What is MCP and how does flexx use it?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI agents interact with external tools. flexx turns your machine into an MCP server — AI agents like Cursor, Claude, and ChatGPT can read files, run commands, and edit code on your machine through the relay.

Which AI tools work with flexx?

Any tool that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) works with flexx. This includes Cursor, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT with MCP plugins, OpenAI Codex, and any custom MCP client.

Can I use flexx without installing anything?

Yes — for Memory. Create a free account and connect any MCP client; the memory tools need no install and no machine. Remote tools (files, shell, screenshots, tunnels) only become available after you install the flexx CLI on a machine and connect it.

Is my machine exposed to the internet?

No. Your machine only makes outbound WebSocket connections to the relay. Zero inbound ports are opened. The relay mediates all communication between AI agents and your machine.

How do I connect Cursor to my machine via MCP?

Install flexx (curl -fsSL https://cli.flexx.dev/install.sh | sh), run 'flexx setup', then add the MCP server URL https://relay.flexx.dev/v1/mcp in Cursor Settings → MCP → Add Server. OAuth authentication is handled automatically.

Yes. The free tier includes unlimited remotes, unlimited MCP tools, SSH access, and localhost tunneling. Managed and team tiers with additional features are coming soon.

Setup Guide — From Install to AI-Ready

Go from installing flexx to having AI agents reach your machine in under two minutes. flexx setup authenticates and registers the machine; flexx connect (or flexx service install) brings it online.

The golden path

Run these on the machine you want to reach:

flexx setup
flexx connect          # or: flexx service install

flexx setup handles authentication and registration only. It does not start the daemon. After setup, start a connection with one of:

Command	When to use
`flexx service install`	Always-on (recommended) — starts on login
`flexx connect`	Foreground session (blocks the terminal)
`flexx connect --daemon`	Background process without a system service

What `flexx setup` does

Authenticate — browser login or API key from the dashboard
Register — registers this machine as a remote
MCP config — prints the JSON to paste into your AI agent

Example output

  Welcome to flexx.dev

  ✓ Already authenticated
  Registering this machine as "dev-laptop"...
  ✓ Remote registered (ID: a7f3c2e1)

  MCP Configuration:

  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "flexx": {
        "url": "https://relay.flexx.dev/v1/mcp",
        "headers": {
          "Authorization": "Bearer flexx_…"
        }
      }
    }
  }

  Next steps

    flexx service install   # always-on (recommended)
    flexx connect           # foreground session
    flexx connect --daemon  # background process

Setup alone does not put the machine online

Until you run flexx connect (or install the service), the machine is registered but offline, and only Memory tools are available to your AI client. Remote tools — files, shell, screenshots, tunnels — appear once it is connected.