MCP server

Manifest runs a remote Model Context Protocol server. Any MCP client — Claude, Cursor, VS Code, and others — can connect to it, sign in with your Manifest account, and manage your workspace with tools: list harnesses, connect providers, change routing, read the request log, and more. The server speaks MCP over HTTP and authenticates with OAuth 2.1. The client discovers Manifest’s authorization server on its own, opens a browser consent screen the first time, and then holds a short-lived, revocable, workspace-scoped token.

Field	Value
Server URL	`https://app.manifest.build/api/v1/mcp`

Field	Value
Server URL	`{your origin}/api/v1/mcp`, for example `http://localhost:2099/api/v1/mcp`

The tools act on the workspace of the user who authorized the client. They are tenant-scoped exactly like the dashboard and the API: a token can never see or change another workspace.

Connect a client

Add a remote MCP server

In your MCP client, add a server of type HTTP (sometimes called Streamable HTTP) and paste the server URL above. Some clients call this Add custom connector.For clients that use a JSON config file, the Cursor-style shape is:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "manifest": {
      "url": "https://app.manifest.build/api/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Authorize in the browser

The client opens a browser tab and asks you to sign in to Manifest, then shows a consent screen listing the access the client requested. Review it and select Allow access.

Use the tools

The client now lists the Manifest tools. Ask it to run one — for example, “list my Manifest harnesses” — or call Diagnose the workspace to check the connection.

If the client supports read-only connections, keep it to the mcp:read scope. Add mcp:write only for clients that should be able to create and change things.

Scopes

The consent screen asks for scopes, and the tools you get depend on the scopes the token carries.

Scope	Grants
`mcp:read`	Read harnesses, provider connections, routing, models, prices, and the request log.
`mcp:write`	Create, update, and delete harnesses, providers, and routing, and reveal harness keys.
`offline_access`	A refresh token, so the client stays connected after the short-lived access token expires.

A token without mcp:write does not merely fail on writes — the write tools are not exposed to the client at all, so a read-only connection cannot be talked into a change.

Discovery

An MCP client starts from the server URL and reads Manifest’s OAuth metadata to find the authorization server. You do not configure any of this by hand; it is listed here for reference and for debugging with tools like the MCP Inspector.

Document	URL
Protected resource metadata	`{origin}/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource`
Authorization server metadata	`{origin}/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server`
Authorization endpoint	`{origin}/api/auth/oauth2/authorize`
Token endpoint	`{origin}/api/auth/oauth2/token`
Signing keys (JWKS)	`{origin}/api/auth/jwks`

Manifest follows RFC 9728 for the protected-resource document and RFC 8414 for the authorization server. Clients are identified with Client ID Metadata Documents, the MCP 2026-07-28 profile. Anonymous dynamic client registration is disabled, so a client must be able to present a verified metadata document to register itself.

Tools

The tool names are grouped below. Each is prefixed with manifest_. read tools are always present; write tools require the mcp:write scope.

Harnesses

Tool	Access	What it does
`manifest_agent_list`	read	List harnesses with usage rollups.
`manifest_agent_get`	read	Fetch one harness by name.
`manifest_agent_platforms`	read	List valid platforms and categories for create and update.
`manifest_agent_setup`	read	Platform setup instructions. Pass `reveal` (needs `mcp:write`) to embed the key.
`manifest_agent_create`	write	Create a harness and return its ingest key once.
`manifest_agent_update`	write	Rename a harness or change its category or platform.
`manifest_agent_delete`	write	Delete a harness and deactivate its key.
`manifest_agent_rotate_key`	write	Rotate a harness key and return the new key once.
`manifest_agent_key_show`	write	Return a harness key.
`manifest_agent_env`	write	Return the `MANIFEST_AGENT_KEY` and `MANIFEST_AGENT_URL` export lines.

Providers

Tool	Access	What it does
`manifest_provider_list`	read	List provider connections and cached model counts.
`manifest_provider_catalog`	read	List everything connectable with its auth types.
`manifest_provider_custom_list`	read	List custom (OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible) providers.
`manifest_provider_connect`	write	Connect a provider for the workspace and discover its models.
`manifest_provider_disconnect`	write	Remove a provider connection.
`manifest_provider_refresh`	write	Re-run model discovery for a provider or a harness.
`manifest_provider_custom_add`	write	Register a custom provider endpoint.
`manifest_provider_custom_remove`	write	Delete a custom provider registration.
`manifest_agent_provider_enable`	write	Grant a provider connection to a harness.
`manifest_agent_provider_disable`	write	Revoke a provider connection from a harness.

