Setup
Steps 1 to 3 set up knav read. Step 4 adds knav write and is optional.
Step 1: Register your app
Create your account first. Sign up with your email address, then open the verification email we send you and click the link. Every account gets 100 free credits each month.
Add your Knack App ID on the Apps page. Then prove you manage the app: paste one token line into its custom JavaScript or its App Description, and leave it there.
How to verify
- Find your App ID in the Knack Builder under Settings → API & Code. It is a 24-character code.
- Sign in, open your Apps page, paste the App ID, and register the app.
- Your app appears with its verification token, a single line like this one:
// knav-verify-0123456789abcdef
This is an example. Your real token is on your Apps page. - Open your app in the Knack Builder, then Settings → API & Code.
- Paste the token line into your JavaScript and save (recommended), or paste it into your App Description under Settings.
- Back on your Apps page, click Verify.
Leave the token in place after verifying. It keeps proving that you manage the app.
knav read, the Knavigator MCP server you connect below, reads your app's structure (fields, views, objects, tasks). It never reads or stores your records.
Step 2: Connect your AI
Knavigator MCP speaks MCP, an open standard, so it works with any MCP client. Your server URL:
https://knav.avvera.ca/api/mcp
Authentication is OAuth, so there is no key to paste. Clients that send a header instead can use an API key.
Using ChatGPT? Custom MCP connectors need developer mode and a paid plan (Plus or higher). See the ChatGPT tab below.
claude.ai custom connector
- In claude.ai, open Customize → Connectors (
claude.ai/customize/connectors). - Click Add custom connector.
- Paste the server URL above and click Add. Leave the advanced OAuth fields empty.
- On the connector's row, click Connect, sign in to Knavigator MCP and approve access.
- In a chat, open + → Connectors, turn it on, and ask about a verified app, for example "Where is the Email field used in my app?"
claude.ai signs in with OAuth, so there is no key to paste. It works on all Claude plans. The Free plan allows one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans an organization owner adds it first under Organization settings → Connectors; members then connect from Customize → Connectors. Subject to change: these are Claude’s own menus and plan rules, accurate as of August 2026. Check their docs if a step does not match.
ChatGPT (developer mode)
- In ChatGPT (web), open Settings and turn on Developer mode. It currently sits under Plugins. Some accounts show it under Security and login or Apps → Advanced settings, because the menu has moved across rollouts.
- Open Plugins (
chatgpt.com/pluginsor the sidebar entry) and click + to add a plugin. - Give it a name (for example
Knavigator), paste the server URL above, and choose OAuth authentication. - Create it, then sign in to Knavigator MCP in the popup and approve access.
- In a chat, pick it from the Developer mode tools (or type
@and select it by name).
Web only (not in the mobile apps), and it needs a paid ChatGPT plan: Plus or higher. Subject to change: these are ChatGPT’s own menus and plan rules, accurate as of August 2026. Check their docs if a step does not match.
Claude Code
Add the remote MCP over HTTP, then sign in:
- Run the command above in your terminal.
- In Claude Code, run
/mcpand complete the OAuth sign-in for knav. - Ask questions about your verified app in the session.
Prefer a header? Create an API key and add --header "Authorization: Bearer <key>" instead of OAuth. Subject to change: these are Claude Code’s own menus and plan rules, accurate as of August 2026. Check their docs if a step does not match.
Prefer to paste the instructions to your agent? Copy this:
Codex CLI
Add the remote server with one command:
- Run the command above. Codex detects OAuth and opens your browser: sign in to Knavigator MCP and approve access. (If it prints "may or may not require login", run
codex mcp login knav.) - Confirm with
codex mcp list, then startcodexand type/mcp. The knav tools appear in the server list.
Prefer an API key (headless or CI)? Create an API key, export it as KNAV_API_KEY, and add --bearer-token-env-var KNAV_API_KEY to the command. The key itself never lands in the config file. The ChatGPT desktop app and the Codex IDE extension share the same ~/.codex/config.toml (their menu path: Settings → MCP servers → Add server, transport Streamable HTTP). Codex is included with every ChatGPT plan and MCP is not plan-gated. Subject to change: these are Codex’s own commands and plan rules, accurate as of August 2026. Check their docs if a step does not match.
