Pica MCP server

Pica MCP Server provides a standardized interface for seamless interaction with third-party services through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It enables direct access to platform integrations, actions, execution capabilities, and code generation features across 100+ platforms.

Installation

npm install @picahq/pica-mcp

Configuration

Set your Pica secret key as an environment variable:

PICA_SECRET=your-pica-secret-key

You can obtain your secret key from the Pica dashboard.

Running the Server

Standalone Mode

npx @picahq/pica-mcp

With Claude Desktop

Add the server configuration to Claude Desktop's config file:

macOS:

~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows:

%APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pica": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@picahq/pica-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PICA_SECRET": "your-pica-secret-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

With Cursor

In the Cursor menu, select "MCP Settings" and update the MCP JSON file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pica": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@picahq/pica-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PICA_SECRET": "your-pica-secret-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using Docker

Build and run the Docker container:

# Build the image
docker build -t pica-mcp-server .

# Run the container
docker run -e PICA_SECRET=your_pica_secret_key pica-mcp-server

With Smithery

For automatic installation with Claude Desktop:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @picahq/pica --client claude

Deploying to Vercel

For remote access, you can deploy to Vercel:

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install @vercel/mcp-adapter zod
   

2. Deploy:

   vercel
   

3. Configure your MCP client:

   • For Cursor: https://your-project.vercel.app/api/mcp
   • For Claude/Cline: npx mcp-remote https://your-project.vercel.app/api/mcp

Using the MCP Tools

Available Tools

list_pica_integrations

Lists all available platforms and your active connections.

// No parameters required

get_pica_platform_actions

Gets available actions for a specific platform.

// Parameters
{
  "platform": "gmail" // Platform name in kebab-case
}

get_pica_action_knowledge

Gets detailed documentation for a specific action.

// Parameters
{
  "action_id": "action-id-from-previous-call",
  "platform": "gmail"
}

execute_pica_action

Executes API actions with full parameter support.

// Parameters
{
  "platform": "gmail",
  "action": {
    "_id": "action-id",
    "path": "/api/endpoint",
    "method": "GET"
  },
  "connectionKey": "your-connection-key",
  "data": {}, // Optional request body
  "pathVariables": {}, // Optional path variables
  "queryParams": {}, // Optional query parameters
  "headers": {}, // Optional headers
  "isFormData": false, // Optional
  "isFormUrlEncoded": false // Optional
}

Usage Examples

Code Generation Examples

You can prompt the AI to generate integration code, such as:

• "Create a React form component that can send emails using Gmail using Pica"
• "Build a dashboard that displays Linear users and their assigned projects with filtering options using Pica"
• "Create a paginatable table component that fetches and displays QuickBooks invoices using Pica"

Direct Action Execution Examples

You can prompt the AI to execute actions directly:

• "Get my last 5 emails from Gmail using Pica"
• "Send a slack message to #general channel: 'Meeting in 10 minutes' using Pica"
• "Get all products from my Shopify store using Pica"

Error Handling

The server provides comprehensive error handling with:

• Parameter validation
• Connection verification
• Path variable validation
• Detailed error messages
• MCP-compliant error responses

Security Features

• Authentication through Pica's secure proxy
• No exposure of secrets in generated code
• Request configuration sanitization
• Input validation and sanitization

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 "pica" '{"command":"npx","args":["@picahq/pica-mcp"],"env":{"PICA_SECRET":"your-pica-secret-key"}}'

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": {
        "pica": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "@picahq/pica-mcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "PICA_SECRET": "your-pica-secret-key"
            }
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "pica": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "@picahq/pica-mcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "PICA_SECRET": "your-pica-secret-key"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect