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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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Quick Setup

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Claude.ai

  1. Go to 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

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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

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What Can the AI Do?

Once connected, your AI assistant can:
  • List pods — “Show me my pods”
  • 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 for the complete list.

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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 for details.