Do I need an API key to connect an agent?

No. You sign in to your Playhead account instead, and the connection is made for you. That is why these links carry no secret and are safe to share, bookmark or publish.

Does this work on a phone?

Yes. The connector runs on our servers rather than on your device, so once it is added it works everywhere you use your agent: the browser, the desktop app and the mobile apps.

Why does a connect button sometimes do nothing?

A button of that kind hands the address to an app on your machine, and an app that is not installed cannot answer. Paste the server URL into that client’s MCP settings instead. The URL is on this page.

Can one account be connected to several agents at once?

Yes. The connection belongs to you rather than to a machine, so adding a second agent costs nothing and both spend from the same balance.

Connect your agent

Playhead connects to every MCP client through one URL. Nothing installs and nothing is pasted, which is also why it works on a phone. Each client is a button, a deeplink or one line in a config file.

Last updated 31 August 2026

One-click connect

Pick your agent. Every one of them ends at the same server, and none of them asks you for a key.

Add to ClaudeWeb, desktop and mobile. Opens the connector dialog with the URL filled in.

Claude CodeOne command in the terminal, then /mcp to sign in.
```
claude mcp add --transport http playhead https://mcp.tryplayhead.com/mcp
```
No deeplink exists for the terminal, so this is the install.
ChatGPTTurn on Developer mode under Settings, Connectors, Advanced first.
CodexTwo commands in the terminal. The second one signs you in.
```
codex mcp add playhead --url https://mcp.tryplayhead.com/mcp
codex mcp login playhead
```
Both write to ~/.codex/config.toml, which the CLI, the IDE extension and the desktop app share.
CursorAdds the server to Cursor's MCP settings.
VS CodeOpens VS Code and adds the server to your MCP configuration.

The server URL

Every button above points at this address. Paste it wherever your client asks for an MCP server.

HTTP transport

https://mcp.tryplayhead.com/mcp

How each client is added
Client	How	Notes
Claude	Web dialog	Web, desktop and mobile. Opens the connector dialog with the URL filled in.
Claude Code	Config	One command in the terminal, then /mcp to sign in.
ChatGPT	Web dialog	Turn on Developer mode under Settings, Connectors, Advanced first.
Codex	Config	Two commands in the terminal. The second one signs you in.
Cursor	Deeplink	Adds the server to Cursor's MCP settings.
VS Code	Deeplink	Opens VS Code and adds the server to your MCP configuration.

Your own files

Your exports, screen recordings and camera masters work like any link. They are uploaded to Playhead first, and the two connection types differ only in who does that.

Playhead reads a video on its own servers, so a file on your machine is sent to us before it is read. It is sent once. Every later question about the same file reads the copy that is already there, so a follow-up costs nothing extra. What we keep and for how long is in the privacy notice, and DELETE /v1/videos/{id} erases a video and everything read from it.

Run the server on your own machine, over stdio, and a path is all you pass. Give ~/Movies/cut.mov or ./export.mp4 as the url and the upload happens for you. Export over the same filename and the new cut is sent up, not the old one served back.

Connect over the internet instead and your agent cannot reach your disk. Pass a local path and the answer is the exact command to run where the file is. It carries an upload pass that needs no key, and it hands back an upl_… id you use anywhere a link goes.

Run it on your own machine, for local filesbash

npx -y @playhead/mcp   # then set PLAYHEAD_API_KEY in your client's config

Per-client guides

One page for each agent. What differs between a terminal and a phone is worth its own page.

Questions

Do I need an API key to connect an agent?: No. You sign in to your Playhead account instead, and the connection is made for you. That is why these links carry no secret and are safe to share, bookmark or publish.
Does this work on a phone?: Yes. The connector runs on our servers rather than on your device, so once it is added it works everywhere you use your agent: the browser, the desktop app and the mobile apps.
Why does a connect button sometimes do nothing?: A button of that kind hands the address to an app on your machine, and an app that is not installed cannot answer. Paste the server URL into that client’s MCP settings instead. The URL is on this page.
Can one account be connected to several agents at once?: Yes. The connection belongs to you rather than to a machine, so adding a second agent costs nothing and both spend from the same balance.