Setup guide

Use Public Signal in Claude

Research public Instagram profiles without leaving Claude.

Open Claude and add Public Signal

Opens Claude in a new tab with our name and address filled in. Review and approve there — nothing is authorized until you do.

https://publicsignallabs.com/mcp

This address is public and is not a secret. You never need to open it in a browser: your app pastes it in during setup.

Before you start

For anyone with a Claude account. No coding required; a computer is recommended.

• A Public Signal account. Use the account whose credits you want research to use.
• A Claude account that can add a custom connector. Claude currently allows one custom connector on Free; paid plans allow more.
• Company or team accounts may require an owner to add the connector first. If setup is blocked, share this guide with your account owner instead of retrying.
• You do not need to connect your Instagram account, and there is no API key to find or paste.

Effort: About 5 minutes. Take it one step at a time; nothing here runs research or spends credits until you send the first request yourself.

Steps

1. 1. Open the connection screen in Claude

   Select Open Claude and add Public Signal at the top of this guide. Claude opens in a new tab with our name and connection address already filled in. Keep this guide open so you can come back.

   Using Claude Team or Enterprise? An organization owner must first open Organization settings → Connectors → Add → Custom → Web, enter Public Signal and the connection address from this guide, and add it for the organization. Members then open Customize → Connectors, find the existing Public Signal connector, and select Connect. Continue at step 3; do not create a duplicate personal connector.

   If Claude asks you to sign in first, do that and continue to the connection screen.

   You should now see: You see a Claude dialog showing the name Public Signal and a connection address.

2. 2. Check the details and add it

   Check that the name is Public Signal and the address is https://publicsignallabs.com/mcp, then select Add or the confirmation Claude shows. Claude may mention that these details came from an external link; that is expected.

   Use automatic registration if Claude asks how to register the connection. You do not need to enter a client ID, secret, or extra headers.

   You should now see: Claude lists Public Signal among your connectors.

3. 3. Sign in to Public Signal and approve access

   Select Connect if Claude asks. Sign in with the Public Signal account whose credits you want to use, review the access request, and approve it. This lets Claude use Public Signal on your behalf; your Public Signal password is not shared with Claude.

   Research you run this way uses your Public Signal credits, and Claude's own usage rules also apply.

   You should now see: Claude confirms the connector is connected or ready to enable.

4. 4. Turn it on in a conversation

   Return to Claude and start a new conversation. Open the + menu, choose Connectors, and enable Public Signal. Check that its tools are listed before asking for research.

   You should now see: Public Signal appears as an enabled connector in the conversation.

5. 5. Try one small first request

   Copy the request at the bottom of this guide and send it in Claude when you are ready. This performs live research and uses Public Signal credits.

   You should receive a profile summary with a source link. That example shows the kind of result to expect, not a guarantee that every upstream account is always available. If the profile cannot be fetched, follow the displayed error rather than retrying with a larger search.

Your first request

Copy the request below and send it in your app when you are ready. It asks for exactly one profile, so you can confirm the connection without starting a large search. Running it uses Public Signal credits, and your app may have its own usage charges.

Using Public Signal, look up the public Instagram profile @natgeo. Summarize its bio and follower count, and include its profile link. Use only one profile lookup; do not fetch follower lists or expand the research.

Keep it switched on

• Connectors are enabled per conversation: repeat step 4 in each new chat where you want research.
• If Public Signal is missing from the connectors menu, return to the connectors settings and confirm it is still added.

Next, bring your own campaign brief and ask for a small evidence-backed shortlist. Build your first creator shortlist walks through that.

If something goes wrong

• The button did not open Claude: Check that pop-ups are allowed for this site and try again. As a fallback, open Claude yourself, go to Customize, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, enter Public Signal and the connection address from this guide, and continue from step 2.
• Claude will not let me add it: Free accounts are limited to one custom connector: remove one you no longer use, or use a paid account. On a company or team account, an owner may need to add the connector before members can connect it.
• It keeps asking me to sign in: Finish the approval in the same browser where you are signed in to Public Signal, and use the account whose credits you want. If you approved with a different account, remove the connector and start again.
• I connected it, but nothing happens: Start a new conversation and enable Public Signal under the + menu, then Connectors. A connector that is added but not enabled in the current chat will not answer research questions.

Still stuck? Get connection help covers the common cases across every app, or write to support@publicsignallabs.com.

Remove the connection

• In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, find Public Signal, choose Remove, and follow Claude's prompts.
• Company owners manage the organization's connector separately from their personal one.
• Disconnecting does not restore credits already used. Contact support if you need help revoking an authorization.

Good to know

• Signing in lets your app use Public Signal on your behalf. Your Public Signal password is not shared with the app.
• Research uses your Public Signal credits. Your AI app may have its own plan or usage charges, and hosted-agent chats also consume credits for model inference.
• Public Signal uses browser sign-in, not API keys or manually pasted access tokens. Use automatic registration where offered; do not invent a client ID or secret.
• Prefer to skip setup entirely? Open the agent and research here instead.