Paperboy for Jan
Give a local-first chat app a hosted SEO workflow: topics, drafts and claim checks from one MCP entry.
Set up
You will add Paperboy as an HTTP MCP server with an Authorization header, using the jan cli mcp add command.
Create an API key in Paperboy under Settings. It starts with pb_live_.
Run the command above in a terminal. New servers are inactive by default, so keep the --active flag.
Open Jan and go to the MCP servers settings to confirm paperboy appears.
Ask the agent to call one Paperboy tool, such as get_sites.
jan cli mcp add paperboy --type http --url https://paperboyseo.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization=Bearer pb_live_YOUR_KEY" --activeReplace pb_live_YOUR_KEY with a key from Settings, API keys, and never commit it. The MCP docs list every client we cover.
How to tell it worked
Run jan cli mcp list. Secrets are redacted in the output unless you pass --show-secrets. Then ask the agent to call get_sites.
How to remove it
Run jan cli mcp remove paperboy, or jan cli mcp disable paperboy to keep it but turn it off.
What you get
Eight tools, the same engine as the dashboard. Reads are free. A pack is $20 for 100 credits; see how credits work.
get_sitesLists your sites with plan, publishing method and whether Search Console is connected. Every other call starts from a site id.
suggest_topicsReturns the next articles to write, each with the search data that is the reason for it.
write_articleStarts a fact-checked article and returns an id at once. The run takes a few minutes. It does not publish unless you pass publish: true.
get_articleReturns the article's status, its fact-check verdict and every source. Poll it after write_article until it reads published or needs_review.
check_claimsFact checks any public URL or pasted Markdown and returns each cited claim with the sources it was compared against.
publish_articlePublishes an article that passed the fact check to the site's publishing target. It changes the live site, so the agent should ask first.
get_performanceSearch Console clicks, impressions and average position for a site, by day and by article.
get_queriesThe queries a site, or one article, appears for in Search Console. This is where page-two keywords show up.
Try it
Plain requests. The tools each one uses are listed under it.
“Use Paperboy to list my sites, suggest topics for the main one, and write an article for the top topic. Save it under content/blog.”
Uses get_sitessuggest_topicswrite_article
“Fetch my latest Paperboy draft with get_article and run check_claims on it. Tell me which claims need a source.”
Uses get_articlecheck_claims
“Ask Paperboy for my top search queries and page performance this month, then write the findings into SEO_NOTES.md.”
Uses get_queriesget_performance
Why
Jan is built around running models on your own machine, and it also speaks MCP. Its CLI adds an HTTP server with a url and a repeatable header flag, so one command registers Paperboy with the Authorization header.
Jan says a credential you set yourself in an Authorization header is used as is, with no OAuth attempt, which matches how Paperboy keys work. New servers start inactive, so pass --active or enable the server, then check jan cli mcp list.
Compare
Same engine, two ways in. Pick the one that fits how you already work.
| Feature | Dashboard | Jan | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you work | paperboyseo.com/app: sites, calendar, fact checks | Open source desktop chat app and CLI agent that runs local and remote models with MCP. | Jan docs: jan cli mcp referenceRead Oct 30, 2026 |
| How it connects | Sign in and paste your site address. The first article is free. | Remote MCP. Jan documents adding HTTP and SSE MCP servers with header values through its CLI, and says a user-set Authorization header is used as-is. | Jan docs: jan cli mcp referenceRead Oct 30, 2026 |
| Does it publish without asking? | Your choice: autopilot, or approve each article by email. | No. write_article defaults to publish: false, and the tool descriptions tell the agent to ask first. | MCP docsPaperboy docs |
| Fact check | Every number and cited sentence is compared with the saved text of its source. An article that fails gets one rewrite, then is held for you. | The same engine and the same check. The verdict comes back to the agent: verified, or held with the reason. | How the check worksPaperboy docs |
| What it costs | Plans from $49 a month per site. The first article is free, no card. | Credits: 12 per article, 1 per topic suggestion, 2 per fact check. $20 buys 100. | CreditsPaperboy docs |
| Search Console | Optional read-only Search Console connection. It picks topics from your impressions and reports clicks per article. | get_performance and get_queries return the same read-only data, by day, by article and by query. | Security and dataPaperboy docs |
Facts about Jan come from the pages linked in the Source column, read on the date shown. Tools change their docs, so confirm there if a step does not match.
Honest notes
Quirks of this client that can cost you an afternoon.
The CLI docs say the MCP config is shared between Jan Desktop and the CLI.
The CLI docs example shows the header as KEY=VALUE with no space after Bearer. If your shell or Jan splits the value, check it with jan cli mcp get paperboy.
The desktop add-server form is documented with Transport, Command or URL, Args and Env fields, and no headers field is named, so the CLI is the documented route for the header.
Adding a server that already exists replaces it.
FAQ
Yes. The CLI reference shows jan cli mcp add with --type http, --url and a repeatable --header KEY=VALUE flag.
No need. The docs say a credential you set in an Authorization header is used as-is and OAuth is never attempted.
New servers default to inactive. Add --active or run jan cli mcp enable paperboy.
Run jan cli mcp list, or jan cli mcp get paperboy for one server.
The tools that read cost nothing. Suggesting topics costs 1 credit, writing a fact-checked article costs 12 credits (refunded if the run fails) and a fact check on its own costs 2 credits. A pack is $20 for 100 credits.
Only if you let it. write_article defaults to publish: false, so a finished article waits for a human, and the tool descriptions tell the agent to ask before publishing. You can also give the agent a read-only key.
Sources
Everything about Jan comes from the pages below, read on Oct 30, 2026. Tools change their docs, so check there if a step does not match. If we got something wrong, write to hello@paperboyseo.com.
Keep going
Add the MCP server, ask for a topic, and read the fact check before anything goes live.
claude mcp add --transport http paperboy https://paperboyseo.com/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer pb_live_..."npx @paperboyseo/cli coming soonPrefer the dashboard? Write my first article free. Prefer to run it yourself? Self-host it (repo coming soon).