MCP is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools and data sources. It allows Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and other AI tools to access your Octolens data directly. Think of it like OAuth for AI—a standardized way for AI assistants to securely access third-party data. Learn more at modelcontextprotocol.io
Brand Mentions In Your Favorite AI Tool
Stop context-switching between work and social platforms. Monitor brand mentions across Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, Hacker News, and 9 other platforms directly in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or any MCP-compatible tool. AI-filtered, real-time, no setup hassle.
Works with your favorite AI tools:
Loved by 1000+ SaaS & Developer Brands
What is Octolens MCP Server?
A Model Context Protocol integration that brings multi-platform brand monitoring directly into your development workflow
The problem it solves
As a founders, marketer, or developer, you need to know when your product is mentioned online. But constantly checking Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, Hacker News, and other platforms breaks your flow. Traditional brand monitoring tools require switching to a separate dashboard and manually sifting through noise.
How Octolens MCP works
Instead of leaving your IDE, you can ask your AI assistant (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) to show you brand mentions:
- • "Show me Reddit mentions from today"
- • "Find Twitter threads comparing us to CompetitorX"
- • "Alert me if any post gets 100+ upvotes"
Octolens handles the monitoring, filtering, and data retrieval. Your AI assistant handles the interface.
What makes it different
Multi-platform
Monitor 11+ platforms from one MCP server
AI-filtered
Only high-signal mentions, no spam or bots
Developer-first
Built for people who live in their IDE
No API keys needed
We handle Twitter API, Reddit API, etc.
Learn more about Model Context Protocol (MCP)
Why Use MCP for Brand Monitoring?
Traditional dashboards require context-switching. MCP keeps you in your workflow.
Traditional dashboard workflow
- 1. Open browser
- 2. Log into monitoring tool
- 3. Select platform (Twitter)
- 4. Select date range (last 24 hours)
- 5. Apply filters (positive sentiment only)
- 6. Export to CSV
- 7. Import into spreadsheet
- 8. Analyze
Time: 15-30 minutes, 3x per day = 45-90 minutes/day
MCP workflow
@octolens show positive Twitter mentions from yesterdayDone. Results appear in your IDE, ready to analyze, respond to, or share.
Time: 30 seconds, 1x per day = 30 seconds/day
Specific benefits
No context-switching
Stay in your IDE while monitoring mentions
Natural language queries
Ask questions in plain English
Programmable
Use mention data in scripts and workflows
AI-powered analysis
Let Claude analyze sentiment and extract insights
Real-world time savings
Before MCP: Check dashboard 3x/day, manually triage 50 mentions, takes 30 min = 90 min/day
With MCP: Ask "@octolens triage urgent mentions" once/day, get 5 filtered results, takes 2 min
Time saved: 88 minutes/day = 7.3 hours/week = 380 hours/year
Monitor 11 Platforms from One MCP Server
Unlike single-platform MCP servers, Octolens monitors your brand across the entire web - all from one integration
Twitter/X
Real-time mentions and threads
Discussions across all subreddits
Professional discussions & posts
Hacker News
Tech community discussions
GitHub
Issues, PRs, and discussions
Bluesky
Decentralized social mentions
Stack Overflow
Developer Q&A and answers
DEV.to
Developer community posts
YouTube
Video mentions and comments
Newsletters
Email newsletter mentions
Podcasts
Audio mentions and transcripts
Why multi-platform matters
Your brand isn't just discussed on one platform. Users talk about your product on Twitter, ask questions on Reddit, share projects on Hacker News, report bugs on GitHub, and write tutorials on DEV.
Monitoring just one platform means missing 90% of the conversation.
Most MCP servers
Single platform (Twitter-only, Reddit-only, etc.)
Octolens MCP
All 11 platforms from one server
Works With Your Favorite AI Tools
Octolens MCP Server follows the Model Context Protocol standard, which means it works with any MCP-compatible IDE or AI assistant
Officially tested with:
Claude Desktop
Claude Code
Cursor
ChatGPT
Windsurf
VS Code
Zed
Tool-agnostic by design
We don't lock you into one IDE or AI assistant. Use Octolens MCP with whatever tool you prefer—and switch tools anytime without reconfiguring.
One MCP server, any tool. That's the power of MCP.
Octolens MCP Server Key Features
Everything you need for effective brand monitoring, built into one MCP server
Multi-Platform Search
One query searches across all 11 platforms. No need to check each platform separately.
Ask "@octolens show all mentions today" and get results from Twitter, Reddit, HN, and 8 more platforms.
AI Relevance Filtering
Only high-signal mentions reach you. Spam, bots, and off-topic posts filtered automatically.
Before: 500 mentions/day (95% noise). After: 25 mentions/day (90% relevant). Time saved: 2+ hours/day.
Sentiment Analysis
Know immediately if a mention is positive, negative, or neutral. Track sentiment trends over time.
Get instant alerts when sentiment drops below 70% positive or rises above 85%.
Historical Data
Access mention history beyond platform API limits. Track trends over months or years.
