Automation

The dashboard, CLI, REST API, and MCP server operate on the same organisation resources. Use the dashboard for visual inspection, the CLI for terminal workflows, the API for deterministic integrations, and MCP for tool-capable AI clients.

A deployment hook is the narrowest option when an external system only needs to release one application.

Authenticate automation

Create a personal access token in Settings → Account → API tokens. The token is shown once and can have an expiry date.

Treat it like a production credential:

• Store it in a secret manager rather than source control.
• Give it a name that identifies the integration.
• Use separate tokens for unrelated systems.
• Revoke it when the integration is retired or the value may have leaked.
• Confirm the current organisation before a mutating operation.

API and MCP requests use the permissions of the account that created the token. An organisation boundary still applies even when a client knows a resource ID from another organisation.

Use the CLI

The sinc CLI provides interactive and scriptable access to Serversinc. It covers:

• Login, logout, status, and the current user
• Organisation selection, members, and invitations
• Server listing, provisioning, connection, commands, and pseudo-shell access
• Application creation, configuration, power controls, and deploy credentials
• Container inspection, power controls, and live logs
• Deployment creation, inspection, and followed logs

CLI credentials are stored in ~/.config/serversinc/credentials with restricted file permissions.

For scripts, prefer explicit resource IDs and machine-readable output where the command supports it. Interactive prompts are useful at a terminal but make unattended automation harder to reproduce.

Use the REST API

The versioned REST API exposes the platform resources used by the dashboard and CLI. A complete API section should include:

• Base URL and versioning
• Bearer-token authentication
• Organisation context
• Pagination, filtering, includes, and sorting
• Validation and error responses
• Asynchronous operation patterns
• Generated endpoint and schema reference

Provisioning, deployments, commands, database operations, backups, and restores return before all work has necessarily finished. Store the returned resource ID and follow its status instead of treating the initial response as completion.

Endpoint definitions should come from the API’s OpenAPI document. Handwritten guides should demonstrate complete workflows rather than duplicate every request field.

Connect an MCP client

The Serversinc MCP server lets a compatible AI client inspect and operate resources through named tools. Current tool groups cover:

• Servers
• Applications and their runtime configuration
• Deployments and container logs
• Database instances, logical databases, users, and grants
• Storage providers and backups
• Organisation activity

The MCP endpoint is scoped to the authenticated account’s current organisation. Configure it with a dedicated API token and verify the selected organisation before approving changes.

Work safely with MCP

An AI client can call mutating tools, including deployment, deletion, restore, and power operations. Review the proposed call and identifiers before approval.

Remember these product rules:

• Secret values are write-only or shown once.
• Application configuration changes require a redeploy.
• Deployment, backup, restore, and provisioning operations are asynchronous.
• A successful tool call may mean the operation was accepted, not that it completed.
• Destructive operations still need human judgement even when the tool schema validates.

Ask the client to inspect current state and present a plan before making a multi-resource change. After mutation, have it retrieve the resulting status and failure details.

Trigger a deployment from CI

An application deploy hook consists of a trigger URL and one-time secret. Use it when a CI pipeline only needs to deploy one application and does not need broad API access.

Send a POST request to the application’s trigger URL with its deploy secret. Docker image applications can request a specific tag where supported.

Rolling the deploy secret invalidates the old value immediately. Update the CI secret before its next release.

Choose the smallest interface

Need	Interface
Inspect and operate resources from a terminal	CLI
Build a deterministic integration	REST API
Let an AI client inspect or manage infrastructure	MCP server
Trigger one application’s deployment	Deploy hook
Explore current state visually	Dashboard

Small credentials make incidents smaller. Use a deployment hook instead of a general API token when all the caller needs is one deployment action.

Next steps

• Organisation and account: create tokens and review active sessions.
• Applications: configure deploy hooks and inspect deployments.
• Reference: review lifecycle states and operation semantics.