Claude Code + xCloud
Manage Your Hosting from Claude Code with xCloud
Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool that runs in your terminal. Connected to xCloud through the MCP server, with the xCloud skills plugin layered on top, it deploys repositories, takes backups, updates WordPress, renews SSL and diagnoses failures from the same session you write code in.
- One command: claude mcp add
- Nine xCloud skills as a Claude Code plugin
- Free with every xCloud account
YouDeploy github.com/acme/shop to my Frankfurt server on a staging hostname.
git_detectread-only
AgentNode.js app on main, build npm run build, start npm start. Dry run passed. Create shop-staging on Frankfurt?
YouYes.
servers_sites_git_createneeds approval
AgentDeployed. SSL issued, https://shop-staging.acme.xcloud.site answers 200.
. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.
Setup
How Do I Connect Claude Code to xCloud?
Point Claude Code at the xCloud MCP server, approve access in your browser, then ask. The whole thing takes a couple of minutes. The xCloud Agent Skills are an optional layer on top of that connection: they teach the agent the workflows, they do not replace it.
Add the xCloud MCP server
Run this in your terminal, then type /mcp inside Claude Code, pick xcloud and choose Authenticate. The browser opens on the xCloud approval screen, where you tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access.
claude mcp add xcloud --transport http https://app.xcloud.host/mcpInstall the xCloud skills plugin
Optional but recommended. Inside Claude Code, add the xCloud marketplace, install the plugin and reload. The nine skills teach Claude Code which tool to reach for, how to dry-run and confirm, how to poll a long job and how to diagnose a failed deploy.
/plugin marketplace add xCloudDev/xcloud-agent-skills /plugin install xcloud@xcloud-agent-skills /reload-pluginsNo browser? Use an API key
For a headless or CI machine, create a token with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things in Settings, Developers, API Tokens and pass it as a header. Keep the single quotes: xCloud tokens contain a pipe character.
claude mcp add xcloud --transport http https://app.xcloud.host/mcp \ --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN'Check it worked
The /mcp authenticate flow signs you in with OAuth, so there is no token to paste; Claude Code stores the credentials it receives securely, refreshes them itself and clears them when you log out from /mcp. A headless machine passes an API key that carries the mcp:invoke scope and the read or write abilities it needs as an Authorization header.
Who am I on xCloud?
Three surfaces
Which Way Should I Connect Claude Code to xCloud?
The MCP server exposes one tool per customer-facing xCloud operation and leaves out eleven internal ones that only the Public API carries; the skills add workflow know-how on top of an MCP connection and, on their own, only read access. All three are free with every account and differ in what you set up and what holds the credentials.
| xCloud MCP server | xCloud Agent Skills | Public API | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal needed | No (recommended for Claude Code) | Yes for the plugin or ClawHub install | Yes |
| Authentication | OAuth sign-in, or an API key with mcp:invoke plus read or write abilities (recommended for Claude Code) | The MCP connection, or a read-scoped API token | API token with scoped abilities |
| What it adds | One tool per customer-facing xCloud operation (188 today) (recommended for Claude Code) | Workflow know-how: routing, dry run, confirm, poll, diagnose | Raw REST for your own code |
| Changes to your infrastructure | Yes, after confirmation (recommended for Claude Code) | Only through a connected MCP tool, after confirmation | Yes, with write scopes |
| Best for | Most people; every MCP client (recommended for Claude Code) | Agents that run shell commands and read skills | CI jobs, dashboards and long-running loops |
Background
What Is Claude Code?
Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool. It runs in the terminal, reads and edits the files in your project, runs commands and works through multi-step tasks on its own, pausing to ask when a step needs your decision. It also runs inside VS Code and JetBrains, in Anthropic's desktop app and on the web.
Claude Code speaks the Model Context Protocol, so it can use remote tool servers such as xCloud MCP, and it loads plugins and skills: Markdown files that teach it how a particular product's workflows go. xCloud ships both: the MCP server gives Claude Code one tool per customer-facing xCloud operation, and the skills plugin adds the judgement about when to use which.
Because it lives in the same terminal as your code, a deploy no longer means switching to a dashboard. You push, ask Claude Code to deploy, and it detects the app, previews the site, waits for your approval and checks the live URL before it reports back.
Why Claude Code with xCloud?
Deploy from where the code is
Claude Code already knows your repository. Ask it to deploy and it hands the URL, branch and build settings to xCloud, dry-runs the site and asks once before creating anything.
Skills, not guesswork
The xCloud plugin's nine skills route each request to the right area, insist on a backup before an update, poll long jobs to completion and diagnose a failed deploy instead of reporting that it started.
Headless and scriptable
Claude Code runs non-interactively too. With an API key that carries the mcp:invoke scope and the read or write abilities it needs, a CI job or a cron task can run read-only checks and reports through the same connection.
Guides
What Can Claude Code Do on xCloud?
One guide per hosting job, each with the Claude Code setup, the xCloud tools involved, a settings reference, example prompts and the limits that apply.
- Deploy from Git with Claude CodeTurn a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket repository into a live site on a server you already have.
- Run Docker apps with Claude CodeRun a Dockerfile or Docker Compose app on a Docker server, keep it backed up and recover it when a deploy fails.
- Install one-click apps with Claude CodePick an app from the xCloud catalogue, check it fits your server, install it and get the login details.
- Manage WordPress with Claude CodeKeep WordPress sites updated, scanned and healthy, and create new ones, by asking in plain words.
- Back up and stage sites with Claude CodeCheck that your sites are backed up, take a backup before a risky change, and open a staging copy to test it on.
- Manage SSL and domains with Claude CodeCheck a site's certificate and DNS, install or renew HTTPS, and see which domains point at it.
