Platform Compatibility

Crow uses the open Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard. Any MCP-compatible AI client can connect to Crow's gateway — no vendor-specific extensions are used.

Compatibility Matrix

Platform	Transport	Auth	Setup Difficulty	Status
Claude Web & Mobile	Streamable HTTP	OAuth 2.1	Easy	Fully tested
Claude Desktop	stdio	N/A (local)	Easy	Fully tested
Claude Code (CLI)	stdio / HTTP	OAuth 2.1	Easy	Fully tested
ChatGPT	SSE	OAuth 2.1	Easy	Compatible
Gemini	stdio / HTTP	OAuth 2.1	Easy	Compatible
Grok (xAI)	Streamable HTTP	Bearer token	Medium	Compatible
Cursor	stdio / HTTP	Varies	Easy	Compatible
Windsurf	stdio / HTTP	Varies	Easy	Compatible
Cline	stdio / HTTP	Varies	Easy	Compatible
Qwen Code	stdio / HTTP	OAuth 2.1	Easy	Compatible

MCP Endpoints

Every path is relative to your gateway URL (e.g. http://crow:3001). Each server is available over Streamable HTTP at <prefix>/mcp and over legacy SSE at <prefix>/sse + <prefix>/messages:

Prefix	Server	Notes
/router	Category router (recommended)	10 consolidated tools instead of the full 126+ raw surface — see Context & Performance
/memory	Memory	The bare /mcp path is a compatibility alias for this server
/projects	Projects	/research is a legacy alias — same server, older name
/sharing	Sharing
/storage	Storage	Available only when MinIO is configured
/blog-mcp	Blog
/tools	External tool proxy	Integrations (GitHub, Trello, …) aggregated into one endpoint

Naming aliases

The projects server was previously called research. Old configs using /research/mcp or the crow_research router tool keep working — they are aliases for /projects/mcp and crow_projects.

Transport Types

Crow's gateway supports two MCP transport protocols:

Streamable HTTP (Recommended)

• Protocol version: 2025-03-26
• Endpoints: <prefix>/mcp from the table above
• Used by: Claude, Gemini, Grok, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Claude Code

SSE (Legacy)

• Protocol version: 2024-11-05
• Endpoints: <prefix>/sse + <prefix>/messages from the table above
• Used by: ChatGPT

stdio (Local Only)

• Direct process communication, no network
• Used by: Claude Desktop, Claude Code (local), Gemini CLI (local), Qwen Coder CLI (local), Cursor (local), Windsurf (local), Cline (local)

Authentication

The gateway uses OAuth 2.1 with Dynamic Client Registration. When you connect a new client, it automatically:

1. Discovers the OAuth metadata at /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
2. Registers itself as a client via /register
3. Redirects you to authorize at /authorize
4. Receives an access token via /token

This is the same standard flow used by most OAuth providers. No manual token management needed for platforms that support OAuth discovery.

For platforms that don't support OAuth discovery (like Grok), you can use the /introspect endpoint or configure bearer tokens manually.

Cross-Platform Context (crow.md)

Crow goes beyond shared data — it also shares behavioral context across platforms. The crow.md document defines how Crow behaves: identity, memory protocols, transparency rules, and your customizations.

Automatic delivery: When any AI connects to Crow, it receives a condensed version of your behavioral context during the MCP handshake — before any tool calls happen. The AI immediately knows how to use memory, follow session protocols, and respect transparency rules. No user action required.

On-demand guidance: For detailed workflow instructions, the AI can request MCP prompts like session-start, crow-guide, research-guide, blog-guide, or sharing-guide. These provide comprehensive guidance without consuming context window space upfront.

Manual access: Use the crow_get_context tool (any MCP platform) or GET /crow.md (HTTP endpoint) for the full document.

See the Cross-Platform Guide for a complete walkthrough.