Prefer to paste the instructions to your agent? Copy this:
Cursor
Add this to your ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or the project's .cursor/mcp.json):
- Save the file and reload Cursor.
- Open Customize → MCPs in Cursor, find knav, and turn it on.
- If it shows Needs authentication, click Connect. Your browser opens the Knavigator MCP sign-in. Approve access there.
- The knav tools appear in the chat panel's tools list.
MCP servers need Cursor Pro or higher. If a global ~/.cursor/mcp.json entry does not appear, move it to the project's .cursor/mcp.json. To use an API key instead of OAuth, add a "headers" object with "Authorization": "Bearer <key>". Subject to change: these are Cursor’s own menus and plan rules, accurate as of August 2026. Check their docs if a step does not match.
Prefer to paste the instructions to your agent? Copy this:
Any other MCP client
Paste the server URL above where the client asks for a remote MCP server or connector URL, then sign in with OAuth. Gemini CLI, Windsurf and other clients work this way.
Grok
- Sign in at grok.com and open grok.com/connectors (or, in a chat, click + and select Connectors).
- Click New Connector, then select Custom.
- Paste the server URL above.
- Complete the OAuth sign-in to Knavigator MCP and approve access.
- The knav tools become available in your chats. Ask about a verified app and Grok calls them on its own.
Connectors are available to all Grok users. On Grok Business and Enterprise plans a team admin must add the connector in the xAI console first (console.x.ai → Grok Business → Connectors); members then connect on grok.com/connectors. Subject to change: these are Grok’s own menus and plan rules, accurate as of August 2026. Check their docs if a step does not match.
Step 3: Ask a first question
Start a chat and ask about your verified app, with your own field and table names. Starting with "Use Knav" steers your AI straight to the connector. Try one of these:
- "Use Knav and tell me where the Status field on Jobs is used."
- "Use Knav and tell me what breaks if I delete the Notes table."
- "Use Knav and tell me which emails mention the Due Date field."
Answers reflect Builder changes within seconds. Edit your app and ask again.
Step 4: knav write
Optionalknav write is an optional add-on that lets your AI coding agent change your Knack apps. It needs an AI agent that runs on your computer, such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or the ChatGPT desktop app. It does not work in claude.ai or chatgpt.com in the browser, because it runs a program on your computer.
knav write is experimental, likely has some bugs, and can delete live data. You may not be able to get it back. It guides your AI agent but cannot control it. Knack can change at any time and cause unexpected changes. Avvera may not be able to fix it. It is not tested on next-gen Knack. Start slow, with small changes on a copy of your app, and ask your agent to back up your app schema before an important change. Read the knav write terms
How it works
- On the Apps page, accept the knav write terms. Then turn on knav write for your account, and Write for each app you want your AI to change.
- Install the knav write program on the computer where your AI coding agent runs. The Apps page shows the command once knav write is on.
- The program opens this site in your browser to link that computer. Check that it names your computer, then confirm.
- Paste the Knack API key of each app (Knack Builder: Settings, then API & Code). The key stays on your computer.
- Restart your AI coding agent so the knav write tools load.
- Back on the Apps page, choose which changes knav asks you to approve first. Turn on a Records switch only if your AI needs to work with records.
API keys
Most AI clients sign in with OAuth and need no key. Use a key only for clients that ask for a header, or for scripts. A key goes in an Authorization: Bearer header. Treat it like a password.
Sign in to create a key. Each key belongs to your account and can be revoked at any time.
Accept the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy in force to create and manage keys. Read and accept the terms
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Create a key
Troubleshooting
- "App not verified": the token line is missing from the app. Add it back, then check the app again on the Apps page.
- The AI does not see knav: reconnect the connector, then start a new chat.
Something else does not work as described here? Email support@avvera.ca with what you did and what you saw.