Before you connect
Have your FlashAlpha account ready
Create a Free account or sign in to your existing account, then return here for the connector URL and setup steps. The first example uses one equity expiry after today, within the five-request daily allowance.
Create or open your account
Use OAuth for Web and Desktop
https://lab.flashalpha.com/mcp-oauth
Anthropic's guide, checked September 8, 2026, lists custom connectors on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Claude Free allows one custom connector. Team and Enterprise owners must add the connector for their organization first.
Claude's subscription and FlashAlpha's data plan are separate. OAuth authorizes your FlashAlpha account without requiring an API key pasted into the chat.
Connect Your Account
On an individual plan, follow the creation steps below. Team and Enterprise members should find the connector their owner already added and choose Connect, then continue with sign-in and conversation setup.
- Sign in to Claude and open Customize → Connectors.
- Select +, then Add custom connector.
- Name it FlashAlpha and enter the OAuth URL above. Leave optional client ID and secret fields empty for the standard setup.
- Add the connector, choose Connect, and complete FlashAlpha sign-in and consent.
- Return to Claude and enable FlashAlpha in the new conversation's connector controls if necessary.
Desktop supports this same remote OAuth setup. A browser handoff back to the app can be part of authentication. Follow the application prompt to return.
First Check: Did an Account Tool Run?
Use FlashAlpha get_account. Tell me my plan and remaining request allowance. Do not display my email or API key. If the tool fails, report the error instead of guessing.
Inspect the tool activity and returned result. A prose answer without a tool invocation does not verify the connection. Reconnect if the account plan is not the one you expected.
Your First GEX Request on Free
Start with an individual equity such as AAPL, not SPY, QQQ or SPX. Choose one listed expiration after today using AAPL in the GEX tool and its expiration selector. Free allows five requests per day; discovery and follow-up calls may consume allowance.
Replace the bracketed date below with the listed expiry. Do not invent a date:
Use FlashAlpha get_gex for AAPL with expiration [listed YYYY-MM-DD after today]. Make one GEX request. Report expiry, available data timestamp and net GEX with its returned units. Explain missing fields. Do not substitute another expiry or make a trading recommendation.
get_gex accepts symbol and expiration. Check that the tool activity shows AAPL and the date you selected before interpreting the result.
A successful test returns matching data without a tool-level error. An HTTP success code or status badge alone is insufficient.
Check the Required FlashAlpha Plan
| Request | Access |
|---|
| Individual-equity GEX, one expiry after today | Free, within allowance |
| SPY, QQQ or SPX, one expiry after today | Basic or above |
| Full-chain GEX or new-account 0DTE | Growth or above |
| Supported historical replay | Alpha |
A permission response does not necessarily mean a broken connector. Check current plans against the requested scope.
The published snapshot cache window is 15 minutes on Free and 15 seconds on Basic and Growth. This is cache behaviour, not a guarantee of source-feed latency. Check the returned data timestamp when comparing updates.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Next check |
|---|
| No connector slot | Check Claude plan limits and organization permissions. |
| Fails before consent | Verify the exact OAuth URL and use the standard setup without manually entered client credentials. |
| Connected, but no tool runs | Enable FlashAlpha in the conversation and explicitly request get_account. |
| Authentication error | Reconnect and check the authorized FlashAlpha account. |
| API key requested in chat | Check whether you selected plain /mcp instead of /mcp-oauth. |
| Permission or quota error | Check allowance, symbol and expiry; reduce scope or wait for the reset shown by the service. |
| Empty or stale-looking data | Check expiry, timestamp and market session. Report missing data rather than guessing values. |
Other Clients and Advanced Setups
FlashAlpha also exposes https://lab.flashalpha.com/mcp, whose tools accept an apiKey parameter. This is an alternative authentication mechanism, not a requirement for Claude Desktop. See the MCP reference for client configuration and persona URLs. Keep credentials out of shared conversations, screenshots and committed files.