Analyze how brand sentiment changed over the past 6 months or compare launch periods.
Real-Time Alerts
Get notified instantly when important mentions appear. Set custom alert thresholds.
Alert when any mention gets 50+ upvotes, or when sentiment turns negative.
No API Keys Needed
We handle Twitter API, Reddit API, LinkedIn API, etc. No rate limit headaches or API billing.
Skip the hassle of applying for platform APIs and managing multiple rate limits.
How to Use Octolens MCP: Real World Examples
Copy-paste these prompts to get started. All work across multiple platforms
Multi-Platform Daily Digest
Prompt:
Show me mentions from all platforms in the last 24 hours, sorted by engagementWhat you get:
Found 34 mentions across 8 platforms in the last 24 hours: 🔥 High engagement: • Twitter: "Just switched to Octolens, loving the MCP integration!" 📊 142 likes, 28 retweets, 12 replies 🔗 https://twitter.com/developer_mike/status/... • Reddit: r/programming "Octolens vs Brand24 comparison" 📊 89 upvotes, 34 comments 🔗 https://reddit.com/r/programming/... • Hacker News: "Show HN: Monitoring with Octolens MCP" 📊 67 points, 18 comments 🔗 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=... Medium engagement (23 mentions): • LinkedIn: 8 posts • DEV.to: 6 articles • Stack Overflow: 4 answers • GitHub: 3 issues • Bluesky: 2 posts [... 8 more mentions]
Why it's useful: Start your day knowing exactly what happened across ALL platforms, not just Twitter. Save 2+ hours of manual checking.
Setup Octolens MCP Server
Get multi-platform brand monitoring in 10 minutes. No platform API keys needed.
Prerequisites
Note: No platform API keys needed—Octolens handles Twitter API, Reddit API, LinkedIn API, and all others.
Configure Keywords in Octolens
- Log into Octolens
- Add keywords to monitor:
- Your product name (e.g., "Octolens")
- Common misspellings
- Your competitors' names
- Relevant category terms
Pro tip: Start with your exact product name. Add category keywords later once you see how AI filtering works.
Get Your MCP API Key
- In Octolens, navigate to Settings → MCP
- Click "Generate New Key"
- Copy the key and save it securely
Security reminder: Keep your API key private. Don't commit it to git or share it publicly.
Connect to Your AI Tool
Choose your tool:
1. Run this command
Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your Octolens API key
claude mcp add octolens \
--transport sse \
"https://app.octolens.com/api/mcp?token=YOUR_API_KEY"2. Verify the connection
Inside Claude Code, run the /mcp command:
/mcp⎿ MCP Server Status
• octolens: connected
Scope options: Add --scope user to make it available across all projects, or --scope project to share with your team via .mcp.json
Test Connection
In your IDE, type:
@octolens list my keywordsYou should see your configured keywords.
Then try:
@octolens show mentions from todayYou should see recent mentions from all platforms (if any exist for your keywords).
Troubleshooting
Check that you have the correct MCP server URL with your API token. Make sure you've completely restarted your tool (not just reloaded). Verify your internet connection is working.
Verify your API key has no extra spaces or line breaks. Check that the key hasn't expired in your Octolens dashboard (Settings → MCP). Make sure you replaced YOUR_API_KEY with your actual key in the configuration.
Keywords may need 24 hours to index initially. Try a common keyword like your product name. Verify you have mentions in your Octolens web dashboard first.
Check your firewall settings to ensure outbound connections to app.octolens.com are allowed. If you're behind a corporate proxy, you may need to configure proxy settings for your tool.
Make sure you're using a compatible version of your tool (Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT, etc.). Check the tool's documentation for MCP support. Restart the tool completely after adding the configuration.
Octolens MCP vs Alternatives
Compare approaches to brand monitoring for developers
| Feature | Octolens MCP | Generic MCP Server | Traditional Dashboard | DIY Solution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 10 minutes | 30-60 minutes | 30 minutes | 4+ hours |
| Platforms covered | ✓ 11 platforms | 1-2 platforms | 3-5 platforms | 1 platform |
| AI filtering | ✓ Built-in | ✗ You build it | ⚠️ Basic rules | ✗ You build it |
| Sentiment analysis | ✓ Automatic | ✗ You build it | ⚠️ Limited | ✗ You build it |
| Historical data | ✓ Unlimited | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ 30-90 days | ✗ You store it |
| No API keys needed | ✓ We handle it | ✗ You need keys | ✓ They handle it | ✗ You need keys |
| Works in IDE | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✗ Web only | ⚠️ If you build it |
| Multi-tool support | ✓ Any MCP tool | ✓ Any MCP tool | ✗ Web only | ⚠️ Custom |
| Team sharing | ✓ Shared config | ⚠️ Manual | ✓ Team accounts | ✗ DIY |
| Cost | $99/month | Free (your time) | $300-1000/month | Free (your time) |
| Time to value | Day 1 | Week 1-2 | Day 1 | Month 1-3 |
Best for: Octolens MCP
Teams that want turnkey brand monitoring across all platforms, AI filtering, and MCP integration without building or maintaining infrastructure.
Typical user: Teams at B2B SaaS company monitoring brands across Twitter, Reddit, HN, GitHub, and LinkedIn.
Best for: Generic MCP Server
Developers who want to learn MCP by building their own monitoring solution, or need very specific customization.
Typical user: Solo developer building custom monitoring for a niche platform not covered by Octolens.
Best for: Traditional Dashboard
Teams that prefer web-based workflows and don't need IDE integration. Good for non-technical users (marketing, sales).
Typical user: Marketing team that doesn't code and prefers clicking through dashboards.
Best for: DIY Solution
Companies with existing data pipelines and engineering resources to build custom monitoring.
Typical user: Large tech company with 10+ engineers and custom infrastructure.
Most teams choose Octolens MCP because:
- ✓Multi-platform coverage saves time (11 platforms vs building integrations)
- ✓AI filtering works out-of-box (no training models or writing rules)
- ✓MCP integration stays in workflow (no context-switching to dashboard)
- ✓Professional support included (email, live chat, documentation)
Loved by 1000s of founders, marketing, and dev-facing teams
Brand Monitoring With Fair Pricing
Pro
$99/month
- Everything in Basic, and:
- ✓20,000 mentions
- ✓10 keywords
- ✓1-year data history
- ✓Hourly alerts
- ✓MCP server & Webhooks
- ✓AI relevance scoring
For growing brands like
Scale
$299/month
- Everything in Pro, and:
- ✓50,000 mentions
- ✓15 keywords
- ✓Unlimited data history
- ✓Real-time alerts
- ✓Full API access
- ✓AI summaries
For well-known brands like
Enterprise
Custom
- Everything in Scale, and:
- ✓Multiple workspaces
- ✓Unlimited mentions
- ✓Unlimited keywords
- ✓Custom AI agents
For viral brands like
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Octolens MCP Server
Currently: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code (with MCP extension), and Zed. Coming soon: ChatGPT (when OpenAI adds MCP support) and GitHub Copilot (if Microsoft adds MCP support). Check modelcontextprotocol.io/clients for the full list of MCP-compatible tools.
No. Octolens handles all platform API keys for you (Twitter API, Reddit API, LinkedIn API, etc.). You just need one Octolens MCP API key. This saves you from applying for Twitter/Reddit/LinkedIn API access, managing rate limits, handling API billing, and dealing with API changes.
Yes! MCP and the web dashboard use the same data. You can configure keywords in the dashboard, query mentions via MCP in your IDE, view detailed analytics in the dashboard, and set up webhooks from the dashboard. Use whichever interface fits your workflow.
MCP is a conversational interface for AI assistants (natural language queries like 'show mentions from today'), while the API is a programmatic interface for applications (HTTP requests like GET /mentions?date=2026-01-27). Both access the same data. Most developers use MCP for ad-hoc queries and API for automation.
Only the brand monitoring data you configure in Octolens: mentions of your keywords, sentiment analysis results, engagement metrics (likes, upvotes, comments), and platform metadata (author, URL, timestamp). The MCP server does NOT have access to your Octolens account settings, billing information, other users' data, or your IDE contents.
Yes. If you use Claude Code or Cursor, you can share your MCP configuration via the project's .mcp.json file. Add the Octolens MCP server configuration to this file, commit it to git, and your whole team has access. Security note: Use a team API key (Settings → MCP → Create Team Key), not your personal key.
Test with this command in your IDE: '@octolens list my keywords'. If you see your configured keywords, MCP is working correctly. If you see an error, check: 1) API key is correct (no spaces or line breaks), 2) IDE is restarted (not just reloaded), 3) Internet connection is working, 4) Firewall allows connections to app.octolens.com
No. MCP requires an internet connection to fetch real-time mentions from Octolens servers. However, if you've recently queried mentions, your IDE might cache results temporarily (depending on the IDE).
Not yet. MCP currently requires cloud-hosted Octolens. If you need self-hosted brand monitoring with MCP, contact us at enterprise@octolens.com—we're building this for Enterprise customers.
MCP queries will return results up to your plan limit. For example, if your Pro plan includes 20,000 mentions/month and you've used 18,000 mentions, MCP can only access those 18,000. To access more, either upgrade to a higher plan (Settings → Billing), wait until your monthly limit resets, or add negative keywords to reduce noise.
In Octolens dashboard: Go to Settings → MCP, click 'Revoke' next to the API key. The key immediately stops working. This is useful if you accidentally committed your API key to a public repo, a team member leaves, or you suspect unauthorized access. Generate a new key anytime at Settings → MCP → Generate New Key.
Start Monitoring Your Brand via MCP Today
Join 1,000+ B2B SaaS companies using Octolens for brand monitoring
Monitor 11+ platforms
Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, Hacker News, GitHub, and 6 more from one MCP server
AI-filtered mentions
Only see high-signal mentions—no spam, bots, or noise
Works with any AI tool
Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Zed, or any MCP-compatible tool
No credit card required • Setup in 10 minutes • Cancel anytime