Jina AI MCP: what works in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Grok Bot
Jina AI remote MCP server: read any URL as clean text, web and arXiv search, screenshots, reranking. Page reading works without a key; search tools need a free API key.
Registry name: (v)
Set it up
URL https://mcp.jina.ai/v1. No sign-in. Paste the URL and it connects. Copy-paste setup: Claude | Claude Code | Cursor | VS Code | ChatGPT
Status grid
| App | Status | Date tested |
|---|---|---|
| Claude | Untested | Not yet tested |
| ChatGPT | Untested | Not yet tested |
| Cursor | Untested | Not yet tested |
| Grok Bot | Untested | Not yet tested |
| MCP Inspector (reference client) | Untested | Not yet tested |
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | Partial | Fri Oct 16 2026 |
Hands-on test results
| App | Task | Result | Time | Detail | Date tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | connect (no auth) | Works | 371 ms | Connected without sign-in in 371 ms. | Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT |
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | list tools | Works | 103 ms | 12 tools: primer, guess_datetime_url, capture_screenshot_url, read_url, search_web, search_arxiv, search_ssrn, search_jina_blog, search_images, sort_by_relevance, deduplicate_strings, extract_pdf. | Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT |
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | read a page (MCP transports spec) | Works | 7000 ms | read_url: about 13 KB returned. "url: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-11-25/basic/transports title: Transports - Model Context Protocol content: >- MCP us" | Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT |
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | web search ("MCP Streamable HTTP") | Partial | 128 ms | search_web: tool error, 138 characters returned. "Please set your API key in the Jina AI MCP settings. You can get a free API key by visiting https://jina.ai and signing up for an account." | Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT |
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | arXiv search ("model context protocol") | Partial | 28 ms | search_arxiv: tool error, 138 characters returned. "Please set your API key in the Jina AI MCP settings. You can get a free API key by visiting https://jina.ai and signing up for an account." | Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT |
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | read a missing page | Partial | 1637 ms | read_url: 455 characters returned. "url: https://connectorreport.com/this-page-does-not-exist-938 title: "ConnectorReport: which MCP connectors actually work" content: >- Conne" | Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT |
| MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client) | error handling (number as url) | Works | 47 ms | read_url: tool error, 844 characters returned. "MCP error -32602: Input validation error: Invalid arguments for tool read_url: [ { "code": "invalid_union", "unionErrors": [ { "issues": [ {" | Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT |
Oct 16, 2026, 4:45 PM CT, MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client): Scripted client using the official MCP TypeScript SDK v1.32.1 against https://mcp.jina.ai/v1 (Streamable HTTP, protocol 2025-11-25). Connected without an API key. Page reading works without one; search tools need a free key. Server Jina AI Official MCP Server v1.9.0. Read-only server, so no create task. 4 of 7 tasks passed.
Automated handshake
No public remote endpoint to check (local or package-only server).
Gotchas
- MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client): Reading a page took about 7 s.
- MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client): search_web without an API key returns "Please set your API key" instead of results. Get a free key at jina.ai.
- MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client): search_arxiv also needs an API key.
- MCP TypeScript SDK (reference client): Reading a URL that returns a 404 page came back as a normal success with that page's text, not an error.
Errors and fixes
- MCP tool call times out on slow servers
- MCP tool says "Please set your API key" on a no-signup server
- MCP URL reader returns a 404 page as a normal result
FAQ
Does the Jina AI MCP server work?
In our hands-on test on Oct 16, 2026, 4 of 7 tasks passed. Main gotcha: Reading a page took about 7 s.
What is the Jina AI MCP server URL?
https://mcp.jina.ai/v1 (Streamable HTTP).
Does the Jina AI MCP server need sign-in?
No sign-in. Paste the URL and it connects.
How do I add the Jina AI MCP server to Claude, Cursor, VS Code or ChatGPT?
Follow our copy-paste setup guides: https://connectorreport.com/c/jina/setup/claude https://connectorreport.com/c/jina/setup/claude-code https://connectorreport.com/c/jina/setup/cursor https://connectorreport.com/c/jina/setup/vscode https://connectorreport.com/c/jina/setup/chatgpt
What errors does the Jina AI MCP server give?
MCP tool call times out on slow servers. MCP tool says "Please set your API key" on a no-signup server. MCP URL reader returns a 404 page as a normal result.
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