Credentials Guide

16 min

Everything you need from your Exotel account to configure the MCP.

Where to Find Each Credential

1. API Key and API Secret → your token

Where: my.exotel.com → Settings → API Settings

[SCREENSHOT: API Settings page — API Key and API Secret fields highlighted]

Copy your API Key and API Secret. These are the same credentials used for the Exotel REST API.

Now create your Base64 token. Open a terminal and run:

echo -n "YOUR_API_KEY:YOUR_API_SECRET" | base64

Example:

echo -n "37c81d77abc123:76ecf80adef456" | base64
# Output: MzdjODFkNzdhYmMxMjM6NzZlY2Y4MGFkZWY0NTY=

This output is your token. Save it — you'll paste it into the config.

Common mistake: Don't add a space between the key and secret, and don't copy any newlines. The token must be a single clean string.

2. Account SID

Where: Same page — Settings → API Settings

[SCREENSHOT: API Settings page — Account SID field highlighted]

The Account SID looks like ameyo5m or similar. Copy it exactly.

3. Your Exotel Number

Where: my.exotel.com → Numbers (in the left sidebar)

[SCREENSHOT: Numbers page — list of registered numbers with status column]

Pick any number with Active status that has outbound calling enabled. Use the local format — e.g. 08046800979, not +918046800979.

This number appears as the caller ID when your calls go out.

Building the Config

Once you have all three, build the AUTH_HEADER value:

{
  "token": "YOUR_BASE64_TOKEN",
  "from_number": "YOUR_EXOTEL_NUMBER",
  "caller_id": "YOUR_EXOTEL_NUMBER",
  "account_sid": "YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID",
  "api_domain": "https://api.in.exotel.com",
  "exotel_portal_url": "https://my.exotel.com"
}

This goes into your AI client's MCP config as a single-line JSON string under env.AUTH_HEADER.

See Quick Start Step 3Quick Start Step 3 for the full config block (shown for Claude Desktop; other clients follow the same structure).

Credential Reference

Field	Where to find it	Format
token	API Settings → Key + Secret → Base64 encode	Base64 string
from_number	Numbers page → any active India number	08XXXXXXXX (local format)
caller_id	Same as from_number	08XXXXXXXX
account_sid	API Settings → Account SID	Short string e.g. ameyo5m
api_domain	Based on your region (see below)	URL

Regions

Account type	api_domain
India-hosted accounts	https://api.in.exotel.com
Globally-hosted accounts	https://api.exotel.com

How to tell: If your Exotel dashboard URL is my.in.exotel.com, you're on India-hosted. If it's my.exotel.com, use the global domain.

Verifying Your Credentials

After restarting your AI client, you should see Exotel tools available. In Claude Desktop, click the 🔧 tools icon in the chat input to confirm.

[SCREENSHOT: Tools icon expanded showing exotel tools — voice_call_initiate, voicebot_place_call, etc.]

If the tools aren't there, see Troubleshooting →.

If you see tools but get an error when you try to use them, the most common cause is an incorrect token. Regenerate it:

echo -n "api_key:api_secret" | base64

Check there's no space before or after the colon, and no newline at the end.

Security Notes

Your credentials are stored locally in your AI client's config file on your machine

They're sent only to Exotel's API — never to Claude's servers or anywhere else

Treat the Base64 token like a password — don't paste it into emails, Slack, or shared docs

If credentials are compromised, regenerate them in API Settings

Questions? developer.exotel.com/api/exotel-mcp-server | Exotel Support