> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://api-docs.realfinity.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://api-docs.realfinity.io/mcp/connecting.md).

# Connecting

This section covers how to connect an MCP client to the Realfinity MCP server, how authentication and authorization work, and what to check when a connection or tool call doesn't behave as expected.

* [Authentication](/mcp/connecting/authentication.md) — why the server acts as its own authorization server, the OAuth discovery endpoints and flow, and how a validated token becomes a scoped Realfinity identity.
* [Clients & Configuration](/mcp/connecting/clients-and-configuration.md) — how to add the server to claude.ai, Claude Desktop, MCP Inspector, and how to run it locally.
* [Troubleshooting](/mcp/connecting/troubleshooting.md) — common connection problems and their fixes, plus the tool error-message label reference.