Remote MCP Server

Sprites runs a hosted MCP server. Connect an MCP client to it and the client can control Sprites directly. It can create and manage them, run commands, inspect checkpoints, and change network policy through standard MCP tools.

Why use it? Your MCP client gets persistent, isolated Linux environments without you pasting API tokens into a prompt. Most clients connect directly; clients without MCP OAuth support can use a local authentication bridge.

MCP server URL

Use this URL when adding the connector:

https://sprites.dev/mcp

The connector uses OAuth. During setup, you sign in with your Fly.io account, choose the organization the client should use, and approve the level of Sprites access for that connector.

Add the connector

1. Open your MCP client’s connector settings.
2. Add a remote (or custom) MCP connector. Different clients label this differently. Look for “Remote MCP server”, “Custom connector”, or similar.
3. Enter https://sprites.dev/mcp.
4. Follow the browser authentication flow for Fly.io.
5. Choose the Sprites organization the connector should use.
6. Review the token restrictions on the consent screen and approve the connection.

If your client asks for a connector name, use Sprites.

Client setup

Choose your client for its settings location and configuration. Cline, Windsurf, Zed, and Continue connect directly to the hosted server and complete OAuth in your browser. JetBrains AI Assistant uses a local bridge for the OAuth flow.

Cline

1. In the Cline panel, open MCP Servers.
2. Open Configure, then select Configure MCP Servers.
3. Add this server under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sprites": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://sprites.dev/mcp",
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

After Cline detects that authentication is required, select Authenticate for the Sprites server and complete the browser flow. Leaving autoApprove empty makes Cline ask before every Sprites tool call.

See Cline’s MCP documentation.

Windsurf

New Windsurf tabs use Devin Local. Add Sprites with the Devin CLI, then authenticate it:

devin mcp add sprites https://sprites.dev/mcp
devin mcp login sprites

For the legacy Cascade agent:

1. Open the MCP server menu, or open Devin Settings → Cascade → MCP Servers.
2. Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sprites": {
      "serverUrl": "https://sprites.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Both agents support OAuth for remote HTTP servers. Complete the browser flow when asked to authenticate Sprites. A team administrator can turn off custom MCP servers or require the server ID sprites to be on the allowlist.

See the MCP documentation for Windsurf.

Zed

1. Open Settings → AI → MCP Servers.
2. Select Add Server → Add Remote Server, or add this entry to your Zed settings file:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "sprites": {
      "url": "https://sprites.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Do not add an Authorization header. When it is absent, Zed starts the standard MCP OAuth flow. The server indicator turns green and shows Server is active after Sprites connects.

Zed asks before tool calls by default. You can change that behavior with agent.tool_permissions, including rules for individual mcp:sprites:<tool_name> tools.

See Zed’s MCP documentation.

Continue

1. Create .continue/mcpServers/sprites.yaml at the root of your workspace.
2. Add:

name: Sprites MCP
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: Sprites
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://sprites.dev/mcp

Open Continue in Agent mode. Continue starts the OAuth flow when it first connects to Sprites; complete it in the browser. MCP tools are only available in Agent mode.

See the MCP documentation for Continue.

JetBrains AI Assistant

JetBrains AI Assistant supports the Streamable HTTP transport. Its MCP documentation does not include the browser OAuth flow that Sprites requires, so use mcp-remote as a local stdio bridge.

1. Make sure Node.js and npx are installed.
2. Open Settings → Tools → AI Assistant → Model Context Protocol (MCP).
3. Select Add, choose STDIO, and enter:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sprites": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://sprites.dev/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

AI Assistant launches the bridge as a child process. The bridge opens the Sprites browser OAuth flow and passes the authenticated MCP connection back to the IDE; your Sprites token does not go in the configuration file.

See JetBrains AI Assistant’s MCP documentation.

After setup, ask your client:

List my Sprites.

An empty list is still a successful authenticated response.

Permissions

The default token is restricted. The connector can only create Sprites whose names start with mcp-, and it can only create a limited number of them.

You can change both on the consent screen: pick a different name prefix, raise or lower the cap, or switch to full access if you want the connector to act on the whole organization without those guardrails.

Full access lets the connector manage any Sprite the selected organization token can access. Use restricted mode unless your workflow needs broader control.

Available tools

MCP clients see Sprites as tools. There are two layers: organization-level tools that act across your Sprites, and Sprite-level tools that act inside a specific one.

Organization tools

Tool	Access	What it does
list_sprites	Read-only	Lists Sprites visible to the authenticated organization and token policy.
create_sprite	Destructive	Creates a Sprite in the selected organization.
destroy_sprite	Destructive	Permanently destroys a Sprite.

Sprite tools

The Sprite-level tools are generated from the public Sprite environment API. The exact list may change as new Sprite environment versions ship, but commonly includes:

Category	Examples
Exec	Run a command, list exec sessions, stop a session
Checkpoints	Create, list, inspect, and restore checkpoints
Network policy	Read or update outbound network rules
Services	List, create, start, stop, and inspect background services
Service logs	Read recent service logs

Tools are annotated as either read-only or destructive. Your MCP client may ask for additional confirmation before using destructive tools, depending on its settings.

Safety model

Sprites are isolated Linux environments. That isolation is useful for agent work, but MCP tools can still perform real actions in your organization.

• destroy_sprite permanently deletes a Sprite and its data. There is no undo.
• Command execution can modify files, install packages, start services, or use network access allowed by the Sprite policy.
• Checkpoint restore rewinds a Sprite to a previous filesystem state. Any work done since that checkpoint is gone.
• Network policy updates can allow or block outbound access from a Sprite.

For safer workflows, use a restricted OAuth token, pick a clear name prefix such as mcp-, and create a fresh Sprite for experiments.

Example requests

Create a Sprite named mcp-demo, run python --version, and tell me what runtime is installed.

Create a checkpoint on mcp-demo before making changes. Then install ripgrep and verify rg --version.

List my Sprites with the mcp- prefix and summarize which ones are running.

Troubleshooting

The client cannot connect

Check that the connector URL is exactly:

https://sprites.dev/mcp

The MCP endpoint is not the REST API host. Do not use https://api.sprites.dev.

Authentication loops or fails

Sign out of Fly.io in your browser, sign in again, and retry the connector flow. If you belong to multiple organizations, make sure you select the one that should own Sprites created through MCP.

A Sprite is not found

The Sprite may belong to a different organization, may be outside the token’s allowed name prefix, or may have been destroyed. Call list_sprites and verify the exact Sprite name.

A parameter is missing

Some tools require an existing Sprite name, service name, checkpoint ID, or exec session ID. List the relevant resource first, then retry the tool call with the exact identifier.

A Sprite is starting

Cold Sprites can take a moment to wake. If the client receives a retry message, wait a few seconds and run the same tool again.

REST API reference

The MCP server wraps the same Sprite capabilities documented in the Sprites API reference. Use the API reference when you want endpoint schemas, SDK examples, or direct REST access instead of MCP.