Render MCP server

The Render MCP Server enables AI assistants like Claude to interact with the Render API, allowing you to deploy and manage services on Render.com directly through conversational interfaces. This server acts as a bridge between AI assistants and your Render account.

Installation

Install the Render MCP server globally using npm:

npm install -g @niyogi/render-mcp

Configuration

Before using the server, you need to configure it with your Render API key:

1. Get your Render API key from the Render Dashboard
2. Configure the MCP server with your key using one of these methods:

node bin/render-mcp.js configure --api-key=YOUR_API_KEY

Or use the interactive prompt:

node bin/render-mcp.js configure

Basic Usage

Starting the Server

Start the MCP server with:

node bin/render-mcp.js start

If you've installed the package globally, you can use the shorter command:

render-mcp start

Checking Configuration

Verify your configuration is correct:

node bin/render-mcp.js config

Or with global installation:

render-mcp config

Running Diagnostics

Check if everything is working properly:

node bin/render-mcp.js doctor

Or with global installation:

render-mcp doctor

Using with AI Assistants

Setting Up with Cline

1. Add the following to your Cline MCP settings file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "render": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/render-mcp/bin/render-mcp.js", "start"],
      "env": {
        "RENDER_API_KEY": "your-render-api-key"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

2. Restart Cline for the changes to take effect
3. You can now interact with Render through Claude using natural language

Setting Up with Windsurf/Cursor

1. Install and configure the render-mcp package as described above
2. Start the MCP server in a separate terminal:

node bin/render-mcp.js start

3. In Windsurf/Cursor settings, add the Render MCP server:
   • Server Name: render
   • Server Type: stdio
   • Command: node
   • Arguments: ["/path/to/render-mcp/bin/render-mcp.js", "start"]

Using with Claude API Integrations

For custom applications using Claude's API:

1. Start the render-mcp server
2. Include the MCP server connections in your API request:

{
  "mcpConnections": [
    {
      "name": "render",
      "transport": {
        "type": "stdio",
        "command": "node",
        "args": ["/path/to/render-mcp/bin/render-mcp.js", "start"]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Example Commands

Once connected to an AI assistant, you can use natural language to manage your Render services. Try prompts like:

• "List all my services on Render"
• "Deploy my web service with ID srv-123456"
• "Create a new static site on Render from my GitHub repo"
• "Show me the deployment history for my service"
• "Add an environment variable to my service"
• "Add a custom domain to my service"

These prompts enable you to perform various tasks like listing services, deploying applications, and managing configurations through conversational interfaces.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "render" '{"command":"node","args":["/path/to/render-mcp/bin/render-mcp.js","start"],"env":{"RENDER_API_KEY":"your-render-api-key"},"disabled":false,"autoApprove":[]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "render": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/render-mcp/bin/render-mcp.js",
                "start"
            ],
            "env": {
                "RENDER_API_KEY": "your-render-api-key"
            },
            "disabled": false,
            "autoApprove": []
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "render": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/render-mcp/bin/render-mcp.js",
                "start"
            ],
            "env": {
                "RENDER_API_KEY": "your-render-api-key"
            },
            "disabled": false,
            "autoApprove": []
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect