MCP server
A social media MCP server for your Assistant
By Jackson Gathondu. Published 1 November 2026. Updated .
ShortsIntel is a social media MCP server. Add it to Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor and your Assistant can search TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube and Facebook, read the Meta and TikTok ad libraries, and track Creators and Advertisers, all from the chat.
Below is what the server reads on each Platform, where that data stops, what it costs and how to connect it.
What an MCP server does for a marketer
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard way an Assistant calls outside tools. An MCP server publishes a list of tools, each with a name and a description of what it does and what it costs. The Assistant reads that list, picks the tools a question needs, calls them and writes its answer from what they return.
Without a social media MCP server, an Assistant answers questions about TikTok or Instagram from training data that is months old, or from a caption you paste in. With one connected, it reads current Videos, Creators and Ads, and it can get an analysis of the Video itself: the hook, on-screen text, format, call to action and transcript.
You ask in plain language, for example "find the Meta Ads for collagen powder that have run longest in the US", and the Assistant works out which tools to call.
What your Assistant can read on each Platform
Everything the server reads is public: posts, captions, public metrics, public profiles and the public ad libraries. It never logs in to your social accounts or touches your ad accounts.
| Platform | Tools that work there | Not available |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | search_videos, get_video (analysis, transcript, download), get_comments, score_video, get_creator, get_hashtag_or_sound for Hashtags and Sounds, get_keyword, research, and track for Creators, Hashtags, Sounds and Keywords. | Nothing: TikTok has the widest coverage. TikTok Ads have their own row below. |
| search_videos for Reels, get_video, get_comments, get_creator, get_hashtag_or_sound for Hashtags, get_keyword, research, and track for Creators, Hashtags and Keywords. | Sounds and score_video. Keyword search is best effort. | |
| YouTube | search_videos, get_video for Shorts and long-form Videos, get_comments, get_creator for channels, get_keyword, research, and track for Keywords. | Channel data covers Shorts only. No Hashtags, Sounds, score_video or Creator Trackers. |
| get_video for Videos and Reels, get_comments (top level), get_creator for Pages, get_keyword, and track for Pages and Keywords. search_videos and research when you name Facebook. | Hashtags, Sounds and score_video. Video and Keyword search are best effort. | |
| Meta Ad Library | search_ads by keyword or Advertiser, with country, status, media type, placement and date filters, sorted by relevance, winner Score or days running. get_ad for one Ad or an Advertiser, Ad analysis, and track for Advertisers. | Only what Meta's public Ad Library shows. |
| TikTok Ad Library | search_ads by keyword or Advertiser, get_ad for one Ad's targeting or an Advertiser, and track for Advertisers. | Ads shown in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Turkey only. No country or Meta filters, no Ad analysis. |
Data limits
Data limits to know before you ask
- YouTube Creator data covers Shorts only, not long-form uploads. Looking up or analysing a single long-form Video works, up to 10 minutes long.
- The TikTok Ad Library covers Ads shown in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Turkey only.
- Sounds are TikTok only. Instagram Scores come back on a Creator's Reels under 30 days old through get_creator; score_video, which scores one Video on demand, is TikTok only.
- Hashtags are TikTok and Instagram only.
- Facebook Video search is opt-in and best effort. Instagram and Facebook Keyword search are best effort too.
- Refreshing a Research is TikTok only.
- Creator Trackers run on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, not YouTube.
The tools, grouped by use case
Your Assistant chooses the tool, but it helps to know what each one is for. Every paid tool can quote its price first if you ask for an estimate.
| Use case | Tools | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Study a niche | research, then get_research to read it again | 1,036 credits for up to 50 analysed Videos. Reading it again is free. |
| Find and judge Videos | search_videos, get_video, get_comments, score_video | Search 3 credits per Platform per page. Lookup 3 credits, analysis 23 credits, Score 9 credits. |
| Look up Creators and trends | get_creator, get_hashtag_or_sound, get_keyword | Creator 6 credits, Hashtag 3 credits, Sound 6 credits, Keyword 3 credits. |
| Research Ads | search_ads, get_ad | Meta 1 credit per Ad delivered, TikTok 3 credits per page. Advertiser 15 credits. |
| Track and get Change Reports | track, get_changes, list_trackers, get_tracker, set_tracker_state, set_tracker_focus, delete_tracker | A daily cycle costs 6 credits per Creator or 30 credits per Advertiser. Reading Change Reports is free. |
| Group Trackers into Collections | list_collections, create_collection, rename_collection, delete_collection, add_to_collection, remove_from_collection, act_on_collection | Free, apart from refreshing every member at once. |
| Check Runs and spend | get_run, get_usage, get_balance | Free. |
What your Assistant sees when it connects
When an Assistant connects, it first asks the server for its tool list. Below are real responses from the ShortsIntel MCP server on our own account, trimmed to fit. The tools/list call is free.
All Platforms, via MCP server
tools/list (sent by the Assistant when it connects)
{
"tools": [
{ "name": "research", "title": "Research a niche", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_research", "title": "Read a research", "readOnlyHint": true },
{ "name": "search_videos", "title": "Search videos", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_video", "title": "Get a video", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_comments", "title": "Get a video's comments", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "score_video", "title": "Score a video", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_creator", "title": "Get a creator", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_hashtag_or_sound", "title": "Get a hashtag or sound", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_keyword", "title": "Get a keyword", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "search_ads", "title": "Search ad libraries", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_ad", "title": "Get an Ad or Advertiser", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "track", "title": "Track a target", "readOnlyHint": false },
{ "name": "get_changes", "title": "Get change reports", "readOnlyHint": true },
...
