Manual for Channel Partners: Icecat MCP for Your AI Agent (example Claude Desktop App)

Version 1.5
Updated on: October 22th, 2026

This manual is for Channel Partners connecting an AI assistant to Icecat MCP, using Claude as the example. It describes how to connect, what the AI can retrieve, and the limits that apply.

Icecat MCP lets an AI assistant answer product questions from verified Icecat data instead of guessing. The content is delivered according to your subscription level and access in Icecat. So, both free Open Icecat and paid Full Icecat subscriptions are supported.

1. Before you start

Who can connect

Only a Channel Partner account can use Icecat MCP. You can create one free of charge on the Registration page.

If your account manages products on Brand Cloud, create a separate Channel Partner account for MCP.

What you need

• an Icecat API Access Token (section 2);
• the Claude Desktop App and Node.js, or Claude Code (Node.js is not needed for Claude Code).

Fair Use Policy

Access to Icecat MCP is subject to the Open Icecat Fair Use Policy. Product data retrieved via MCP must not be used to train, fine-tune or optimize AI or machine learning models. A violation is a material breach of your license. Section 3 explains how to switch training off in Claude.

Every way to connect, in one table

2. Get your API token

1. Log in to your Icecat account.
2. Go to My profile settings.
3. Scroll down to Access Tokens and click Manage Access Tokens.
4. Create a new API Access Token, or copy an existing one.

The token identifies you on every request, and Icecat MCP applies the subscription and access of the account it belongs to.

Keep the token to yourself. Enter it only in your configuration file or in your own terminal. Never paste it into a chat with an AI assistant, Claude included: anything you type into a chat becomes part of the conversation.

More about tokens in Manual: Access Tokens as Alternative to IP Whitelists & Basic Auth.

3. Turn off AI training in Claude

Do this before your first question. By default, Claude may use your conversations to train its models, and the Fair Use Policy does not allow that for Icecat data.

1. Open the Claude Desktop App, or log in at claude.ai.
2. Click your profile name or icon at the bottom left of the sidebar.
3. Go to Settings > Privacy.
4. Switch “Help improve our AI models” OFF.

From then on, your conversations and the Icecat data in them are not used for training. The opt-out applies to new and resumed conversations only. Conversations held before you switched it off may already have been used, so avoid reopening old conversations that contain Icecat data.

On Free, Pro and Max plans the setting is on by default and has to be switched off manually. Enterprise and API users are exempt from training data collection automatically.

These steps reflect the Claude interface as of October 2026. If the layout has changed, see Anthropic’s current privacy documentation.

4. Connect the Claude Desktop App

Claude Desktop reads its connections from a file named claude_desktop_config.json.

1. In Claude, go to Settings > Developer > Local MCP Servers and click Edit Config. The folder containing the file opens.
2. Open claude_desktop_config.json in a text editor. Make sure the extension is .json, not .txt.
3. If the file is empty, paste the configuration below. If it already contains anything, stop here and go to section 5.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "icecat-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.icecat.biz",
        "--header",
        "Api-Token:YOUR_API_TOKEN",
        "--header",
        "Lang-Code:en"
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with your token.
5. Replace en with your default language. This is the language every answer uses unless you ask for another one in your question (section 7). Both forms work: the Icecat code, e.g. nl, or the locale, e.g. nl_BE (Icecat Locales and Language Code Table). This setting is optional; without it, English is used.
6. Save the file, then quit Claude completely, including the tray icon, and start it again.

Check the connection. Icecat appears in Claude’s settings under connectors.

Screenshot: Icecat MCP in Claude settings

The first time the AI uses an Icecat tool, Claude asks for permission. Allowing it covers that message only, so the request appears again with each new message, not each new chat.

5. Updating a configuration that is already filled in

If claude_desktop_config.json already holds settings (other MCP servers, or Claude’s own preferences), add Icecat to them. Pasting the example from section 4 over the whole file deletes your other connections.

Make a copy of the file first, for example claude_desktop_config.backup.json.

Case 1: the file already has other MCP servers

Add the icecat-mcp entry inside the existing "mcpServers" block, after the last server, with a comma after the previous server’s closing }:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-other-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["some-other-mcp"]
    },
    "icecat-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.icecat.biz",
        "--header",
        "Api-Token:YOUR_API_TOKEN",
        "--header",
        "Lang-Code:en"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Case 2: the file has other settings but no mcpServers block

Add "mcpServers" as a new entry next to what is there, separated by a comma. The existing settings stay as they are:

{
  "preferences": {
    "...": "your existing settings stay unchanged"
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "icecat-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.icecat.biz",
        "--header",
        "Api-Token:YOUR_API_TOKEN",
        "--header",
        "Lang-Code:en"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Case 3: Icecat is already there and something needs to change

Edit the existing icecat-mcp entry. Do not add a second one.

