Netlify MCP Servers

An MCP server exposes tools (and optionally resources/prompts) that an AI client — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor — can call. On Netlify, a remote MCP server is just one Netlify Function that speaks the MCP protocol over HTTP. This skill gets you a working, secure server and connects a client to it.

"Netlify MCP" means two different things — make sure you're building the right one. Netlify publishes its own hosted MCP server that lets an AI client operate the Netlify platform on your behalf — create projects, trigger deploys, manage env vars and infrastructure through your Netlify account. You don't write that one; you point your client at Netlify's hosted MCP server per Netlify's MCP-server docs (and see the netlify-agent-runner skill for running agents against your site). This skill is the other thing: building your own MCP server — an endpoint that exposes your app's tools and data to an agent — hosted on a Netlify Function. If the ask is "let my agent manage my Netlify sites/deploys/env vars," that's the hosted Netlify MCP server, not a function you write.

The same setup works two ways:

• Standalone server — a repo whose only job is the MCP endpoint (e.g. wrapping a third-party API).
• Added to an existing app — one more function alongside your site. Have its tools call the same service/data layer your UI and REST routes already use, so logic isn't duplicated.

Before you build

Decide one thing up front, because it shapes the auth code:

• Who calls this server? Just you (a personal/single-user server) → use a single shared secret. Multiple people, each acting as themselves → use per-user API keys backed by Netlify Identity. See authentication.

If you're not sure, start with the single shared secret — it's a few lines and you can layer per-user keys on later. I'll default to that unless you say otherwise.