Manus Setup Guide

Autonomous ad management with deep research. Manus connects to Adspirer as a custom MCP server, giving it 100+ advertising tools across Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and TikTok Ads.

What Makes Manus + Adspirer Powerful

Manus is an autonomous AI agent that can browse the web, write code, and execute multi-step tasks. When connected to Adspirer, it gains direct access to your ad accounts and can:

Generate interactive dashboards with charts, KPI cards, and data tables
Run deep research — competitor analysis, keyword research, market landscape
Schedule performance briefs — daily or weekly reports delivered to your inbox
Monitor campaigns 24/7 — get alerts when ROAS drops or spend exceeds thresholds
Create and manage campaigns across all platforms from a single conversation

Unlike other MCP clients that use OAuth, Manus connects via API key authentication through custom headers.

Prerequisites

A Manus account
An Adspirer account (free to start)
At least one ad platform account: Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, or TikTok Ads

Setup

Generate an Adspirer API Key

Go to adspirer.ai/keys
Click Create New Key
Give it a name (e.g., “Manus”)
Copy the key immediately — it starts with sk_live_ and is only shown once

Save your API key somewhere safe. You cannot view it again after creation. If you lose it, you’ll need to generate a new one.

Open Manus MCP Settings

Go to manus.im
Click the Settings icon (gear) in the left sidebar
Click Integrations
Click + Add Custom MCP Server

Configure the MCP Server

Fill in the following fields:

Field	Value
Server Name	`Adspirer`
Transport Type	`HTTP`
Server URL	`https://mcp.adspirer.com/mcp`

Then add a custom header:

Header Name	Header Value
`Authorization`	`Bearer sk_live_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE`

Replace sk_live_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with the actual API key you copied in Step 1.

Make sure there is a space between Bearer and your key. The full value should look like: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

Add Skills (Recommended)

Skills teach Manus the correct workflow order, input formatting, and platform-specific patterns. Without skills, Manus discovers the tools but may not use them optimally. With skills, it operates like an expert performance marketer.

In Manus, click Settings (gear icon) in the left sidebar
Click Skills
Click + Add → Import from GitHub
Import each skill by pasting its GitHub URL:

Performance Marketing Agent
Ad Campaign Management

Paste this URL in the Import from GitHub dialog:

https://github.com/amekala/ads-mcp/tree/main/skills/performance-marketing-agent

This skill teaches Manus to:

Always check connected platforms first (get_connections_status)
Follow the correct workflow order: read data → analyze → act
Present results in structured tables with key metrics
Handle cross-platform performance dashboards
Properly format tool inputs (string IDs, budget numbers, text limits)
Execute keyword research, budget optimization, and ROAS tracking

Best for: Daily performance management, campaign analysis, optimization

Paste this URL in the Import from GitHub dialog:

https://github.com/amekala/ads-mcp/tree/main/skills/ad-campaign-management

This skill teaches Manus to:

Match user goals to the right tools and workflows
Create campaigns across Google (Search, PMax, Demand Gen, YouTube), Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok
Research competitors and keywords before campaign creation
Manage ad extensions, bidding strategies, and audience targeting
Build cross-platform performance scorecards
Set up monitoring alerts and scheduled reports

Best for: Campaign creation, multi-platform management, strategic planning

Toggle both skills on after importing

Import both skills for maximum effectiveness. Together they give Manus the full context needed to act as a complete advertising operations agent.

Save and Test

Click Save to store the configuration
Click Try it out to verify the connection
If successful, Manus will discover all 100+ Adspirer tools

If the connection fails, see the Troubleshooting section below.

Try It

Go back to the Manus chat and try a prompt:

Help me test the Adspirer connector and show me how to use its features.
Show any data you can fetch. Give me a brief about its capabilities.
The user authorization bearer token in the header is already provided.

Manus will discover the available tools, fetch your campaign data, and show you what’s possible.

Sign up for Adspirer — free to start

15 free tool calls/month. No credit card required. Connect your ad accounts in 2 minutes.

Using Skills in Conversation

Once you’ve imported and enabled skills, you can invoke specific workflows directly in your Manus conversation:

Performance Analysis

Run a cross-platform performance dashboard for the last 30 days.
Show me a unified scorecard across all connected platforms.

Manus will follow the skill workflow: check connections → pull data from each platform → pull waste analysis → present a unified scorecard with recommendations.

Campaign Creation with Research

I want to create a Google Search campaign for my plumbing business in Austin, TX.
Research the market first, then build the campaign.

Manus will follow the campaign research workflow: web search for competitor ads → keyword research → analyze search terms → propose campaign structure → create after your approval.

Budget Optimization

Where am I wasting ad spend? Analyze all platforms and tell me
what to cut and where to reallocate.

Scheduled Briefs

Set up a daily performance brief and email it to me every morning at 9 AM.

Monitoring Alerts

Monitor my campaigns and alert me if ROAS drops below 2x
or daily spend exceeds $500.

Reports

Generate a detailed performance report for all my ad accounts
and email it to marketing@mycompany.com.

How It Works

You send a prompt in Manus

Ask Manus anything — “Show my campaign performance”, “Create a Google Search campaign”, or “Set up a daily performance brief”.

Manus uses Adspirer skills and tools

Manus reads the imported skill instructions, discovers 100+ Adspirer MCP tools, and follows the correct workflow order automatically.

Adspirer MCP server handles authentication

Your API key (sent via the Authorization header) is validated server-side via SHA-256 hash lookup. Your raw key is never stored.