Three rules that keep the file valid

• one "mcpServers" block per file, with one "icecat-mcp" inside it;
• a comma between entries, never after the last one;
• straight quotes "…", not curly ones “…”. Curly quotes often come in when you copy from Word or email.

Save the file, then quit and restart Claude as in section 4. If Claude reports that the configuration is invalid, restore your copy and try again.

6. Connect Claude Code

Claude Code needs no configuration file. Open your own terminal and run:

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user icecat-mcp https://mcp.icecat.biz --header "Api-Token: YOUR_API_TOKEN" --header "Lang-Code: en"

• Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with your token and en with your default language (nl or nl_BE, for example).
• --scope user makes Icecat available in all your projects and keeps the token in your personal settings. Do not use --scope project: it writes the token into a project file that can be shared with others or committed to a code repository.
• Run the command yourself. Do not paste it into the chat or ask Claude to run it for you.

Check the connection: run claude mcp list in your terminal, or type /mcp inside Claude Code.

To change the token or language, remove the connection and add it again with the new values:

claude mcp remove icecat-mcp --scope user

7. How to ask about a product

The AI identifies a product in one of two ways:

• Brand + product code, for example Philips / SHB9850NC/00;
• GTIN. If a GTIN is given, the other identifiers are ignored.

You don’t need to know the tool names. Ask in your own words and the AI picks the right tool.

Asking for another language or market

Every answer comes in your default language (Lang-Code). To get content in another language for one question, name the language or the market in it:

• “Give me the specs of Philips / SHB9850NC/00 in German.”
• “Describe Philips / SHB9850NC/00 for the Belgian market in Dutch.”
• The language you write the question in does not count. A question written in Dutch still gets your default language unless it asks for Dutch content.
• Only the languages available to your account can be requested. Ask the AI “Which locales does my account have?” to see them.
• One language per question. For several languages, ask once for each.
• The choice applies to that question only. Your default language does not change.
• Product popularity (analytics) is the same in every language.

8. What the AI can retrieve

Files are always returned as links, never as attachments.

Text

Multimedia

Analytics and brand contacts

Your account

See also: Multimedia overview manual, How to Make the Product Gallery Great Again, Manual: Retrieving GPSR related Contact Details.

9. Limits

10. When something goes wrong

Connection problems

Messages you will meet

Our team is always available to tell you when a product will be published, or to take a request for its description.

11. Try it

For example, you want to know which Bluetooth version the Philips SHB9850NC/00 supports. Instead of looking it up, ask Claude. With Icecat MCP, the AI checks Icecat’s data before it answers, and if Icecat has no data for the product, it says so.

Screenshot: Claude checks product specs before answering

• Which of the following notebooks should I choose to combine software development with gaming: Lenovo / 21X20021AU or DELL / X11D4?
• Generate a short and catchy description for the toothbrush Philips / HX6932/10 based on its overview to be used in my promo materials.
• Analyze the promo materials provided by the supplier and overviews to describe the target audience for my social media targeting. Brand: Samsung, Product Codes: SM-F956BZSCEUE, SM-F741BLBGEUB, SM-G780FLVDEUE, SM-G925FZKAITV, SM-F741BZSGEUB, SM-S908BZGDEUE, SM-S906BZWDEUE, SM-F926BZKDEUA
• Compare the popularity of these three monitors and recommend which one I should feature as “Gamer’s Choice” in my store: LG / 27GP850-B, Samsung / LS34BG850SUXEN, DELL / S2722QC
• I’m selling in the EU. Retrieve all safety documentation and EU energy labels for the washing machine Gorenje / 741266. I need to verify my product page meets EPREL and GPSR requirements.
• Create 3 short Instagram Reels captions (under 100 characters each) highlighting unique features of the gaming mouse Logitech / 910-004843. Make them fun and Gen-Z friendly.
• Use the style and coloring scheme from ProductStory in product Nerf F63975L0 to create a banner for my Summer sales.
• Which Bluetooth version does the Philips SHB9850NC/00 support? Show me the answer from the German data sheet.

To see how partners use Icecat MCP in their daily work, read How Partners Are Actually Using the Icecat MCP Server: Five Real Use Cases.

12. Read further

• How Partners Are Actually Using the Icecat MCP Server: Five Real Use Cases
• Icecat MCP server: Enhance your AI with World-Class Product Intelligence
• AgenticFlow: how to integrate your own AI Agent with Icecat MCP
• Mindpal: How to integrate your own AI Agent with the Icecat MCP
• How to integrate your BoltAI Desktop app with Icecat MCP