How do I connect Vamo to my AI tool?

You connect Vamo to your AI tool from the Vamo app. For most people it is one copy and one paste at Set up > Get started. Chat apps sign in through the browser instead. This page explains the words you will see and what to click.

Three words you will see

MCP server. MCP is a common way for AI assistants to use outside tools. An MCP server is a set of those tools that an assistant can find and use by itself. Vamo runs an MCP server for developer search. Once your assistant is connected, you ask in plain language, and it runs the search.

API. An API is a way for software to ask another service for something directly. The Vamo API offers the same searches as the MCP server, called by code instead of by an assistant. Every request carries an API key, which tells Vamo which account is calling.

Skill. A skill is a set of written instructions an agent reads before it works. Vamo's skills teach an agent how to use the Vamo API well. They call the API with your key.

MCP, skills and the API goes further into when to pick each one.

The quickest way: Set up > Get started

This works for any agent that runs on your computer, such as Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or Gemini CLI.

1. In the Vamo app, open Set up in the sidebar, then Get started.
2. Click the line under the heading. It copies a setup line to your clipboard.
3. Paste the line into your agent and send it.
4. Keep the Vamo tab open. It shows when your agent has connected.
5. Under Then try a search, copy an example search and paste it into your agent.

The line holds a single-use code that lasts ten minutes. Your agent trades it for its own key and sets itself up. If ten minutes pass, click the line again for a fresh one.

Chat apps: sign in with your browser

Chat apps like Claude and ChatGPT cannot run a setup line. They connect by browser sign-in.

1. Open Set up, then Get started.
2. Under Something not working?, click Set up by hand.
3. Under Pick your tool, choose your tool.
4. Follow what it shows. Your tool opens a Vamo page. Approve it there.

The tool now appears in your list at Set up > API keys. Approving needs a plan with API keys and a role that can create keys.

Bring your own API key

Create a key when you wire a tool by hand or call the API from code.

1. Open Set up, then API keys.
2. Under Search keys, click Create search key.
3. Give the key a name you will recognize, such as the tool it is for, and click Create key.
4. Copy the key from the top of the list. It is only shown once.

To connect a tool with that key, open Set up by hand and use Wire it by hand. For code and coding agents, the API reference and the skills catalog take it from there. Keep your API key safe covers where to store it.

All five ways at a glance

Way	Where to start	Good for
Setup code	Set up > Get started	Any agent on your computer
Sign in to the MCP server	Set up by hand > Pick your tool	Claude, ChatGPT and other chat apps
MCP with an API key	Set up by hand > Wire it by hand	Tools that let you set a header
Skills with an API key	Set up > Skills	Agents that follow written instructions
Direct API	Set up > API keys	Your own code and scripts

If your company manages the account

If your company manages your AI tool, ask the admin before you start. Some settings are theirs to change. Skills in Claude on the web or desktop need the tool allowed to reach api.vamotalent.ai; on a Team or Enterprise workspace only an owner can allow it. Before you start lists what to check on the Vamo side.

What to do next

Check that Vamo is connected, then run your first search. If a connection stops working later, reconnect Vamo.