Data is fetched from your ad accounts

Adspirer connects to your Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Ads, and YouTube Ads accounts using your stored OAuth tokens. Manus never sees your ad platform credentials.

API Key Management

Viewing Your Keys

Go to adspirer.ai/keys?tab=api-keys to see all your active keys. You’ll see:

Key name
Key prefix (first 12 characters)
Created date
Last used date

Revoking a Key

If a key is compromised or no longer needed:

Go to adspirer.ai/keys
Click the Revoke button next to the key
Generate a new key and update your Manus configuration

Key Limits by Plan

Plan	Max API Keys
Free	2
Plus	5
Pro	10
Max	20
Enterprise	50

Troubleshooting

Connection fails with 'OAuth authentication error'

This means the Authorization header is not reaching the server. Common causes:

Missing Bearer prefix — The header value must start with Bearer (with a space)
Extra spaces or newlines — Copy the key cleanly, no trailing whitespace
Expired or revoked key — Check your key status at adspirer.ai/keys?tab=api-keys
Manus overriding the header — If the issue persists after verifying the above, try removing and re-adding the MCP server in Manus settings

To verify your key works independently:

curl -X POST https://mcp.adspirer.com/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-03-26","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"1.0"}}}'

A successful response returns the server capabilities. A 401 means the key is invalid.

'No Google Ads account connected' error

Your API key is valid, but you haven’t connected an ad platform yet:

Go to adspirer.ai
Click Connections in the sidebar
Connect your Google Ads, Meta Ads, or other platform
Return to Manus and try again

Tools not showing up in Manus

After adding the MCP server:

Make sure you clicked Save (not just filled in the fields)
Click Try it out to verify the connection
Start a new conversation in Manus — tools are discovered per-session
If still missing, remove the server and add it again

'Session Expired' error during tool use

Your API key may have expired (default expiration: 365 days):

Check your key status at adspirer.ai/keys?tab=api-keys
If expired, generate a new key
Update the Authorization header in Manus settings with the new key

Manus calls tools in wrong order or formats inputs incorrectly

This usually means skills are not configured:

Go to Settings > Skills in Manus
Click + Add > Import from GitHub
Import both skills from https://github.com/amekala/ads-mcp/tree/main/skills/performance-marketing-agent and https://github.com/amekala/ads-mcp/tree/main/skills/ad-campaign-management
Toggle both skills on and start a new conversation

Skills teach Manus the correct workflow order, input formatting rules, and platform-specific patterns.

Manus can't access my ad data directly

This is by design. Manus runs in isolation and cannot call ad platform APIs directly. Adspirer uses a pre-fetch pattern:

Adspirer fetches your campaign data using your stored OAuth tokens
The data is passed to Manus for analysis and report generation
Manus generates insights, dashboards, or PDFs from the pre-fetched data

This keeps your ad platform credentials secure — Manus never sees your OAuth tokens.

Comparison with Other Clients

Feature	Manus	Claude	ChatGPT	Cursor
Auth method	API Key	OAuth	OAuth	OAuth
Autonomous tasks	Yes	Limited	Limited	No
Web research	Yes	No	Yes (Browse)	No
Dashboard generation	Yes	No	No	No
Scheduled briefs	Yes	No	No	No
Skill support	Skills (GitHub import)	`.claude/`	Custom GPT	`.cursor/`
Campaign management	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Performance queries	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

What’s Next

Performance Marketing Agent Skill

Full skill reference for performance analysis, optimization, and reporting workflows.

Ad Campaign Management Skill

Full skill reference for campaign creation, keyword research, and multi-platform management.

Explore All Tools

Browse the full catalog of 100+ advertising tools available through Manus.

Ad Platform Setup

Connect your Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn, or TikTok accounts.

Getting Started

AI Clients

Ad Platforms

Agent Skills

Resources

Manus Setup Guide

What Makes Manus + Adspirer Powerful

Prerequisites

Setup

Sign up for Adspirer — free to start

Using Skills in Conversation

Performance Analysis

Campaign Creation with Research

Budget Optimization

Scheduled Briefs

Monitoring Alerts

Reports

How It Works

API Key Management

Viewing Your Keys

Revoking a Key

Key Limits by Plan

Troubleshooting

Comparison with Other Clients

What’s Next

Performance Marketing Agent Skill

Ad Campaign Management Skill

Explore All Tools

Ad Platform Setup

Getting Started

AI Clients

Ad Platforms

Agent Skills

Resources

​What Makes Manus + Adspirer Powerful

​Prerequisites

​Setup

Sign up for Adspirer — free to start

​Using Skills in Conversation

​Performance Analysis

​Campaign Creation with Research

​Budget Optimization

​Scheduled Briefs

​Monitoring Alerts

​Reports

​How It Works

​API Key Management

​Viewing Your Keys

​Revoking a Key

​Key Limits by Plan

​Troubleshooting

​Comparison with Other Clients

​What’s Next

Performance Marketing Agent Skill

Ad Campaign Management Skill

Explore All Tools

Ad Platform Setup

What Makes Manus + Adspirer Powerful

Prerequisites

Setup

Using Skills in Conversation

Performance Analysis

Campaign Creation with Research

Budget Optimization

Scheduled Briefs

Monitoring Alerts

Reports

How It Works

API Key Management

Viewing Your Keys

Revoking a Key

Key Limits by Plan

Troubleshooting

Comparison with Other Clients

What’s Next