- Manage servers with Claude CodeSee how your servers are doing, change services and runtimes, tighten security and reboot with proof it worked.
- Troubleshoot a broken site with Claude CodeFind out why a site returns a 500, 502 or 503, shows a critical error or has stopped answering.
- Speed up a slow site with Claude CodeFind out why a site is slow, from real numbers, and learn which fix is a dashboard switch.
- Secure sites and servers with Claude CodeFind vulnerable sites, manage server firewall rules and banned IPs, and see which protections are on.
Example prompts
What Can You Ask Claude Code to Do on xCloud?
Type these as written and swap in your own site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.
Deploy https://github.com/acme/shop to my Frankfurt server and show me the dry run before you create anything.Update all plugins on example.com, but take a backup first and confirm the homepage still loads afterwards.The last deploy of the API site failed. Diagnose it, fix the build command and retry on the same site.Renew the SSL certificate for shop.example.com and tell me when it expires now.Audit example.com: is it up, is SSL healthy, any vulnerabilities, and how is performance?Good to know
- After claude mcp add, the xCloud tools appear only once you have run /mcp and authenticated. If no xCloud tools show up, restart Claude Code.
- The plugin's REST fallback is GET-only in v4.4.2. Changes go through the MCP connection after your confirmation, which is why the MCP step comes first.
- Put an API token in ~/.claude/settings.json or a project-local .claude/settings.local.json kept out of git, never in a chat message.
More prompts, grouped by job: What you can ask xCloud MCP to do.
Claude Code and xCloud: Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers about connecting Claude Code, what it may change and what it costs.
How do I connect Claude Code to xCloud?
Run claude mcp add xcloud --transport http https://app.xcloud.host/mcp in your terminal, then type /mcp inside Claude Code, pick xcloud and choose Authenticate. Approve the access level in the browser tab that opens, and ask who am I on xCloud to confirm the connection.
Do I need the xCloud skills plugin if I have the MCP connection?
No. The MCP connection alone gives Claude Code every xCloud tool. The plugin is an optional layer that teaches it xCloud's workflows: which tool to reach for, how to preview and confirm, how to poll a long job and how to diagnose and retry a failed deploy.
Does Claude Code need an xCloud API key?
Not when you sign in with OAuth through /mcp. An API key is only for machines without a browser, such as a CI runner. Create one with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things and pass it as an Authorization header on the claude mcp add command.
Can Claude Code change my servers without asking?
Not for the operations xCloud gates. Reads run straight away, and routine actions such as cache purges, backups, PageSpeed and vulnerability scans run without a prompt. Creating a site or server, deploying, updating plugins, rebooting, deleting or buying is refused by xCloud unless the call carries an explicit confirmation, and the tool tells Claude Code to ask you first.
Which xCloud skills does the Claude Code plugin include?
Nine: deploy, troubleshoot, performance, servers, sites, wordpress, ssl, billing and account. You never name them; Claude Code picks the right one from what you ask. If it reaches for the wrong area, say so, for example: using xcloud:ssl, renew the certificate for example.com.
Can Claude Code work across several xCloud teams?
Yes. On the approval screen you tick every team the connection may act on, and Claude Code names the team per request. A site on a team you did not tick comes back as not found; reconnect and tick that team.
Is it free to use Claude Code with xCloud?
The xCloud side is free: the MCP server, the skills plugin and the Public API are included with every xCloud account, including the free plan. Claude Code itself is billed by Anthropic under your Claude plan or API usage.
Other agents
Also Works With
The same xCloud account, the same operations, a guide for each client.
- ClaudeAnthropic's chat assistant on the web and desktop. Add xCloud as a custom connector, no terminal needed.
- Claude CoworkAnthropic's desktop agent for delegated work. Add the xCloud connector, then hand off hosting jobs.
- CursorThe AI code editor. One mcp.json entry with the compact URL, because Cursor stops at 40 tools.
- CodexOpenAI's coding agent for the terminal. A codex mcp add command or a config.toml entry, then codex mcp login.
- OpenCodeThe open-source terminal coding agent. One remote MCP entry, then opencode mcp auth xcloud.
- Hermes AgentNous Research's agent with memory and a built-in scheduler. An mcp_servers entry in config.yaml and one login.
- OpenClawThe open-source agent runtime with chat apps and automations. ClawHub skill plus the MCP client.
- WindsurfThe Cognition editor, now Devin Desktop. devin mcp add for the Devin Local agent, a serverUrl entry for legacy Cascade.
- GitHub CopilotCopilot agent mode in VS Code. One .vscode/mcp.json entry, or the Agent Plugins package.
- Gemini CLIGoogle's terminal agent. One gemini mcp add command, OAuth found automatically.
- ChatGPTOpenAI's chat assistant. A developer-mode app with the xCloud MCP URL and OAuth.
- ChatGPT dotsOpenAI's always-on agent in ChatGPT. Uses the xCloud MCP plugin you add in ChatGPT, with custom rules and scheduled tasks.
- GrokxAI's terminal agent, Grok Build. One grok mcp add command or a config.toml entry.
- Grok BotxAI's always-on Bots on a cloud computer. One Remote HTTPS MCP plugin, OAuth sign-in, routines on a schedule.
- KiroAWS's agentic IDE. One url entry in .kiro/settings/mcp.json, plus the portable xCloud Agent Plugins package.
- AntigravityGoogle's agentic IDE. One serverUrl entry in mcp_config.json and a browser sign-in.
- ZedThe Zed editor's Agent Panel. One context_servers entry in settings.json and a browser sign-in.
Run Your Hosting from Claude Code
xCloud MCP, the Agent Skills and the Public API are free with every account. Connect once and ask.