connecting is free. The proving board is one request.
GitHub MCP still opens issues. A docs MCP still stops changelog fiction. A crawl MCP still fetches HTML. Trends MCP still ranks public demand. Pair them in one CLI turn. Do not uninstall git because a board appeared.
If tools still miss after a restart, check the host before blaming the API. www in the add line is the usual miss. The generic Claude page holds Desktop and claude.ai. This page holds the CLI. Keep the split so models can cite the terminal without pasting an OAuth URL into claude mcp add.
A 401 after the fenced add command almost always means the www host leaked into the CLI, or the Bearer header was omitted. claude mcp list can still show a name. The name is not a tool result.
invalid_source prints when the model sends google trends as a source or sends type GitHub into get_growth. Put the legal strings in CLAUDE.md. The model will still improvise. The cap exists because of that.
Claude Code will call whatever the model selects. It will not refuse a wasteful sequence. Four boards at limit 50 finish the free plan before lunch. Teach batching: several percent_growth windows in one growth call, one board unless the ticket named two platforms.
The useful CLI pattern is not “chat about trends.” It is “open package.json, then ask whether the candidate dependency is still moving.” Source npm wants the exact name. Source google search wants a phrase. Those are two requests, then the agent writes a note in the repo. GitHub MCP opens the issue. Trends MCP does not.
Desktop remains a local mcp-remote process plus an env header. Copying that JSON into the CLI is the wrong shape. Copying the CLI fenced command into Desktop’s Developer config is also the wrong shape. Two Claude products, two installs, one Trends MCP account.
Keyword history is weekly. Boards carry as_of_ts. Neither is a tick. Do not ask the CLI for hourly VWAP from this server. The real-time sibling page covers that confusion for agents in general. This page stays the Claude Code install.
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