> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.instapods.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MCP Overview

> Connect AI assistants to InstaPods using the Model Context Protocol.

The **Model Context Protocol (MCP)** lets AI assistants like Claude manage your pods directly. Create, start, stop, and run commands — all through natural language in your AI tool.

## What is MCP?

MCP is an open protocol that connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources. InstaPods implements an MCP server that exposes pod management as tools your AI assistant can call.

## Supported Clients

InstaPods MCP works with any client that supports remote MCP servers:

* **Claude.ai** — via Custom Connectors
* **Claude Desktop** — via remote MCP server config
* **Any MCP-compatible client** — via the standard MCP protocol

## How It Works

```
┌──────────────┐     OAuth      ┌──────────────────┐     Incus     ┌─────────┐
│ AI Assistant │ ──────────────→│  InstaPods API   │ ────────────→│  Pods   │
│ (Claude)     │◄──── MCP ─────│  /api/mcp        │              │         │
└──────────────┘                └──────────────────┘              └─────────┘
```

1. Your AI client connects to the MCP endpoint
2. OAuth authenticates you (opens browser for approval)
3. The AI can now use InstaPods tools to manage your pods

## Quick Setup

### Claude.ai

1. Go to [claude.ai](https://claude.ai) → **Settings** → **Connectors**
2. Click **Add Connector**
3. Enter the MCP server URL:
   ```
   https://app.instapods.com/api/mcp
   ```
4. Your browser opens the InstaPods login page — sign in and select a team
5. Click **Approve** to grant access
6. Start chatting with Claude about your pods

### Claude Desktop

1. Go to **Settings** → **Connectors** (or **Integrations**)
2. Add a new remote MCP server with URL:
   ```
   https://app.instapods.com/api/mcp
   ```
3. Authenticate in the browser when prompted
4. The connection appears in your Claude Desktop session

## What Can the AI Do?

Once connected, your AI assistant can:

* **List pods** — "Show me my pods"
* **Deploy a 1-Click App** — "Deploy n8n for me" or "Is there a self-hosted alternative to Zapier?" — the app boots ready to use, nothing to upload
* **Create pods** — "Create a Node.js pod called my-api"
* **Start/stop/restart** — "Restart my-api"
* **Run commands** — "Run `npm install express` in my-api"
* **Browse plans and regions** — "What plans are available?"
* **Delete pods** — "Delete the test pod"

See the [Tools Reference](/mcp/tools) for the complete list.

## No Card Yet?

Deploying normally needs a payment method on file. Through the connector, a first custom-code deploy
without one can instead be granted a [free trial pod](/mcp/trial) - a real pod on a real HTTPS URL
that is deleted after 90 minutes unless you add a card to keep it.

## Billing Stays on instapods.com

Pods are billed monthly to your InstaPods account, but **no payment is ever taken inside the
conversation**. No tool on this server asks for card details, charges a card, or moves money. Adding
or changing a payment method, viewing invoices and downloading receipts all happen on
[app.instapods.com/dashboard/billing](https://app.instapods.com/dashboard/billing).

`create_pod`, `deploy_pod` and `change_plan` do change what you are billed — a new pod adds its
monthly plan, and `change_plan` moves a pod to a different one, prorated onto your next monthly
invoice. What they never do is collect the money: they tell you which plan a pod is on so the cost is
known before it is incurred, and the charge settles through your existing billing on the dashboard.

## Pod Cards

When you list, view, or create a pod, the result comes back as an interactive card rather than a wall of text - the pod's name, status, domain and plan laid out so you can scan them, with the URL clickable.

Cards render in hosts that support embedded MCP apps, which today means **Claude** and **ChatGPT**. Three tools return one:

| Tool | Card |
| - | - |
| `list_pods` | One row per pod, with status and domain |
| `get_pod` | A single pod in detail |
| `create_pod` | The pod you just created, with its live URL |

Every other client still receives the full result as structured JSON, so nothing you can do depends on the card rendering.

## Authentication

MCP uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for secure authentication. When you first connect:

1. Your AI client discovers the OAuth endpoints automatically
2. A browser window opens for you to log in
3. You select which team to grant access to
4. The AI receives a token scoped to that team

Tokens last 30 days. See [Authentication](/mcp/authentication) for details.


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