Three Workflows Once Connected
The setup test above fits the Free plan. These prompts show what the connector is for; each names the tools Claude should call and the plan the underlying routes need, so a permission response is expected rather than a surprise.
| Goal | Tools | Plan | A good answer contains |
|---|
| Confirm the connection | get_account | Free | Plan name and remaining allowance, from a visible tool call. |
|---|
| First GEX read | get_gex | Free (individual equity, one expiry) | Expiry, data timestamp, net GEX with units. |
|---|
| Today's regime in plain English | get_narrative | Growth | Regime, flip, call and put walls, quoted from the data block. |
|---|
| Rank a watchlist | post_screener, get_exposure_basket | Growth (20 symbols); Alpha (universe, formulas) | A table with the fields used, names below their flip flagged. |
|---|
| Contract Greeks | get_option_quote | Growth | Delta, gamma, theta, vega with field names and the source timestamp. |
|---|
| Replay a past session | get_historical_coverage, get_historical_gex, get_historical_levels | Alpha | Values at the requested ET minute and which fields changed between sessions. |
|---|
Explain today's gamma regime
Use FlashAlpha get_narrative for SPY. Summarise the regime, the gamma flip and the call and put walls in three sentences, quoting the numbers from the data block. Do not make a trading recommendation.
get_narrative returns a deterministic plain-English briefing plus the structured numbers behind it (Growth plan). On Free, the same read comes from get_gex plus get_levels on an individual equity.
Compare a watchlist
Use FlashAlpha post_screener over AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, AMZN and META. Rank them by net GEX and flag any name whose spot is below its gamma flip. Return a table and name the fields you used.
post_screener screens up to 20 symbols on Growth and the full universe with custom formulas on Alpha; get_exposure_basket aggregates the same names into one exposure figure (Growth).
Replay a historical session
Use FlashAlpha get_historical_gex for SPY at 2025-04-07 15:30 ET and again at 2025-04-08 15:30 ET. Compare net GEX and the gamma flip between the two sessions and state which returned fields changed. Check historical coverage first; use the separate historical levels tool if walls are needed.
The historical tools take the same symbol and return the same fields as the live ones, with a timestamp in ET wall-clock, and need the Alpha plan; get_historical_coverage lists the symbols and dates available before you ask for a replay.
Options Data MCP: Verify One Useful Answer
The MCP server gives Claude tools for requesting options analytics under your FlashAlpha entitlements. Connecting successfully proves authentication; it does not prove that every symbol, Greek, endpoint or historical date is available.
A verified answer shows all six
- The tool that ran, visible in the tool activity.
- The symbol.
- The expiration, or the
at timestamp for replay.
- The observation time returned by the data.
- Field names as returned, not paraphrased.
- Units, for example dollar gamma per 1% move.
Options Greeks in Claude
Check my account entitlement, then identify the available tool for a contract-level option quote. For one supported AAPL contract and expiration after today, report the returned delta, gamma, theta and vega with their field names and documented units. State the source timestamp. If the tool, field or entitlement is unavailable, say so; do not estimate missing values.
Contract Greeks, an aggregated GEX total and a fitted volatility surface answer different questions. Consult the current MCP tool list and options Greeks reference workflow to choose the underlying route. Free covers single-expiry GEX on individual equities; contract Greeks and surfaces sit on higher plans.
Make an AI-assisted research result citable
Ask Claude to retain source URLs, query parameters, timestamps and limitations beside each figure. For a reproducibility example, use the strategy research's methodology and trade ledgers. A summary should preserve the sample dates, execution costs and return denominator rather than turn a sample ranking into a recommendation.
Plans are licensed to a single subscriber for internal use, personal or commercial. Redistribution, embedding or a public-facing data product needs a written agreement.
After the small test works, use the free GEX guide to explore the same workflow outside Claude, or the MCP reference for the full tool list.
