How to Connect 5ire to NinjaTrader 8 with CrossTrade MCP

5ire is an open-source (Apache 2.0) MCP-native desktop chat app. Free, multi-model, lightweight. The transport auto-detects from the URL: if the URL ends with 'sse', it tries SSE first; otherwise Streamable HTTP. Bearer-token auth only — no native OAuth as of this writing.

OAuth scope: mcp:readMulti-model harness

Prerequisites

Requirement	Detail
CrossTrade subscription	Elite
CrossTrade Add-On	v1.13.0 or higher
NinjaTrader 8	Running, broker connected
Account	Sim101 for first runs
OAuth scope	`mcp:read`
Config file	`mcp.json (managed via Tools UI — Alt+1)`

CrossTrade MCP server

https://app.crosstrade.io/v1/api/mcp

Transport: streamable-http. Auth: OAuth 2.1 + PKCE. Request scope mcp:read. Read-only. Inspect accounts, orders, positions, journal, NinjaScript.

Step 1: Install 5ire

Download from 5ire.app or:

# macOS
brew tap brewforge/extras && brew install --cask 5ire

Available for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, Linux.

Step 2: Add CrossTrade MCP

Open the Tools page (Alt+1). Click Add or use the built-in market drawer for curated MCP servers. For a custom server, the underlying JSON shape in mcp.json:

{
  "key": "crosstrade",
  "type": "remote",
  "url": "https://app.crosstrade.io/v1/api/mcp",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
  },
  "isActive": true
}

Schema:

key: unique id (2+ alphanumeric/hyphens, must start with a letter)
type: "local" (stdio) or "remote" (HTTP/SSE — auto-detected from URL)
For remote: url, optional headers
Optional: proxy, isActive, capabilities

Step 3: Get a bearer token

5ire's official docs don't mention a native OAuth flow. To get a CrossTrade token:

Authorize CrossTrade via Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any OAuth-capable client.
Copy the issued token from AI Clients page.
Paste in 5ire's headers field.

Step 4: One-click install via deep link

5ire supports app.5ire://install-tool#<base64-encoded-config> deep links — useful if CrossTrade wants to publish a one-click installer button later.

Step 5: First prompt

Confirm CrossTrade MCP. ListAccounts and summarize open positions. Read-only.

FAQ

Free?

Yes — Apache 2.0, fully open source, completely free.

What providers does 5ire support?

OpenAI, Azure (Azure OpenAI), Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), Baidu, Mistral, Moonshot (Kimi), Doubao, Grok (xAI), DeepSeek, Ollama (local). Custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints can be added via UI.

OAuth handshake

The first tool call surfaces an authorization URL. Open it in a browser, approve mcp:read, and return to the harness. The access token is stored by the harness (keychain, config file, or memory depending on the client).

See CrossTrade MCP OAuth for the full flow, and 403/408 troubleshooting if the handshake fails.

Verify the connection

Smoke-test before doing anything stateful:

Call GetMcpCapabilities and McpSelfTest. Then ListAccounts and GetConnections.
Report add-on version, NT8 version, and which accounts are linked.

Read-only scope

You authorized mcp:read. The agent can inspect state but cannot place orders, deploy strategies, or write NinjaScript files.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
403 insufficient_scope	Token authorized at mcp:read but tool requires mcp:trade	Reauthorize the connection and select mcp:trade
OAuth callback fails	System browser blocked the redirect or popup	Copy the auth URL manually, complete it, paste the code back
Tools list is empty after connect	Server registered but session did not refresh	Restart the harness or trigger a tool list refresh
Add-on offline error	NT8 not running, or add-on not loaded	Confirm NT8 is open and the CrossTrade add-on (v1.13.0+) is installed
5ire defaults to SSE for an HTTP MCP server	URL accidentally contains "sse" substring	CrossTrade's URL /v1/api/mcp is fine; if you're on a custom URL with "sse" in the path, change it
OAuth not initiating	5ire docs do not document a native OAuth flow	Obtain a bearer token from another OAuth-capable client and paste in headers
uvx command not found when launching from Finder/Dock	PATH not inherited from Finder	pipx install uv; or launch 5ire from a terminal so PATH is inherited

Prerequisites

Step 1: Install 5ire​

Step 2: Add CrossTrade MCP​

Step 3: Get a bearer token​

Step 4: One-click install via deep link​

Step 5: First prompt​

FAQ​

Free?​

What providers does 5ire support?​