Frequently Asked Questions about the ElevenLabs MCP Server

Q: What is the ElevenLabs MCP server?

A: The ElevenLabs MCP server is an official server that enables interaction with ElevenLabs’ Text to Speech and audio processing APIs. It allows MCP clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and others to generate speech, clone voices, transcribe audio, and more.

Q: What is MCP (Model Context Protocol)?

A: MCP is an open protocol that standardizes how applications provide context to LLMs (Large Language Models). It acts as a bridge, allowing AI models to access and interact with external data sources and tools.

Q: Which clients are compatible with the ElevenLabs MCP server?

A: The server is compatible with any MCP client, including Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and OpenAI Agents.

Q: Do I need an ElevenLabs account to use the MCP server?

A: Yes, you need an ElevenLabs account and API key to use the server. ElevenLabs offers a free tier with limited credits.

Q: How do I get my ElevenLabs API key?

A: You can find your API key in the settings section of your ElevenLabs account on their website.

Q: How do I install the ElevenLabs MCP server?

A: You can install it using pip: pip install elevenlabs-mcp.

Q: How do I configure Claude Desktop to use the ElevenLabs MCP server?

A: You need to edit the claude_desktop_config.json file and add a configuration block for the ElevenLabs MCP server, including the command to run the server and your API key as an environment variable. The documentation provides a sample configuration.

Q: What optional features does the MCP server support?

A: You can use the ELEVENLABS_MCP_BASE_PATH environment variable to specify the base path for relative file paths used by the server.

Q: Where can I find the logs for the MCP server when running with Claude Desktop?

A: Logs can be found in the following locations:

*   **Windows:** `%APPDATA%Claudelogsmcp-server-elevenlabs.log`
*   **macOS:** `~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-elevenlabs.log`

Q: I’m getting timeouts when using certain tools. What should I do?

A: Certain ElevenLabs API operations, like voice design and audio isolation, can take a long time to resolve. This may result in timeout errors when using the MCP inspector in dev mode. This shouldn’t occur when using a client like Claude.

Q: I’m encountering the error “MCP ElevenLabs: spawn uvx ENOENT”. How can I fix it?

A: This error indicates that the uvx executable cannot be found. To resolve this, find the absolute path of uvx using which uvx and update your Claude Desktop configuration with the correct path.

Q: Can I contribute to the ElevenLabs MCP server development?

A: Yes, you can contribute by cloning the repository, setting up a virtual environment, and submitting pull requests. See the “Contributing” section in the documentation for detailed instructions.