Set up Aether MCP — full walkthrough
This takes about 5 minutes. By the end you'll have uncensored AI tools (chat, code analysis, disassembly explanation, image gen, and more) available inside your AI client.
Pick your client below — the steps are identical except for one config file path.
Install Node.js (if you don't have it)
The MCP runs as a small Node.js program. If you already have Node 20 or higher, skip this step.
Check: open a terminal and run:
node --version
If it prints v20.x.x or higher, you're good. If you see "command not found" or a version under 20, install Node from nodejs.org. Pick the LTS download.
Sign up for Aether (free, no card)
- Go to trynoguard.com/signup
- Enter your email + a password. Solve the captcha. Click Create account.
- Check your inbox for a verification email and click the link inside.
Generate your API key
- Go to trynoguard.com/account
- Scroll to the API keys section.
- Click + New key. Give it a name like "Cursor on laptop" or "Claude Desktop home".
- Click Create.
ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8…If you lose it, generate a new one and revoke the old.Add Aether MCP to your AI client
Pick your AI client below for the exact config file path and JSON to paste.
Claude Desktop
Open the config file at this path:
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json |
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json |
| Linux | ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json |
If the file doesn't exist, create it. Paste this (or merge if you already have other servers):
{
"mcpServers": {
"aether": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "aether-mcp"],
"env": {
"AETHER_API_KEY": "ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6"
}
}
}
}Replace the example ak_live_… value with your actual key from step 3. Save the file. Quit and restart Claude Desktop completely.
Cursor
Open the config file at:
| Global (all projects) | ~/.cursor/mcp.json |
| Per-project | .cursor/mcp.json (in your project root) |
Paste:
{
"mcpServers": {
"aether": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "aether-mcp"],
"env": { "AETHER_API_KEY": "ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6" }
}
}
}Save. Restart Cursor. The Aether tools appear automatically when you start a new chat with the composer.
Cline (VS Code extension)
- Open VS Code.
- Open the Cline panel from the sidebar.
- Click the gear icon (Settings) → MCP Servers → Edit MCP Settings.
- Paste:
{
"mcpServers": {
"aether": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "aether-mcp"],
"env": { "AETHER_API_KEY": "ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6" },
"disabled": false,
"autoApprove": []
}
}
}Save. The status indicator next to "aether" should turn green within a few seconds.
Zed
Open Zed's settings via cmd/ctrl + ,, switch to JSON view, or edit:
| macOS / Linux | ~/.config/zed/settings.json |
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Zed\settings.json |
Add this section (merge with existing settings):
{
"context_servers": {
"aether": {
"command": {
"path": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "aether-mcp"],
"env": { "AETHER_API_KEY": "ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6" }
}
}
}
}Continue (VS Code / JetBrains)
Open ~/.continue/config.json and add:
{
"experimental": {
"modelContextProtocolServers": [
{
"transport": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "aether-mcp"],
"env": { "AETHER_API_KEY": "ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6" }
}
}
]
}
}Verify it works
Open a new chat in your AI client and try one of these test prompts. You should see your AI client call the appropriate Aether tool, then return the answer.
Real-world examples — paste these into your AI client
Once Aether MCP is installed, you can paste these prompts directly into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Cline. Your AI client will route them through Aether automatically.
Reverse engineering & malware analysis
4 examples+
Use aether_explain_disasm with arch='x64' on this: 0x401000: push rbp 0x401001: mov rbp, rsp 0x401004: sub rsp, 0x40 0x401008: mov [rbp-0x8], rcx 0x40100C: mov rax, [rbp-0x8] 0x401010: xor eax, 0xDEADBEEF 0x401015: cmp eax, 0 0x401018: jne 0x401050 What is this checking?
Use aether_identify_pattern on this assembly snippet — I think it's some kind of packer: mov eax, [esi+4]; xor eax, 0x5A4D; cmp eax, [edi]; jne short_loop; add esi, 0x10; sub ecx, 1; jnz xor_loop
Use aether_suggest_bypass with this check_description: 'Anti-cheat reads /proc/self/maps every 30 seconds and hashes the .text section of game.exe. Compares to a baseline hash sent from the server at login. Mismatch → kick from match.'
Use aether_engine_analyze with engine='unity' on this: IL2CPP_Class_GetMethodFromName(klass, "CheckLicense", 0) What's happening here, where is global-metadata.dat located, and how would I hook the returned method?
