Get started with the Rewind MCP server

The Rewind MCP server connects your AI assistant to Rewind so it can answer questions about your backups — and trigger a backup — in plain language. It runs on the Rewind API and uses the same API key. Setup takes a few minutes; follow the steps below in order.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• A Rewind account with at least one backed-up service.
• Your organization enrolled in the Rewind Labs early-access program — the MCP server is available to Rewind Labs orgs.
• Permission to create an API key — you must be an organization Owner or Admin.
• An MCP-capable AI client. Configuration for the common ones is below.
• The Advanced or Enterprise edition of Rewind Backups for any platform whose backed-up content you want to read — see Plan requirements below. Everything else works on any paid plan.
• Node.js 18 or newer — only if your client connects through the mcp-remote bridge (Claude Desktop and Zed, below). Clients that support remote servers natively don't need it. Confirm with node --version.

Plan requirements

Most of what the MCP does needs no particular plan. Asking about backup status, backup history, coverage, and your audit log — and triggering an on-demand backup — works on any paid plan.

Reading backed-up content is the exception. It requires that platform's Advanced or Enterprise edition of Rewind Backups — a Rewind subscription, not your Atlassian plan — and the requirement is checked per connected account, not once for your whole organization:

What you want to read	What it requires
Backed-up Confluence pages	Advanced or Enterprise edition of Rewind Backups
Backed-up Jira issues	Advanced or Enterprise edition of Rewind Backups

So a Jira account on the Advanced or Enterprise edition of Rewind Backups can read its backed-up issues while a Confluence account on a lower edition in the same organization cannot — each connected account is judged on its own Rewind subscription. Being on Advanced or Enterprise for one platform doesn't extend to another.

Two other boundaries worth knowing before you start:

• Backed-up content covers Jira issues and Confluence pages only. Comments, attachments, and platforms other than Jira and Confluence aren't covered, on any plan.
• Reading a past version is read-only. It shows you what the content was; it doesn't restore it.

If you ask for content on an account that isn't on the required Rewind Backups edition, the request fails with a 403 telling you which edition you need. For prompts that use this, see Example prompts.

Step 1 — Create an API key

The MCP server authenticates with the same API key as the REST API. Create the key in the Rewind app at app.rewind.com:

1. Sign in and open Settings → Security → API Tokens.
2. Select Create token, give it a name (for example, MCP), and create it.
3. Copy the key now and store it somewhere safe — you won't be able to view it again after this screen. The key is an opaque token, so keep it secret like a password.

For more detail on keys, see Authentication.

Step 2 — Connect your client

The Rewind MCP server is a remote server. Wherever your client asks for it:

• Server URL: https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp
• Header: X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

Pick your client below. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key from Step 1.

Claude Code

Run this in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http rewind-mcp https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp \
  --header "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Add -s user to make it available in every project (the default scope is the current project). Claude Code supports remote servers natively — no bridge needed.

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop reaches the server through mcp-remote, a small Node bridge (requires Node.js 18+).

1. Open the configuration file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (on Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json). If it doesn't exist, create it with { "mcpServers": {} }.

2. Add a rewind-mcp entry:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "rewind-mcp": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": [
           "mcp-remote",
           "https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp",
           "--header",
           "X-API-Key:YOUR_API_KEY"
         ],
         "env": {
           "PATH": "/Users/YOUR_NAME/.nvm/versions/node/VERSION/bin:/usr/local/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"
         }
       }
     }
   }

3. Set PATH so Claude Desktop can find npx — this is where most first-time setups fail. Claude Desktop launches subprocesses with a minimal environment and does not inherit your shell's PATH. Run which npx in a terminal where Node works; the directory part of that path (everything before /npx) must be in the PATH value above.

4. Save, then fully quit Claude Desktop (Cmd+Q) and reopen it — the config is only read on launch.

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rewind-mcp": {
      "url": "https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then enable the server in Settings → MCP. Cursor supports remote servers with custom headers natively.

VS Code (Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "rewind-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note the top-level key is servers (not mcpServers). Requires a recent VS Code with MCP support. To avoid committing your key, use an input variable instead of pasting it inline.

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json (or Settings → Cascade → MCP Servers → View raw config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rewind-mcp": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note the key is serverUrl (not url) — that's what marks it as a remote server. Requires a current Windsurf release.

Cline

In Cline, open MCP Servers → Configure MCP Servers and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rewind-mcp": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Set "type": "streamableHttp" so Cline treats it as a remote server.

Zed

Open your Zed settings.json (command palette: zed: open settings) and add a context server that runs the mcp-remote bridge (requires Node.js 18+):

{
  "context_servers": {
    "rewind-mcp": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "mcp-remote",
          "https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp",
          "--header",
          "X-API-Key:YOUR_API_KEY"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Recent Zed versions may accept a remote url with a headers object directly; if your version does, you can use that instead of the bridge.

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json (or .gemini/settings.json in your project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rewind-mcp": {
      "httpUrl": "https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note the key is httpUrl (not url) for a streamable-HTTP server.

Other clients

Any MCP-capable client can connect. Point it at:

• Server URL: https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp
• Header: X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

If your client supports remote servers with custom headers, add those two values directly. If it only supports local (stdio) servers, bridge to the remote server with mcp-remote (requires Node.js 18+):

npx mcp-remote https://mcp.rewind.com/mcp --header "X-API-Key:YOUR_API_KEY"

Step 3 — Verify the connection

In a new conversation, ask:

"What is Rewind backing up for us?"

The assistant should call the list_accounts tool and return the services Rewind is protecting for your organization. If it does, setup is complete.

If nothing happens or you see an error, see Troubleshooting below.

What you can ask

Once connected, you can ask things like:

• "What is Rewind backing up for us?"
• "Show me the most recent backups for my Jira site."
• "When was my last successful Confluence backup?"
• "Back up my Shopify store now."

See Example prompts for more, and Tools for everything the server can do.

Troubleshooting

• Authentication errors. Confirm the X-API-Key header value is your key exactly, with no added prefix, and that the key is valid and not expired.
• The server doesn't appear (bridge clients — Claude Desktop, Zed). Most often the PATH doesn't include your Node/npx directory. Run which npx, put that directory in the PATH, and fully quit and reopen your client.
• The config won't load. Validate the JSON (for example, jq . <config-file>). A missing comma between entries is the most common cause.
• Wrong field name. Remote-server field names differ by client — url (Cursor, VS Code, Cline), serverUrl (Windsurf), httpUrl (Gemini CLI). Check the tab for your client above.

Next steps

• Review Security before you share access.
• Browse the full set of Tools the MCP server exposes.