{ "name": "get_run", "title": "Get a run", "readOnlyHint": true },
{ "name": "get_usage", "title": "Get usage", "readOnlyHint": true },
{ "name": "get_balance", "title": "Get balance", "readOnlyHint": true }
]
}
(29 tools in all; descriptions and input schemas trimmed)Meta Ad Library, TikTok Ad Library, via MCP server
tools/list, the search_ads entry: the description your Assistant reads before it searches an ad library
{
"name": "search_ads",
"title": "Search ad libraries",
"description": "Search the Meta or TikTok ad library by keyword or advertiser (exactly one). Meta: 1 credit per Ad delivered; filters country (omit for all countries), status (active default, inactive, all), kind (commercial default, political, issue, all), media_type, placements, started_after, started_before; limit up to 500 (default 50), next_cursor for more; order_by relevance (default), winner, days_running or start_date sorts the page. ... TikTok: 3 credits per page of up to 30, EU/EEA, CH, UK and Turkey Ads only, no country or Meta filters, no analyze; ...",
"annotations": { "readOnlyHint": false, "openWorldHint": true }
}What it costs
There is no subscription and no seat fee. Each tool call that does work is a Run, paid from a prepaid Balance of Credits at 1,000 credits per US dollar. New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. A Run that fails costs nothing, and a partial one is charged only for what finished.
Reading your Balance, usage, Trackers, Collections and a finished Research costs nothing, so an Assistant can check before it spends. Every price is on the pricing page.
Connect your Assistant
The server address is the same for every Assistant. None of them needs an API key: you sign in to ShortsIntel and choose which organization's Balance pays.
Claude.ai
Web and desktop. No API key: Claude signs in to ShortsIntel for you.
- Open Claude's add connector page with ShortsIntel filled in, and choose Add. Or go to Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector, and paste the endpoint below.
https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - Sign in to ShortsIntel, approve the connection and choose the organization whose Balance pays for Runs.
- In a chat, turn the ShortsIntel connector on and ask your question.
ChatGPT
Web and desktop, in Developer mode. No API key: ChatGPT signs in over OAuth.
- Open ChatGPT's connector settings and switch Developer mode on.
- Create a connector named ShortsIntel, paste the endpoint and choose OAuth.
https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - Sign in to ShortsIntel and choose your organization.
- In a new chat, choose the + next to the message box, then Developer mode, and turn ShortsIntel on.
Claude Code
One command, then sign in from Claude Code.
- Add the server in your terminal.
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user shortsintel https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - Run /mcp inside Claude Code, choose shortsintel and sign in.
Codex
One command; Codex signs in on first use.
- Add the server in your terminal.
codex mcp add shortsintel --url https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp - If no browser window opens to sign in, start it yourself.
codex mcp login shortsintel
Cursor and VS Code
One-click install links; each asks you to confirm.
- In Cursor, open the Cursor install link.
- In VS Code, open the VS Code install link.
- Sign in to ShortsIntel when the editor asks.
Questions to try first
Start with a free call to see the connection work, then ask for one small paid Run.
- Check my ShortsIntel balance.
- Look up this TikTok and tell me how it did against the Creator's usual reach: (paste a link)
- Find Meta Ads for protein powder that are still running in the US, sorted by winner Score, and summarise their hooks.
- Research skincare hooks on TikTok and Instagram Reels and give me five hook templates.
- Track this competitor's Instagram and tell me when a Reel takes off: (paste a profile link)
For developers
MCP guides
- Instagram MCPWhat an Assistant can read on Instagram through the ShortsIntel MCP server, what it cannot, and how to connect it.
- Meta Ads MCPWhat an Assistant can do with the Meta Ad Library through the ShortsIntel MCP server: Ad and Advertiser search, Ad analysis, Snapshots and Advertiser Trackers.
- TikTok MCPWhat an Assistant can read on TikTok through the ShortsIntel MCP server, including the TikTok Ad Library, with sample output and connect steps.
- YouTube MCPWhat the ShortsIntel MCP server lets an Assistant read on YouTube, where YouTube data stops, and how to connect it.
Questions
- What is a social media MCP server?
- It is a tool server that an Assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT connects to over the Model Context Protocol. It gives the Assistant tools to search and read social media data, such as Videos, Creators, Hashtags and Ads, so it answers from current data instead of its training data.
- Which Assistants can use the ShortsIntel MCP server?
- Claude.ai, ChatGPT in Developer mode, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and VS Code. Any other client that can add a remote MCP server over streamable HTTP works too: point it at https://www.shortsintel.com/api/mcp and sign in, or send an API key.
- Does it work on the free Claude plan?
- Yes. Claude.ai lets a free account add one custom connector, and ShortsIntel can be that connector.
- Which platforms does it cover?
- TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and long-form Videos, Facebook, the Meta Ad Library and the TikTok Ad Library. Coverage differs by Platform: Sounds and the score_video tool are TikTok only, Instagram Scores come back on recent Reels through get_creator, Hashtags are TikTok and Instagram only, and YouTube channel data covers Shorts only.
- Do I need an API key?
- Not for Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or VS Code: each signs in to ShortsIntel over OAuth. An API key is only needed for clients that cannot sign in, or for the REST API.
- Does it post or change anything on my social accounts?
- No. The server only reads public data. It never logs in to your social or ad accounts. The tools that change things act on your ShortsIntel account only, such as creating a Tracker or a Collection.
Try it in your Assistant
Connect ShortsIntel to the Assistant you already use and ask the question this guide answers, or try the calls in the Playground first.