Setting Up Claude Desktop with MCP360: A Complete Walkthrough

Claude Desktop is the best MCP client for managing ad campaigns. Unlike ChatGPT or Gemini, Claude Desktop has native, first-class MCP support with no setup friction. Let's get you connected.

What You'll Need

1. Claude Desktop installed

2. An MCP360 account (free, no credit card)

3. At least one ad platform connected in your MCP360 dashboard

This guide takes about 5 minutes.

Step 1: Connect Your Ad Platform

Log into MCP360 Dashboard → Accounts and click Connect next to your ad platform of choice. We'll use Meta Ads in this example.

The OAuth flow takes about 30 seconds. Once done, you'll see the account listed with status Active.

Step 2: Create an API Key

Go to Dashboard → API Keys and click New API Key.

Name: "Claude Desktop – Production"

Permissions: Read + Write (or Read Only if you want read-only access)

Copy the generated key — it starts with mcp_live_ and won't be shown again.

Step 3: Edit claude_desktop_config.json

Find and open your Claude Desktop config file:

**macOS:** `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

**Windows:** `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`

Add this configuration (replace YOUR_KEY_HERE with your actual API key):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp360-meta-ads": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://meta-ads.mcp.mcp360.net/"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_API_KEY": "mcp_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Restart Claude Desktop

Quit Claude Desktop completely (check your system tray/menu bar) and reopen it. When it restarts, it will connect to the MCP360 server.

You'll know it worked when you see a small hammer icon (🔨) in Claude Desktop's interface, indicating MCP tools are available.

Step 5: Your First Campaign Analysis

Type this message to Claude:

> "Show me my top 5 Meta campaigns by ROAS this month"

Claude will call the meta_list_campaigns tool, fetch your actual campaign data, and return a formatted response with your real numbers.

Try These Prompts Next

Once connected, experiment with these:

Performance analysis:

> "Compare my Meta campaign performance this month vs last month"

Anomaly detection:

> "Are any of my campaigns showing unusual performance patterns today?"

Budget optimization:

> "Which campaigns are hitting their daily budget cap and when?"

Creative analysis:

> "Which of my Meta ads have frequency above 3.5 and might need creative refresh?"

Adding More Platforms

To add Google Ads alongside Meta, update your config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp360-meta-ads": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://meta-ads.mcp.mcp360.net/"],
      "env": { "MCP_API_KEY": "mcp_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE" }
    },
    "mcp360-google-ads": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://google-ads.mcp.mcp360.net/"],
      "env": { "MCP_API_KEY": "mcp_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE" }
    }
  }
}

The same API key works for all MCP360 platforms.

Troubleshooting

Tools don't appear in Claude Desktop: Make sure you've fully restarted Claude Desktop after editing the config. Check for syntax errors in the JSON file.

"Unauthorized" error: Double-check your API key. Make sure it's the full key starting with mcp_live_.

"No accounts found": Connect an ad platform in Dashboard → Accounts first.