Varity MCP Server Reference

Varity Team Core Contributors Updated June 2026

The Varity MCP server (@varity-labs/mcp) gives AI editors a full set of tools for the full build and deploy workflow. It runs locally via stdio. Install the current npm package.

Tip

The MCP server works with any editor that supports MCP: Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code (Copilot), Windsurf, and more. Setup takes under a minute.

Note

Machine-readable schema. The Varity MCP tool catalog is published at /mcp-schema.json, including tool names, descriptions, JSON Schema, and annotations. The HTTP API the tools wrap is published as /openapi.yaml. See the API Reference for both.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ (runs the MCP server)
• Python 3.11+ (needed for varitykit CLI)
• varitykit (install with: pipx install varitykit)

Setup

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "varity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@varity-labs/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor. The Varity tools appear in the MCP tool list.

Claude Code

Run once from any directory:

claude mcp add varity -- npx -y @varity-labs/mcp

Claude Code picks up the server automatically on the next conversation.

VS Code (Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "varity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@varity-labs/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "varity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@varity-labs/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Tools Reference

The server exposes a full set of tools. Read-only tools run safely with no side effects. Destructive tools create files or deploy infrastructure.

varity_doctor: Check environment setup

Verify that your development environment is ready to build and deploy Varity apps. Checks Node.js, npm, varitykit CLI installation, and authentication status.

No parameters required.

Annotations: readOnlyHint: true

Example prompt: “Check if my environment is set up for Varity”

---

varity_login: Authenticate with Varity

Log in to Varity to enable deployments. If a deploy_key is provided, it is saved to local config; otherwise the tool opens the developer portal where you add a payment method and copy your deploy key. Required before deploying apps.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
deploy_key	string	No	none	Your deploy key from the developer portal (developer.store.varity.so/dashboard/settings). If omitted, opens the portal to get one.

Example prompt: “Log in to Varity” or “Authenticate with my deploy key”

---

varity_search_docs: Search documentation

Search Varity docs for guides, API references, and tutorials.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
query	string	Yes	none	Search query (e.g., “database setup”, “how to deploy”)
maxResults	number	No	3	Maximum results to return

Annotations: readOnlyHint: true

Example prompt: “Search the Varity docs for how to set up authentication”

---

varity_cost_calculator: Estimate costs

Compare Varity’s flat hosting cost against usage-metered hosting as your traffic grows.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
users	number	Yes	none	Estimated monthly active users
storage_gb	number	No	10	Storage needed in GB
has_database	boolean	No	true	Whether the app uses a database
has_auth	boolean	No	true	Whether the app uses authentication

Annotations: readOnlyHint: true

Example prompt: “How much would it cost to host a SaaS app with 500 users on Varity?”

---

varity_install_deps: Install npm dependencies

Install dependencies for a Varity project. Runs npm install for all packages or installs specific packages.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
path	string	No	Current directory	Project directory to install dependencies in
packages	string[]	No	none	Specific packages to install (e.g., ["axios", "lodash"]). If omitted, installs all dependencies.

Example prompt: “Install dependencies for my project” or “Install axios and lodash”

---

varity_dev_server: Manage local dev server

Start, stop, or check the status of your local development server. Returns the localhost URL for previewing your app.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
action	"start" | "stop" | "status"	Yes	none	Action to perform
path	string	No	Current directory	Project directory
port	number	No	3000	Port to run the dev server on. If busy, auto-selects next available port and persists to varity.config.json.

Example prompt: “Start the dev server” or “Check dev server status”

---

varity_build: Build for production

Build the project for production. Auto-detects framework from package.json. Run before deploying or to verify the project compiles.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
path	string	No	Current directory	Path to the project directory

Example prompt: “Build my project”

---

varity_open_browser: Open URL in browser

Open a URL in the user’s default browser. Use after deploying to show the live app or after starting the dev server.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
url	string	Yes	none	URL to open in the default browser

Example prompt: “Open the deployment in my browser”

---

varity_create_repo: Create GitHub repository

Create a new GitHub repository and push your project to it. Useful for getting your code into version control before deploying.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	string	Yes	none	Repository name (lowercase, hyphens allowed)
description	string	No	none	Short description for the repo
path	string	No	Current directory	Absolute path to the local project to push (e.g. /home/user/my-app)
visibility	"public" | "private"	No	"public"	Repository visibility
github_token	string	No	none	GitHub personal access credential with repo scope (or set GITHUB_TOKEN)

Annotations: destructiveHint: true (creates an external GitHub repository)

Example prompt: “Create a new GitHub repo called my-dashboard and push my project”

---

varity_deploy: Deploy to production

Deploy the current project to production. Detects the framework, selects static vs dynamic hosting, auto-configures any backend services your code needs, and returns a live URL at https://varity.app/<name>/. Deploy from source (a project path or a GitHub repo) or from a prebuilt Docker/OCI image.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
path	string	No	MCP working dir	Absolute path to the project root (the directory with package.json).
repo_url	string	No	auto-detected	GitHub repo URL. Required for dynamic deployments; auto-detected from .git/config if omitted.
app_name	string	No	directory name	URL-safe name controlling the URL https://varity.app/{app_name}/.
image	string	No	none	Deploy a prebuilt Docker/OCI image (e.g. ghcr.io/you/app:latest) instead of building. Mutually exclusive with repo_url.
image_credentials	object	No	none	{ host, username, password } pull credentials for a private registry image. Omit for public images.
port	integer	No	80	Container listen port for an image deploy.

Annotations: destructiveHint: true (deploys real infrastructure)

Example prompt: “Deploy this project to Varity” or “Deploy the image ghcr.io/me/api:latest on port 8080”

---

varity_deploy_status: Check deployments

List deployments or get the status of a specific one. Shows URL, status, framework, size, and creation time.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
deployment_id	string	No	none	Specific deployment ID (omit to list recent)
path	string	No	none	Project directory. Only show deployments for this project
limit	integer	No	10	Maximum deployments to return (max 50)

Annotations: readOnlyHint: true

Example prompt: “Show me the status of my deployments”

---

varity_deploy_logs: Get build logs

Get build and deployment logs for debugging failed or recent deployments.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
deployment_id	string	Yes	none	The deployment ID to get logs for
limit	number	No	100	Maximum log lines to return

Annotations: readOnlyHint: true

Example prompt: “Show me the build logs for deployment abc123”

---

varity_set_env: Set env vars on a live app

Set or update environment variables (config + secrets) on an app that is already deployed, then redeploy it in place with the same URL and same reserved hardware. By default the supplied variables are merged over the current set; pass replace: true to overwrite the entire set. Values are write-only and are never echoed back.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	string	Yes	none	The app name or subdomain. The <name> in https://varity.app/<name>/
env	object	Yes	none	Variables to set, as a map of UPPER_SNAKE_CASE name to value
replace	boolean	No	false	When true, replace the entire variable set instead of merging

Annotations: destructiveHint: true (redeploys live infrastructure)

Example prompt: “Set DATABASE_URL on my-api and redeploy” or “Rotate the API key on worker-bot”

---

varity_redeploy: Redeploy an app in place

Redeploy or restart an app that is already deployed, in place. This re-pulls the image (or rebuilds from source) and restarts the container on the same deployment with the same URL and same reserved hardware. Takes no body and keeps the current environment variables; use varity_set_env to change config at the same time.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	string	Yes	none	The app name or subdomain. The <name> in https://varity.app/<name>/

Annotations: destructiveHint: true (restarts live infrastructure)

Example prompt: “Redeploy my-api” or “My app is stuck. Restart worker-bot”

---

varity_delete_deployment: Tear down a deployment

Permanently remove a deployment by its app name and stop its billing immediately. Use when you no longer need an app you deployed.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	string	Yes	none	The app name or subdomain. The <name> in https://varity.app/<name>/

Annotations: destructiveHint: true (tears down live infrastructure)

Example prompt: “Stop my worker-bot deployment” or “Delete the app my-dashboard”

---

varity_list_templates: List certified templates

List certified Varity templates from the gateway-owned catalog.

No parameters required.

Annotations: readOnlyHint: true

Example prompt: “What templates can Varity deploy?”

---

varity_template_info: Show template details

Show required environment variables, resource profile, access mode, hardware profile, and certification state for one certified template.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
template	string	Yes	none	Template ID from varity_list_templates

Annotations: readOnlyHint: true

Example prompt: “Show details for Agent Zero”

---

varity_deploy_template: Deploy a template

Deploy one certified Varity template. Use this for curated templates such as Agent Zero instead of varity_deploy, which is for deploying a local project or Docker image.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
template	string	Yes	none	Template ID from varity_list_templates
name	string	No	generated name	Memorable deployment name for the URL slug
env	object	No	none	Required environment variables for the selected template

Annotations: destructiveHint: true (deploys real infrastructure)

Example prompt: “Deploy Agent Zero on Varity”

The older varity_list_agents, varity_agent_info, and varity_deploy_agent tools are backward-compatible aliases for the template tools above.

