sonar

@sonarapp/mcp

The official Sonar MCP server — App Store Optimization tools for AI agents.

For the hosted Grok Build and Cursor marketplace plugin, see plugin setup, authentication, and permissions.

Lets Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, and any Model Context Protocol-compatible client look up apps, research keywords, audit ASO, mine reviews, and estimate revenue across the iOS App Store and Google Play. Powered by Sonar.

Tools

55 tools covering the whole Sonar REST API, grouped by what they need.

Read tools — stateless (any plan with credits)

Stateless tools work on any plan with credits (API Credits, Indie or Agency), for both iOS and Android. The ones marked "Yes" also run keyless on the free tier (see "Try it free" below).

Read tools — your workspace (Indie plan)

Workspace reads require an Indie plan or higher (an active trial counts); the default read-scope key is enough.

Read tools — Agency plan

These require the Agency plan (an Agency trial counts) and return 403 on other plans. sonar_app_sales and sonar_app_engagement are iOS-only and also need an App Store Connect connection at trysonar.app/settings/connections; engagement data needs an Admin-role App Store Connect key.

Write tools (Indie plan + write scope)

Write tools mutate your workspace and require an Indie plan or higher (an active trial counts) plus either an OAuth sign-in on the hosted endpoint (which carries write access) or an API key created with the write scope. The two AI generation tools, sonar_analyze_competitors and sonar_generate_review_insights, need a paid plan and are not available during the trial. The server enforces all of this — without it, calls return a 403 explaining what to fix.

Together these close the loop for agents: set up tracking with the write tools, then read back rankings, changes, and gap analyses with the workspace tools.

Screenshot Studio (Indie plan)

Agents author screenshot sets as layout JSON; humans review and fine-tune the same sets in the Screenshot Studio. The layout guide is embedded in the server and needs no key. sonar_export_screenshots writes files on the machine running the server, so it's available over stdio only, not on the hosted endpoint.

Hosted endpoint — no install, no API key

OAuth-capable MCP clients (Claude Code, claude.ai custom connectors) can skip both the npm install and the API key entirely:

claude mcp add --transport http sonar https://trysonar.app/mcp

The first tool call that needs your account opens a browser sign-in — approve it with your Sonar login and the agent has full access to the workspace you own (read + write). Clients without OAuth support can pass an API key instead: --header "Authorization: Bearer aso_...".

ChatGPT submission and hosted behavior

Submit https://trysonar.app/mcp/chatgpt to OpenAI. This endpoint returns tool-level sign-in challenges; /mcp retains HTTP 401 challenges for Claude and other MCP clients. Both advertise OAuth per tool. Anonymous store lookups can run without linking; workspace tools return a native sign-in challenge when authorization is missing or expired. Connect an existing Sonar account and approve access to the workspace you own. Existing account permissions and entitlements apply.

The ChatGPT endpoint requires resource-bound JWT access tokens for its canonical /mcp/chatgpt audience; the existing /mcp endpoint retains Clerk opaque-token support. Provider configuration and an end-to-end login must be verified before submitting the ChatGPT endpoint.

The hosted catalog excludes sonar_export_screenshots, which writes ZIP files to the local MCP host. It remains available over stdio. A native directory listing requires separate OpenAI review and publication; hosting an MCP endpoint does not itself create a listing.

Try it free — no API key needed

The server runs without a key in free mode: sonar_app_search, sonar_app_lookup, sonar_app_aso_score, sonar_app_extract_keywords, sonar_keyword_suggestions, and sonar_top_charts share a free allowance of 30 requests/day per IP, and sonar_keyword_metrics (keyword difficulty + popularity) gets 5 keywords/day. Just install it with no env block and ask your agent about ASO. When you hit the limit, the error tells you how to sign up.

Get an API key

For everything else (tracking, rankings, competitors, higher limits) you'll need a Sonar API key — get one at trysonar.app/developers.

The cheapest path is prepaid API credits — packs from $10 (1,000 credits), with 50 free credits on signup and no subscription. Built specifically for this use case. See pricing.

Install

Claude Desktop

Add to your config file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sonar": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sonarapp/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SONAR_API_KEY": "aso_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. The sonar_* tools will appear in the tool picker.

Claude Code

claude mcp add sonar -e SONAR_API_KEY=aso_your_key_here -- npx -y @sonarapp/mcp

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or your project's .cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sonar": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@sonarapp/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SONAR_API_KEY": "aso_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cline / other MCP clients

Most clients use the same command + args + env shape as above. Point the command at npx -y @sonarapp/mcp and pass SONAR_API_KEY in the env.

Configuration

Example prompts

"Use Sonar to look up Spotify on iOS in the US store and report its rating, review count, and category."

"Run an ASO audit on com.duolingo on Android and tell me what to fix."

"Research the keyword 'habit tracker' on iOS — give me difficulty, popularity, and 5 related terms with lower difficulty I should consider."

"Pull the 50 most recent 1- and 2-star reviews of 1517783697 on iOS US and group complaints by theme."

"Search 'meditation' on the App Store and estimate monthly revenue for the top 5 results."

Privacy Policy

Full policy: https://trysonar.app/privacy

The MCP server is a thin client around Sonar's REST API — it stores nothing locally and no data is logged by this package itself.

• Data collected: tool inputs (app IDs, keywords, country codes) are sent to Sonar's API over HTTPS to produce results; authenticated requests include your API key as a Bearer token. Sonar logs API requests (endpoint, status, timing) for rate limiting and abuse prevention.
• Data usage: inputs are used solely to serve the request (keyword metrics, app lookups, etc.); resulting JSON is returned to your AI client.
• Storage & retention: the package keeps no state on disk. Server-side request logs are retained for 90 days; workspace data (tracked apps/keywords) persists in your Sonar account until you delete it.
• Third-party sharing: no user data is sold or shared with third parties; queries against public app-store data (Apple, Google) contain no personal information.
• Contact: hello@trysonar.app

Troubleshooting

"SONAR_API_KEY is not set — running in free mode" — Expected if you haven't configured a key: the free tools keep working with per-IP daily limits. If you DID configure a key, the MCP client did not pass the env var through — check the env section of your client's config file. Some clients require an absolute path to npx — try which npx and use that.

"Authentication failed" — Your key is invalid, expired, or your subscription lapsed. Visit trysonar.app/developers to check.

"Access denied. This endpoint may require an Indie plan subscription" — The 10 stateless read tools work on any plan with credits. The workspace read, write, and Screenshot Studio tools require an Indie plan or higher (an active trial counts); write tools additionally need an API key created with the write scope. sonar_portfolio, sonar_app_sales, and sonar_app_engagement require the Agency plan, and the two AI generation tools need a paid plan (not a trial). If you're on a setup or trial-expired plan, reactivate first.

Companion: CLI

Prefer the terminal? Use @sonarapp/cli (sonar binary) — same data, same API key.

License

MIT © Peter Sutarik