RunPod MCP server

This Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enables interaction with the Runpod REST API through Claude or other MCP-compatible clients. It provides a convenient interface for managing Runpod resources like pods, endpoints, templates, volumes, and container registry authentications.

Installation Options

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher
• A Runpod account and API key (get your API key from Runpod user settings)

Running with npx

You can run the server directly without installation using:

RUNPOD_API_KEY=your_api_key_here npx @runpod/mcp-server@latest

Installing via Smithery

To install automatically for Claude Desktop:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @runpod/runpod-mcp-ts --client claude

Configuration with Claude for Desktop

Setting up Claude Desktop Integration

1. Open Claude for Desktop
2. Edit the config file:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
3. Add the server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "runpod": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@runpod/mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "RUNPOD_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude for Desktop to apply changes

Usage Examples

Managing Pods

You can ask Claude to perform various pod operations:

Can you list all my Runpod pods?

Create a new pod with specific requirements:

Create a new Runpod pod with the following specifications:
- Name: test-pod
- Image: runpod/pytorch:2.1.0-py3.10-cuda11.8.0-devel-ubuntu22.04
- GPU Type: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
- GPU Count: 1

Working with Serverless Endpoints

Set up a serverless endpoint:

Create a Runpod serverless endpoint with the following configuration:
- Name: my-endpoint
- Template ID: 30zmvf89kd
- Minimum workers: 0
- Maximum workers: 3

Security Best Practices

This server requires your Runpod API key, which grants full access to your Runpod account. To use it securely:

• Never share your API key with others
• Be cautious about what operations you perform
• Consider setting up a dedicated API key with limited permissions
• Implement proper security measures before using in production environments

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 "runpod" '{"command":"node","args":["/path/to/runpod-mcp-server/build/index.js"],"env":{"RUNPOD_API_KEY":"your_api_key_here"}}'

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": {
        "runpod": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/runpod-mcp-server/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "RUNPOD_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
            }
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "runpod": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/runpod-mcp-server/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "RUNPOD_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect