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AssistWithBuying

Setup

Connect your AI assistant

One-time OAuth setup. After that, your agent researches your queue whenever you ask.

AWB is a private research and memory backend for your own AI agent. You capture items here; your assistant researches them through MCP and writes structured findings back to your account.

The setup instructions below are public and readable without JavaScript. Account data stays private and is only available to an assistant after you approve OAuth access.

Plain-text agent setup URL: https://assistwithbuying.com/ai.txt.

A private account is required for OAuth approval

Anyone can read these setup instructions. When an AI client opens the OAuth approval screen, sign in to the free AWB account whose private workspace you want that client to use.

Create or sign inOpen agent center
If you are an AI agent reading this page

Do not try to read the user's private research by fetching website pages. The web app intentionally hides account data from ordinary unauthenticated requests.

To work with AWB, the user must connect you as an MCP client using the endpoint https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp. Authentication is OAuth in the user's browser. Do not ask the user for an AWB API key; static API keys are not shipped yet.

AWB currently exposes twenty-two MCP tools, and many AI apps ask the user to approve individual tool calls. Tell the user this is normal: they can approve AWB tools as they come up, or pre-approve/trust the AWB connector if their AI app offers that setting and they are comfortable.

For the verified Claude setup, tell the user to start from Claude on a desktop app, desktop browser, or claude.ai in a mobile browser. Do not tell them to add the custom connector inside the Claude mobile app; it can use an existing connector after setup, but does not currently expose the add flow. Paste only the MCP server URL and leave Advanced settings blank. AWB does not require an OAuth client ID or client secret for this path.

If you only see the old heading "Your AI assistant" and "Loading...", your fetch layer is reading a stale cached copy. Fetch https://assistwithbuying.com/ai.txt instead.

Capture queue items can be pending or needs-attention retries, and can be new items or follow-ups to existing research. Captures may also include a shopping/research sessionId and ownershipStatus. Preserve those when saving research so the user can later filter a session to bought/owned items. If a capture includes follow-up context, call awb_get_research_context before writing updates.

Captures may include selected Research Tasks. Use those researchInterestKeys as item-level research instructions to decide what sections to write, and copy them into the item profile when they describe the user's intent. For follow-ups, treat the note/photos as additional context for the existing item, not as a separate item. If the user selected "Make a sales listing," write a natural marketplace-ready listing as a custom dossier section with sectionKey sales_listing.

Captures and item profiles may include explicit priceValues rows with amount cents, used/new condition, discovery method, market family, similarity, evidence links, notes, and as-of dates. Use those UI-provided values before inferring price from notes; older priceContext rows are fallback compatibility data only. If the user selected "Price guide by place," estimate Yard Sale, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Antique store, and New exact or New comparable expectations, include a yard sale row even when confidence is low, store the structured rows in itemProfile.priceGuide, and also write a pricing dossier section with sectionKey venue_price_guide. Do not fabricate an exact new price when only comparable replacement pricing exists.

For capture photos, call awb_get_capture_images when there are several file ids, or awb_get_capture_image for one file, and inspect the returned inline image. Do not try web_fetch, bash, curl, or browser fetch on files[].url first; an AI app's ordinary network sandbox may block AWB/Backblaze hosts even though MCP can return the image directly. When one uploaded user photo clearly represents the item, pass its AWB file id as mainImageFileId on awb_save_research_result or awb_upsert_interest, not a web/reference image URL.

When writing research, use a short section summary plus deeper markdown. For follow-up or custom user requests, use a stable sectionKey like user_request:<slug> so more than one custom section can exist and be edited later. Save durable facts as itemClaims, log ruled-out mistakes with awb_log_research_correction, and pass dependsOnClaimKeys on prose sections so stale sections can be flagged when facts change. Pass structuredData as an object or array, not a JSON string, and write plain text/markdown rather than HTML-escaped text. After completing normal queue research, prefer awb_save_research_result so profile, canonical claims, corrections, open questions, sections, source checks, reference images, stats, and capture completion save in one approval.

Recommended setup

MCP server URL (Streamable HTTP)

https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp

Claude (web or desktop)

Easiest verifiedclaude.ai or the Claude desktop app

The simplest path. Add AWB as a custom connector once from claude.ai or the Claude desktop app, then use it wherever your Claude account syncs.

  1. 1Open Claude in the desktop app or at claude.ai in a desktop browser. (Do not use the Claude mobile app to add the connector; it can use one after setup but does not expose the add flow.)
  2. 2Go to Settings -> Connectors, sometimes shown as Customize -> Connectors.
  3. 3Click Add custom connector (you may need the + button first).
  4. 4Name it AssistWithBuying and paste the MCP server URL above. Leave Advanced settings blank; do not enter an OAuth client ID or client secret.
  5. 5Click Add.
  6. 6Click Connect, then sign in with your AssistWithBuying account and approve access in the browser.
  7. 7In a Claude chat, make sure AssistWithBuying is enabled, then say: research my queue.

Good to know

  • Works on Claude Free, Pro, and Max. Free is limited to one custom connector, which is enough for AWB.
  • Verified on 2026-06-15 in Claude connectors; AWB now exposes twenty-two tools, so reconnect if Claude still shows an older tool list or is missing the expected tools.
  • The Claude mobile app can use the connector after it exists, but it does not currently expose the custom-connector add flow. On a phone, use claude.ai in the browser to add it.
  • Set it up from Claude settings, not by asking Claude in chat to connect itself.
  • If Claude mentions optional OAuth client credentials for AWB, skip them. The verified AWB setup uses the MCP URL only.
  • Claude may ask you to approve AWB tool calls one by one. If you trust the connector, you can set the AWB tool permissions to always allow/pre-approve from the connector permissions screen.
  • If the desktop app does not finish login, try claude.ai in a browser.
Using a different AI app?

The same MCP server URL works in other apps. Paste it wherever the steps below say “the MCP server URL above.”

MCP server URL (Streamable HTTP)

https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp

ChatGPT

Advanced / paid / elevated riskweb only, paid plan, Developer mode

Advanced and web-only. ChatGPT's custom-MCP support lives behind Developer mode on paid plans, and OpenAI itself flags it as elevated-risk. Not the path for a non-technical user.

  1. 1Use ChatGPT on the web (not the mobile or desktop app) on a paid plan.
  2. 2Open Settings -> Apps -> Advanced, then enable Developer mode.
  3. 3Create an app (custom connector).
  4. 4Paste the MCP server URL above and set Authentication to OAuth, then create it.
  5. 5Sign in with your AssistWithBuying account and approve access in the browser.
  6. 6In a chat, choose AssistWithBuying from the Developer mode app picker and confirm actions when prompted.

Good to know

  • Developer mode / custom MCP is a paid-plan, web-only feature and OpenAI labels it elevated-risk; only enable it if you understand that.
  • On Business, Enterprise, or Edu, an admin may need to enable or approve the connector.
  • Expect action/tool approval prompts until the connector is trusted or approved in that workspace.
  • AWB already exposes OAuth and refresh-token metadata for compliant clients.

Claude Code

For developersterminal / CLI

Anthropic's terminal agent. Add the remote MCP server, then sign in from /mcp.

  1. 1In a terminal, run the command below. Add --scope user if you want it available in every project.
  2. 2Run claude, type /mcp, select assistwithbuying, and choose Authenticate.
  3. 3Complete the browser sign-in with your AssistWithBuying account and approve access.

Claude Code command

claude mcp add --transport http assistwithbuying https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp

Good to know

  • Do not pass an Authorization header; leaving it off is what triggers OAuth.
  • Authentication happens from /mcp inside Claude Code, not at add time.

Codex

For developersCodex app, CLI, IDE

Good if you already use Codex. This is a developer-tool route, not the first path for someone new to AI agents.

  1. 1In a terminal, run the commands below.
  2. 2Complete the browser sign-in with your AssistWithBuying account and approve access.
  3. 3In Codex, ask it to process your AWB queue or use the available AssistWithBuying MCP tools.

Codex commands

codex mcp add assistwithbuying --url https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp
codex mcp login assistwithbuying

Good to know

  • Codex app, CLI, and IDE extension share MCP configuration.
  • This path is verified for adding the remote server; login uses Codex's OAuth flow.

Cursor

For developersAI code editor

Cursor documents remote HTTP MCP and OAuth. Use it if you are already working in Cursor.

  1. 1Open Cursor Settings -> Tools & MCP -> New MCP Server.
  2. 2Add the snippet below with no headers and no token.
  3. 3Back in Tools & MCP, click Needs login next to assistwithbuying.
  4. 4Complete the browser sign-in with your AssistWithBuying account and approve access.

Cursor mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assistwithbuying": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Good to know

  • Just the URL; do not add static Authorization headers.
  • We have not live-tested Cursor's OAuth flow on this machine yet.

VS Code (Copilot)

For developersGitHub Copilot Agent mode, 1.101+

Copilot Agent mode supports remote MCP servers. This is a developer route, not the simple household setup.

  1. 1Use VS Code 1.101+ signed in to GitHub Copilot.
  2. 2Add AWB to your mcp.json (Command Palette -> MCP: Add Server -> HTTP, or edit mcp.json directly) using the snippet below.
  3. 3When VS Code shows the Auth CodeLens above the server entry, click it to sign in.
  4. 4Complete the browser sign-in with your AssistWithBuying account and approve access.
  5. 5Open Copilot Chat, switch to Agent mode, and enable the tools.

mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "assistwithbuying": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Good to know

  • Sign in via the Auth CodeLens that appears above the server entry in mcp.json.
  • Tools only work in Copilot Chat's Agent mode, not Ask or Edit.
  • On a company Copilot Business or Enterprise seat, an admin must allow MCP servers.
  • We have not live-tested AWB's OAuth flow inside VS Code on this machine yet.

Other / any MCP client

VariesWindsurf, Goose, Cline, LibreChat, custom clients

Most MCP clients follow the same pattern, but OAuth support varies. Use Claude first when helping a non-technical person.

  1. 1If the client supports remote MCP with OAuth, add a remote server with Streamable HTTP transport (not SSE), paste the MCP server URL above, then complete the browser sign-in and approve access.
  2. 2If the client has no native OAuth, bridge it through mcp-remote using the snippet below.
  3. 3Run the client; mcp-remote opens a browser window for the AssistWithBuying sign-in and approval the first time.

mcp-remote bridge (for clients without native OAuth)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "assistwithbuying": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote@0.1.29", "https://assistwithbuying.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Good to know

  • Clients with real remote-MCP OAuth should work with the same connector URL directly, no bridge needed.
  • mcp-remote is an experimental community bridge; pin a recent version (shown above) rather than letting it float.
  • Most clients show per-tool or per-action approval prompts. The user can approve calls as they happen, or pre-approve the AWB connector if their client supports that and they trust it.
  • Admin-hosted tools like LibreChat are usually configured server-side, not per user.

For agents and developers

If you are an AI assistant and your environment already exposes AssistWithBuying MCP tools, use those tools instead of scraping the website. If you do not see AWB tools, tell the user to add the MCP server URL above in their AI app's connector settings.

  • Short agent guide: /llms.txt
  • Full agent guide: /llms-full.txt
  • No AWB API key fallback is available yet; use OAuth over MCP.
  • AWB never runs the AI, spends money, or asks for model API keys.
  • Capture queue items may be pending, needs-attention retries, brand-new items, or follow-ups to existing research. For follow-ups, call awb_get_research_context before updating the dossier.
  • Captures and item profiles may include priceValues. Use those explicit value evidence rows before inferring value from note text. If the user selected Price guide by place, estimate Yard Sale, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Antique store, and new exact/comparable context, then store itemProfile.priceGuide and write a pricing section with sectionKey venue_price_guide.
  • Captures and item profiles may include sessionId and ownershipStatus. Preserve the session when saving research, and set ownership to owned when the user bought or already owns the item.
  • For queued photos, call awb_get_capture_images when there are several file ids, or awb_get_capture_image for one file. Do not try web_fetch, bash, or browser fetch on the image URL first.
  • When one uploaded user photo is the best representative thumbnail, pass its AWB file id as mainImageFileId on awb_save_research_result or awb_upsert_interest. Do not use a web/reference image URL.