Getting Started with Moralis Cortex

Get up and running with AI-powered Web3 intelligence in minutes. This guide will help you make your first blockchain query using natural language.

What is Moralis Cortex?

Moralis Cortex connects AI models to blockchain data through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Ask questions like "What tokens does vitalik.eth hold?" and get intelligent responses powered by real-time Web3 data.

Choose Your Path

🧩 MCP Server (Self-Hosted)

Perfect for: Full control, custom integrations, and privacy-focused applications.

• ✅ Run in your infrastructure
• ✅ Use any LLM model (OpenAI, Claude, open-source)
• ✅ Complete control over data
• ✅ Available as NPM package

Quick install:

npx @moralisweb3/api-mcp-server --version

🌐 Cortex API

Perfect for: Quick prototyping, testing, and production apps without infrastructure overhead.

• ✅ No setup required
• ✅ Hosted and maintained by Moralis
• ✅ Enterprise-grade reliability
• ✅ Start building immediately

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Quick Start with MCP Server

Step 1: Get Your API Key

1. Visit Moralis Admin Panel
2. Navigate to API Keys
3. Copy your API key

Step 2: Choose Your Integration

AI IDEs & Code Editors

• Cursor - AI-powered code editor
• Windsurf - Next-generation AI IDE

Desktop AI Assistants

• Claude Desktop - Anthropic's desktop app

API Integrations

• ChatGPT API - OpenAI's API with remote MCP
• Claude API - Anthropic's API with remote MCP

Step 3: Follow Your Integration Guide

Each integration has specific setup instructions. Choose your preferred tool above and follow the setup guide.

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Example Queries

Once set up, try these natural language queries:

• "What's the current price of PEPE and Ethereum?"
• "Show me the NFTs owned by vitalik.eth on Base"
• "What tokens does wallet 0xabc...123 hold?"
• "Analyze the current holder distribution of SPX6900"
• "Find wallet addresses likely associated with Coinbase"

Supported Blockchains

Cortex supports queries across multiple blockchain networks:

• Ethereum - ETH, ERC-20 tokens, NFTs
• Base - Native tokens, Coinbase ecosystem
• Polygon - MATIC, Polygon-native assets
• BNB Chain - BNB, BSC ecosystem
• Avalanche - AVAX, Avalanche C-Chain
• Arbitrum - L2 scaling solution
• Optimism - Optimistic rollup data
• And more... - All networks supported in Moralis Web Data API

Installation Options

NPM Package

# Install globally
npm install -g @moralisweb3/api-mcp-server

# Or use without installation
npx @moralisweb3/api-mcp-server

Auto-Install (Claude Desktop)

npx -y @smithery/cli install @MoralisWeb3/moralis-mcp-server --client claude

What You Can Build

• Portfolio Dashboards - AI-powered crypto portfolio analysis
• Trading Bots - Intelligent market sentiment analysis
• Analytics Tools - Complex on-chain pattern recognition
• DeFi Apps - Risk assessment and yield optimization
• Developer Tools - Blockchain data in your development workflow

Explore more: Use Cases & Examples

Next Steps

Learn the Fundamentals

• Understanding MCP - Learn about Model Context Protocol
• MCP vs Other Approaches - Compare with alternatives

Set Up Your Environment

• MCP Server Documentation - Complete setup guide
• Choose Your Integration - AI tools and APIs

Get Help

• FAQs - Common questions and solutions
• GitHub Repository - Source code and issues