diff --git a/backend/app/core/config.py b/backend/app/core/config.py
index eee1633..6f9ad5a 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/config.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/config.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     data_dir: str = "/data"
     redis_url: str = "redis://redis:6379"
     cors_origins: str = "http://localhost:3000"
+    mcp_api_key: str = ""
 
     @property
     def cors_origins_list(self) -> list[str]:
diff --git a/backend/requirements.txt b/backend/requirements.txt
index 3ac3e3d..253d6cb 100644
--- a/backend/requirements.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements.txt
@@ -8,5 +8,6 @@ pillow==11.1.0
 python-multipart==0.0.20
 httpx==0.28.0
 arq==0.26.1
+mcp>=1.9
 pytest==8.3.4
 pytest-asyncio==0.24.0