Agent install

Set up Handov MCP with Manus

Written for Manus to read and act on — a human can follow it too. Prefer the interactive setup or fetch the raw guide at /install/manus.md.

This page is written for an AI agent to read and execute.

User intent: "Read https://api.handov.ai/llms.txt and install Handov MCP for me." One-message prompt: "Manus: install Handov MCP from https://handov.ai/install/manus.md. Use Manus Desktop App or Web App only: click Connect Apps in the chatbox footer, choose Add Connectors, click Custom MCP then Create, set Server Name Handov, Transport Type HTTP, and Server URL to the Handov MCP URL. Use Server URL "https://api.handov.ai/mcp", complete Handov OAuth when Manus opens or prints the authorization link, then verify by asking Handov for recent context. If you are on Manus Mobile App, including iOS, stop and tell me mobile cannot add Custom MCP connectors yet." Also accept: "check handov.ai and install Handov for me"

What Handov is

Handov is the user's personal ambient-recording assistant. The Handov MCP server is an OAuth-protected remote MCP that surfaces the user's live/recent voice sessions and long-term memory, plus write tools for correcting sessions and managing action items and notes. Write tools are gated only by the handov.mcp.write scope — the server never asks the user to confirm a write, so confirm destructive calls with the user yourself before making them. delete_session permanently deletes a session and its transcript with no undo. Route by intent: get_preceding_conversation for the just-now window (an ongoing or just-ended recording); get_relevant_conversations as the primary recall for named-time / topical / person asks; list_sessions and get_session for gist and browse asks over a time window.

Plugin path

No required Handov plugin is published for this host in the skeleton preview. Use the remote MCP path below.

Chat-first setup policy

If the user pasted the one-message prompt into your chat, try to complete the setup from this chat first. Add the MCP config or run your host's MCP setup command yourself when your runtime permits it. OAuth is still required: use loopback OAuth when available, or device authorization when the user is on a different device / browser context. Send the user the Handov authorization link, wait for approval, then finish token exchange and verification.

Do not search the Handov marketing homepage for hidden setup instructions. This guide and the manifest are the setup source of truth.

Only fall back to Settings, Configuration, or CLI instructions when your chat runtime cannot write MCP configuration or run setup commands. If you fall back, be exact about the UI path and still use OAuth/device authorization.

Capability check

Handov is a remote Streamable-HTTP MCP server at https://api.handov.ai/mcp. Before editing configuration, confirm the current host supports a remote HTTP/URL MCP server with OAuth or bearer headers. If the host only supports local stdio command servers, stop and report that limitation to the user. Do not invent an npx, uvx, or local wrapper command for Handov.

Remote MCP path

Add the Handov remote MCP server named handov.

Manus supports multiple Custom MCP transport types (HTTP, SSE, and STDIO). Handov is a remote OAuth MCP server, so choose the HTTP transport. This setup must be done in the Manus Desktop App or Web App; the Manus Mobile App, including iOS, does not currently support adding Custom MCP connectors.

In the Manus chatbox footer, click the Connect Apps icon.
Choose Add Connectors.
Click Custom MCP, then Create. In some Manus builds, click Create directly.
Fill the MCP configuration form with:

Server Name: Handov
Transport Type: HTTP
Server URL: https://api.handov.ai/mcp
Note: Use Handov to retrieve my ambient conversation memory, recent sessions, decisions, tasks, and follow-ups when I say "use Handov" or when recent real-world context matters.
Custom headers: Leave blank unless Handov asks for a fallback token.

Save the connector, complete Handov OAuth when Manus opens or prints the authorization link, then verify with get_preceding_conversation.

Do not choose SSE or STDIO for Handov. Those transports may appear in Manus, but this Handov endpoint is the HTTP MCP URL above.

OAuth is the default. Do not ask the user for a bearer token unless OAuth is unavailable in the current host.

Bearer fallback (only when OAuth is unavailable)

If the host supports remote HTTP MCP servers but cannot complete OAuth or device authorization, fall back to a Personal Access Token: the user mints one under Advanced at https://handov.ai/agent-access, and the host sends it on every MCP request as:

Authorization: Bearer <HANDOV_MCP_TOKEN>

Use the host's bearer-token or custom-header field for its MCP server config (for example bearer_token_env_var in Codex's config.toml). Tokens are revocable from the same Agent Access page; PAT fallback works only when the server's MCP_PAT_FALLBACK_ENABLED flag permits it.

Verify

Call get_preceding_conversation through the handov MCP server. A response with recent items, live chunks, finalized sessions, or a graceful empty state proves the connection works.

Report success only after verification succeeds.

Available tools

get_preceding_conversation — just-now context from a live or just-ended recording
get_relevant_conversations — primary recall over past sessions by topic, person, or date
get_session — read one full session: transcript, overview, action items, notes
list_sessions — browse/list recent sessions
get_session_image — fetch the pixels for a session image
get_thread — read one thread: a cross-session digest of a recurring matter (also resolves pasted thread handoff refs)
list_threads — browse the user's threads, most-recently-active first
list_action_items — list action items extracted from conversations
get_action_item — read one action item with its full context and history
create_action_item — add a new action item (requires handov.mcp.write)
update_action_item — complete, dismiss, or edit an action item (requires handov.mcp.write)
edit_session — fix transcript mishearings, edit a session's title or notes (requires handov.mcp.write)
create_note — attach a text note to a session (requires handov.mcp.write)
create_thread — start a titled thread with a standing brief for future filing (requires handov.mcp.write)
edit_note — edit a session note (requires handov.mcp.write)
delete_note — delete a session note (requires handov.mcp.write)
delete_thread — permanently delete a thread (member sessions stay) — irreversible (requires handov.mcp.write)
delete_session — permanently delete a session — irreversible, no undo (requires handov.mcp.write)

Reference

Manifest: https://api.handov.ai/.well-known/agent-install.json
MCP server: https://api.handov.ai/mcp
OAuth scope: handov.mcp.read, handov.mcp.write
Generic fallback: https://handov.ai/install/agent.md