# Palantir MCP - Persisting Your Token and Hostname (Linux/macOS)
The [official installation guide](https://www.palantir.com/docs/foundry/palantir-mcp/installation) has you run `export FOUNDRY_HOST` and
`export FOUNDRY_TOKEN` before running `claude mcp add`. Those exports
die when you close the terminal. Here's how to make them stick.
---
## Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
```bash
echo 'export FOUNDRY_HOST="your-enrollment.palantirfoundry.com"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export FOUNDRY_TOKEN="your-token-here"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
```
Verify both took:
```bash
echo $FOUNDRY_HOST
echo $FOUNDRY_TOKEN
```
If either is blank, check what's actually in the file:
```bash
grep FOUNDRY ~/.bashrc
```
Two things break this. First: pasting a placeholder like
`<your-token-here>` instead of the real token. The shell accepts it
without complaint. Second: running the `echo` commands twice, which
creates duplicate entries and the wrong one wins. If you see duplicate
lines, clean them out:
```bash
sed -i '/FOUNDRY_HOST/d' ~/.bashrc
sed -i '/FOUNDRY_TOKEN/d' ~/.bashrc
echo 'export FOUNDRY_HOST="your-enrollment.palantirfoundry.com"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export FOUNDRY_TOKEN="your-token-here"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
```
---
## macOS
macOS defaults to Zsh since Catalina. Same pattern, different file:
```bash
echo 'export FOUNDRY_HOST="your-enrollment.palantirfoundry.com"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export FOUNDRY_TOKEN="your-token-here"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
```
On older macOS still running Bash, use `~/.bash_profile` instead.
---
## Confirming the MCP Server Can Authenticate
Before adding it to your IDE, run the server directly:
```bash
npx -y palantir-mcp --foundry-api-url https://$FOUNDRY_HOST
```
A stall with no output means it connected. It's waiting for MCP
protocol input over stdio — that's correct. Hit `Ctrl+C` and proceed.
A `NoTokenAvailableError` means `FOUNDRY_TOKEN` is empty or wrong.
An `Invalid token` error means the token belongs to a different enrollment.
---
## Token Hygiene
When a token is exposed, revoke it immediately at
`https://your-enrollment.palantirfoundry.com/workspace/settings/tokens`
and generate a new one. Don't commit `.bashrc` or `.zshrc` to a
repository — the token will be in the diff history even if you delete
it later.