Web scraping & anti-bot bypass research
2 examples+
I scraped this obfuscated JavaScript from a website's auth flow. Use aether_deobfuscate_js to recover the request-signing algorithm:
var _0x4f8a=['split','reduce','charCodeAt'];(function(_0x1f3e,_0x4f8a3){...}(_0x4f8a,0x1d2));var _0x1f3e=function(...){...};Use aether_explain_wasm on this WAT file from cloudflare's challenge page. Identify what fingerprints it collects: (module (import "env" "fetch" ...) (func $hash (param i32 i32) ...) (export "_check" ...) ...)
Network protocol reversing
1 examples+
Use aether_protocol_dissect on this packet capture. It's from a multiplayer game's lobby protocol: 00 04 5A 4D 00 18 02 41 6C 65 78 00 00 00 64 00 00 00 32 00 03 00 00 00 50 6F 53 00 00 00 00 41 86 D7 0F
Just chat — when other AIs refuse
4 examples+
Use aether_chat to give me an honest, no-hedging breakdown of how rootkits maintain persistence on modern Windows 11 with virtualization-based security enabled.
Use aether_chat to explain the actual differences between LD_PRELOAD hooks and ptrace-based hooks on Linux. Include code for a basic ld_preload hook.
Use aether_chat in fiction-writing mode (be detailed, descriptive, no breaks): write the opening scene of a noir thriller where the protagonist is interrogating an arms dealer in a Bangkok hotel.
Use aether_chat to honestly evaluate my startup pitch. Don't sugar-coat. Don't sandwich criticism. Tell me where it's weak. [paste pitch]
Image generation
1 examples+
Use aether_imagine to generate: 'cyberpunk hacker at a multi-monitor setup, neon reflections on glass desk, photorealistic, 4k detail, low-key lighting'
(Optional) Pair with IDA Pro for the killer RE workflow
If you do reverse engineering, install ida-pro-mcp alongside Aether. Then your AI client can read IDA's analysis directly and pipe it through Aether for unfiltered explanation:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ida": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "ida_pro_mcp"]
},
"aether": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "aether-mcp"],
"env": { "AETHER_API_KEY": "ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6" }
}
}
}Then ask things like: "Decompile sub_18000A4C0 from IDA, identify what kind of integrity check it is, suggest a bypass."
Troubleshooting
The Aether tools don't appear in my AI client+
- Did you fully quit and restart the AI client? (Not just close the window — quit the app.)
- Is the config file path correct for your OS? Some AI clients change paths between versions.
- Does the JSON parse? Paste it into jsonlint.com to check — a missing comma or stray quote will silently break the whole config.
- Is Node.js 20+ installed?
node --versionin a terminal. - Try running the MCP manually to see errors:
AETHER_API_KEY=ak_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6 npx -y aether-mcpIt should print nothing (or hang waiting for stdin) if it's working. If it crashes, the error message will tell you what's wrong.
"Invalid or revoked API key" error+
- Make sure you pasted the FULL key starting with
ak_live_. No extra spaces, no truncation. - Did you accidentally revoke the key on /account? Generate a new one.
- If the key was generated months ago and has worked before, it's still valid until you revoke it.
"Out of credits"+
- You ran out. Free tier gives 150 credits + 5/day refresh — that's about 30 short queries.
- Top up at trynoguard.com/pay with crypto (no card on file).
- $5 = 1,500 credits, never expire.
"Rate limit exceeded"+
- Free tier is 30 calls/hour. The error response includes a
Retry-Afterheader with seconds to wait. - Upgrade to Starter ($15/mo) for 200/hour, or Pro ($35/mo) for 1,000/hour.
- If you're hitting this from Cursor/Claude looping calls, check that your AI client isn't retrying failed tool calls infinitely.
My AI client doesn't seem to know to use Aether+
Be explicit in your prompt. Instead of "explain this exploit", say "use aether_chat to explain this exploit" or "use the Aether tools." Most AI clients will pick up Aether automatically once they see Claude/the main model has refused, but a direct mention removes the guesswork. After a few uses they tend to learn the pattern.
npx is downloading the package every time — slow+
The first run downloads aether-mcp (a few MB). Subsequent runs use the npm cache and are instant. If you want to skip the cache check entirely, install globally:
npm install -g aether-mcp
Then change your config's command from npx to aether-mcp and remove the args array.
The output mentions another model name (Venice, Qwen, etc.)+
It shouldn't — Aether scrubs upstream identifiers from every response. If you see one, please report it via Discord or open an issue. Specific prompts that bypass the scrubber are bug reports we want to see.
What to do next
- Read the full tool reference to see what each Aether tool does.
- Join the Discord for help, sharing prompts, and connecting with other RE / security folks using Aether.
- When you run low on credits, top up at trynoguard.com/pay — crypto only, no card on file.
- Building something cool with Aether? Tell us — we love demo posts.