Routing

Tool	Access	What it does
`manifest_routing_status`	read	Report whether a harness can route yet, and why not.
`manifest_routing_fallbacks_get`	read	Read a tier’s fallback chain.
`manifest_routing_custom_list`	read	List a harness’s custom (header-triggered) tiers.
`manifest_routing_autofix_get`	read	Report whether Autofix is effective for a harness.
`manifest_routing_recording_get`	read	Report whether request recording is on for a harness.
`manifest_agent_configure`	write	Set the default route and fallbacks, or a custom tier, and toggle Autofix or recording.
`manifest_routing_fallbacks_set`	write	Replace a tier’s fallback chain.
`manifest_routing_fallbacks_clear`	write	Clear a tier’s fallback chain.
`manifest_routing_custom_create`	write	Create a custom tier, with an optional route and fallbacks.
`manifest_routing_custom_delete`	write	Delete a custom tier.
`manifest_routing_autofix_set`	write	Enable or disable Autofix for a harness.
`manifest_routing_recording_set`	write	Turn request recording on or off for a harness.
`manifest_routing_test`	write	Send one real request through the harness route to prove it works.

Models, requests, and diagnostics

Tool	Access	What it does
`manifest_models_list`	read	List the models a harness can route to.
`manifest_model_prices`	read	Install-wide model pricing.
`manifest_requests_get`	read	List recent requests with cursor pagination.
`manifest_whoami`	read	Return the acting user, workspace, and granted scopes.
`manifest_doctor`	read	Run config, credential, provider, and agent checks in order.
`manifest_guide`	read	Return the recommended management workflow.

Revoke a client

Signing out of Manifest ends the browser session, and an access token stops working when it expires. To revoke a client’s access on the spot, remove its consent from your account, or rotate the harness keys it may have read. Access tokens are short-lived (15 minutes), so a revoked connection falls back to the consent screen on its next request.

Self-hosted notes

The server URL follows BETTER_AUTH_URL. The issuer, the protected-resource identifier, and every URL in the metadata are derived from it. Set BETTER_AUTH_URL to the origin your MCP client actually reaches, then restart. A mismatch makes clients refuse the token.
Remote clients need HTTPS. OAuth metadata requires an https:// resource except on loopback. For local development the client may connect to http://localhost:<port>/api/v1/mcp. To connect from another machine, terminate TLS in front of Manifest and set BETTER_AUTH_URL to that https:// origin.
Let the well-known routes through your proxy. Forward /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource and /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server to Manifest. If your reverse proxy only forwards /api, discovery fails and the client never reaches the consent screen.
The OAuth tables are created on boot. Manifest runs Better Auth’s own migrations at startup, which adds the client, token, consent, and JWKS tables. No manual step is needed.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause and fix
Client reports it cannot connect, or never opens the browser	The client cannot read the protected-resource metadata. Confirm `{origin}/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource` returns JSON and is reachable from the client.
Consent screen says the request has an invalid signature	The authorization request was tampered with or started from a stale tab. Start the connection again from the client.
Tools are missing after connecting	The token is read-only. Reconnect and grant `mcp:write` if the client should change things.
A write tool returns “insufficient scope”	The client requested only `mcp:read`. Reconnect with `mcp:write`.
`401` on every tool call	The access token expired and the client has no refresh token. Reconnect; keep `offline_access` for long-lived sessions.
Self-hosted client rejects the token as the wrong audience	`BETTER_AUTH_URL` does not match the URL the client used. Set it to the exact origin and restart.

Getting Started

Self-hosting

Features

CLI & MCP

Providers

Integrations

Reference

Connect a client

Scopes

Discovery

Tools

Harnesses

Providers

Routing

Models, requests, and diagnostics

Revoke a client

Self-hosted notes

Troubleshooting

​Connect a client

​Scopes

​Discovery

​Tools

​Harnesses

​Providers

​Routing

​Models, requests, and diagnostics

​Revoke a client

​Self-hosted notes

​Troubleshooting

Connect a client

Scopes

Discovery

Tools

Harnesses

Providers

Routing

Models, requests, and diagnostics

Revoke a client

Self-hosted notes

Troubleshooting