Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with EchoBench in under 5 minutes.

Overview

EchoBench is a marketing intelligence platform that provides AI assistants (like Claude) with powerful tools for lead research, content generation, competitor analysis, and outreach automation. This guide will get you started in minutes.

Step 1: Get Your API Key

  1. Sign up for EchoBench (100 free operations/month)
  2. Verify your email address
  3. Your API key will be shown after verification (starts with bkn_)
  4. Copy your API key (you'll need it in Step 3)
Free Tier: 100 operations/month with access to all 15 MCP tools. See pricing for Pro and Enterprise plans.

Step 2: Install EchoBench

Choose your preferred installation method:

pip

Recommended

Install globally with pip:

pip install echobench

Requires Python 3.10+. Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

pipx (Isolated Environment)

Install in an isolated environment:

pipx install echobench

Install pipx first if you don't have it.

Homebrew

macOS only

Install via Homebrew:

brew install lautrek/tap/echobench

Verify installation: echobench --version

Step 3: Configure Your AI Assistant

EchoBench uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect with AI assistants. Choose your tool:

Claude Code (CLI)

Recommended

Add to your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "echobench": {
      "command": "echobench",
      "env": {
        "ECHOBENCH_API_KEY": "bkn_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or add to ~/.claude/settings.local.json for global access.

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude config file:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "echobench": {
      "command": "echobench",
      "env": {
        "ECHOBENCH_API_KEY": "bkn_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor IDE

Create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "echobench": {
      "command": "echobench",
      "env": {
        "ECHOBENCH_API_KEY": "bkn_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurf IDE

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "echobench": {
      "command": "echobench",
      "env": {
        "ECHOBENCH_API_KEY": "bkn_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace bkn_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your actual API key. Restart your AI tool after saving.

Step 4: Start Using EchoBench

Now you can use natural language to access all 15 marketing tools. Here are some examples:

You: Look up information about stripe.com
Claude: I'll look that up for you using EchoBench. 
Company: Stripe, Inc.
Industry: Financial Technology / Payments
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Employees: 7,000+
Founded: 2010
Tech Stack: React, Ruby, Go, AWS, PostgreSQL...

Try these example prompts:

  • "Find decision makers at notion.so who are VPs in Product"
  • "Generate LinkedIn ad copy for an AI-powered CAD tool targeting mechanical engineers"
  • "Analyze competitor ads for autodesk.com"
  • "Create an email sequence for cold outreach to SaaS founders"
  • "What's the tech stack used by figma.com?"

Available Tools

EchoBench provides 15 MCP tools across 4 categories:

Lead Research (4 tools)

  • company_lookup - Company information
  • find_decision_makers - Find contacts
  • enrich_contact - Contact details
  • detect_tech_stack - Technology detection

Content Generation (3 tools)

  • generate_ad_copy - Ad copywriting
  • generate_email_template - Email templates
  • generate_social_post - Social content

Competitor Intel (4 tools)

  • monitor_competitor - Track changes
  • analyze_competitor_ads - Ad analysis
  • analyze_social_presence - Social analysis
  • get_competitor_report - Full reports

Outreach (4 tools)

  • create_email_sequence - Build sequences
  • add_contacts_to_sequence - Add contacts
  • track_sequence_performance - Analytics
  • manage_sequence - Pause/resume

Next Steps

Lead Research Tools Detailed tool documentation REST API Direct API access Dashboard View usage and manage keys

Troubleshooting

  • Make sure you ran pip install echobench
  • Check that pip's bin directory is in your PATH
  • Try python -m echobench as an alternative
  • On Windows, you may need to restart your terminal
  • Verify your API key starts with bkn_
  • Check the key is valid in the dashboard
  • Ensure you haven't exceeded your monthly operation limit
  • Regenerate your API key if needed
  • Restart Claude Code / Claude Desktop after config changes
  • Check the config file path is correct for your OS
  • Verify JSON syntax is valid (no trailing commas)
  • Try running echobench --help to test the CLI

Still stuck? Open an issue on GitHub.