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
Local clients work today; cloud web clients cannot reach a private Crow
Clients that run on your own machine (desktop apps, CLIs, IDEs) reach your self-hosted Crow directly over LAN/tailnet — they work out of the box. Clients that run in a vendor's cloud (claude.ai web/mobile, ChatGPT, Grok on the web) must reach your Crow from the public internet, and a self-hosted Crow is deliberately not exposed there. Cloud web-client access is planned as a follow-on after v1, behind a dedicated security review.
| Platform | Runs | Transport | Auth | Status for a private Crow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Web & Mobile | Vendor cloud | Streamable HTTP | OAuth 2.1 | Not reachable — planned follow-on |
| Claude Desktop | Your machine | stdio | N/A (local) | Fully tested |
| Claude Code (CLI) | Your machine | stdio / HTTP | OAuth 2.1 | Fully tested |
| ChatGPT | Vendor cloud | SSE / HTTP | OAuth 2.1 | Not reachable — planned follow-on |
| Gemini | Your machine (CLI) | stdio / HTTP | OAuth 2.1 | Compatible |
| Grok (xAI) | Vendor cloud | Streamable HTTP | Bearer token | Not reachable — planned follow-on |
| Cursor | Your machine | stdio / HTTP | Varies | Compatible |
| Windsurf | Your machine | stdio / HTTP | Varies | Compatible |
| Cline | Your machine | stdio / HTTP | Varies | Compatible |
| Qwen Code | Your machine | stdio / HTTP | OAuth 2.1 | Compatible |
Mobile Apps
The table above covers MCP clients (AI assistants that connect to Crow's tools). Crow also has dedicated mobile access to the Crow's Nest dashboard itself:
| Platform | Install method | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Native APK, or PWA via Chrome | Fully tested |
| iPhone (PWA) | Installable web app via Safari (no App Store) | Fully tested |
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>/mcpfrom the table above - Used by: Claude, Gemini, Grok, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Claude Code
SSE (Legacy)
- Protocol version:
2024-11-05 - Endpoints:
<prefix>/sse+<prefix>/messagesfrom 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:
- Discovers the OAuth metadata at
/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server - Registers itself as a client via
/register - Redirects you to authorize at
/authorize - 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.