---

varity_migrate: Migrate from Vercel to Varity

Migrate a Vercel project to Varity in one step: clone the GitHub repository, remove Vercel-specific artifacts (vercel.json, @vercel/* packages, image optimizer config, env var renames), and deploy the transformed app to Varity.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
github_url	string	Yes	none	GitHub repository URL to migrate (e.g. https://github.com/user/my-app)
dry_run	boolean	No	false	Preview what would change without deploying

Annotations: destructiveHint: true (clones a repo and deploys infrastructure)

Example prompt: “Migrate my Vercel app at https://github.com/user/my-app to Varity”

---

Response Format

All tools return JSON with a consistent structure:

// Success
{
  success: true,
  data: { /* tool-specific data */ },
  message: "Human-readable summary"
}

// Error
{
  success: false,
  error: {
    code: "ERROR_CODE",
    message: "What went wrong",
    suggestion?: "How to fix it"
  }
}

Typical Workflow

Here is the practical build-and-deploy flow using the MCP tools:

Deploy an existing app:

1. “Check if my environment is ready” → varity_doctor
2. “Install dependencies” → varity_install_deps
3. “What will this cost for 200 users?” → varity_cost_calculator
4. “Start the dev server” → varity_dev_server → varity_open_browser
5. “Build for production” → varity_build
6. “Deploy this” → varity_deploy
7. “Did the deploy succeed?” → varity_deploy_status
8. “Show me the build logs” → varity_deploy_logs (if needed)
9. “Update env vars” → varity_set_env (when live config changes)
10. “Redeploy this app” → varity_redeploy (same URL, no new reservation)
11. “Tear down this deployment” → varity_delete_deployment (when you no longer need it)

Deploying Agent Zero or another template:

1. “What templates can Varity deploy?” → varity_list_templates
2. “Show details for Agent Zero” → varity_template_info
3. “Deploy Agent Zero” → varity_deploy_template

Migrating from Vercel:

1. “Check if my environment is ready” → varity_doctor
2. “Migrate my Vercel app at https://github.com/user/my-app” → varity_migrate
3. (Done. The app is live on Varity infrastructure.)

Deploying a certified template:

1. “What templates can I deploy?” → varity_list_templates
2. “What does the Agent Zero template need?” → varity_template_info
3. “Deploy Agent Zero” → varity_deploy_template
4. “Did it come up?” → varity_deploy_status

Troubleshooting

“Cannot find module @varity-labs/mcp” Make sure Node.js 20+ is installed. Run node --version to check.

Deploy tools fail with “varitykit not found” Install the CLI: pipx install varitykit. Run varitykit doctor to verify.

Server not showing in Cursor Restart Cursor after adding the config. Check that .cursor/mcp.json is valid JSON.

Server not showing in Claude Code Run claude mcp list to verify the server is registered. Re-add with claude mcp add varity -- npx -y @varity-labs/mcp.

HTTP Transport (Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Browser-Based LLMs)

The MCP server supports two transports:

• stdio (default): for desktop editors like Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code, Windsurf
• HTTP: for browser-based AI tools like Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Hosted MCP

Connect directly to the hosted Varity MCP at:

https://mcp.varity.so

Claude.ai: Settings → Connectors → Add MCP Server → URL: https://mcp.varity.so

ChatGPT: Settings → Connectors → Create → MCP server URL: https://mcp.varity.so

The first time you connect, you’ll authenticate via the Varity login page.

Self-Hosted HTTP

Run the HTTP server locally for development:

npx -y @varity-labs/mcp --transport http --port 3100

This starts the MCP server at http://localhost:3100/mcp.

Note

Local-browser tools (varity_open_browser, varity_dev_server) require local execution, so they are stdio-only. Use stdio when you need local execution; use HTTP for remote connector workflows.

llms.txt Alternative

For LLMs without MCP support, use the docs context files:

• Summary: https://docs.varity.so/llms.txt
• Full context: https://docs.varity.so/llms-full.txt

Support

• Documentation
• Discord: ask in #general
• Varity on GitHub