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DESIGN CORPUS

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CONNECTION GUIDE · REVIEWED NOVEMBER 4, 2026

Design Corpus in Base44.

Requires the Base44 Builder plan or higher. This is separate from your Design Corpus subscription.

Documented setup, not a tested integration

We checked the platform documentation and the public Design Corpus connection metadata. We have not completed an end-to-end connection test in Base44. Use the checks below to confirm your own setup.

1. Before you start

Have your client account and your Design Corpus account ready. Three sample references are available without a paid Corpus subscription; other references require active access. Your client’s plan and usage costs are separate.

MCP connections supply context in the editor chat while you build, not in published app workflows.

The connector supplies reference material to your client. Your website brief, copy, and assets still come from you.

2. Add Design Corpus

  1. Click your workspace name → Account preferences → Builder → MCP Connections.
  2. Choose Add custom MCP. Enter Design Corpus as the Name and paste the URL below.
  3. Choose OAuth under Authentication. Leave Custom headers empty for OAuth.
  4. Click Test, then Test & Add, and complete the Design Corpus authorization. Confirm the connection is toggled on.

Server nameDesign Corpus

Server URLhttps://designcorpus.com/api/mcp

TransportStreamable HTTP (HTTP)

AuthenticationOAuth; personal bearer token where supported

Use OAuth. For a personal-token alternative, use the custom header Authorization with value Bearer <YOUR_DESIGN_CORPUS_TOKEN>; do not combine it with OAuth.

OAuth should open the Design Corpus sign-in and approval page. Signing in to this website alone does not connect your client. No client secret is supplied by this guide; let the client discover the OAuth configuration.

Personal-token fallback

If the platform offers a bearer-token or custom-header field, obtain your own personal token from the Design Corpus dashboard for the hosted service. A local development token may belong to a different environment and will not necessarily work with the hosted endpoint.

Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_DESIGN_CORPUS_TOKEN>

Replace the placeholder only inside the platform’s credential field. For a dedicated Bearer Token field, enter only the token, without “Bearer ”. Never put it in a chat prompt, source code, or published app. Do not add this header when using OAuth.

3. Verify before building

Enable the connector in your client chat and send this read-only prompt:

Use Design Corpus: call get_build_guide, then list_styles with no filters. Summarize the guide and show the reference slugs returned for my account. Do not build or change anything yet.

Look for successful calls to get_build_guide and list_styles, followed by real returned reference slugs. A free account should receive its available samples. A generated description without tool calls is not proof of a connection.

After that works, choose a returned slug. Ask the builder to inspect that reference and its section images before building with your own content. Check whether it actually sees the images; text-only results are a reason to use the manual pack.

4. Build with a reference pack

If custom MCP is unavailable, authorization fails, or the builder ignores images, use the existing manual workflow:

  1. Open a reference you can access. The free Trigger.dev example includes 19 section captures.
  2. Open Design & build, then download the reference pack. Unzip it locally.
  3. Paste brief.md into your client and attach the hero and full-page images using its file attachment controls.
  4. Work through the numbered section briefs and matching images one at a time. Ask for a comparison with the source capture after each pass.
Try the free reference pack ↗

Manual packs follow the same access rules as MCP; they do not unlock paid references.

When something does not work

No custom MCP option
Check the platform’s plan requirement, workspace restrictions, and current documentation. Use the pack if your account cannot add remote servers.
Authorization fails or loops
Confirm the exact HTTPS URL and the platform’s OAuth choice. Retry authorization from the builder. Do not mix OAuth with a stale bearer header. The account must belong to the environment serving the endpoint.
Connected, but no Corpus tools
Enable the server for the current chat or project, refresh the client’s tools, and explicitly request the two verification calls. Do not treat a saved URL as a successful test.
Reference is locked
Call list_styles without filters to find accessible samples. Paid content needs an active license on the same account and environment. A public homepage preview does not check your subscription.
Still stuck
Contact us with your client, step, and error text. Leave out passwords and tokens.

Official sources

Base44 MCP connections documentation ↗

Design Corpus public connection metadata ↗