Install APIXO MCP

This guide walks you through installing the @apixo/mcp-server package and connecting it to your AI coding tool on Windows, macOS, or Linux. The instructions below cover Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex CLI in detail, plus a generic config that works for any other MCP client.

Prerequisites

Node.js >= 20 and npm >= 9 (the server runs via npx)
An APIXO API key from Dashboard -> API Keys
One MCP-compatible client, for example:
- Cursor
- Claude Code
- Codex CLI
- Claude Desktop, Windsurf, Cline, Continue, Zed, or any other client that supports stdio MCP servers

The server is published to npm as @apixo/mcp-server. npx -y @apixo/mcp-server always pulls the latest release, so you do not need to reinstall when we update it.

Step 1: Set your API key

Export APIXO_API_KEY as a persistent environment variable so the MCP server can pick it up on every launch.

Windows (PowerShell)
macOS (zsh)
Linux (bash)

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("APIXO_API_KEY", "your_real_key", "User")

After running this, close and reopen PowerShell (or your terminal) so the new variable is loaded.

echo 'export APIXO_API_KEY="your_real_key"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

echo 'export APIXO_API_KEY="your_real_key"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

You can also set APIXO_API_KEY only inside the MCP client config (see Step 2). Setting it as a user-level environment variable is recommended because it works for all clients on the machine.

Step 2: Register the MCP server

Cursor
Claude Code
Codex CLI
Other MCP clients

Open or create ~/.cursor/mcp.json (Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json) and add an entry under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apixo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@apixo/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "APIXO_API_KEY": "your_real_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

The env.APIXO_API_KEY field is optional if you already set the variable in Step 1, but adding it here makes the config self-contained.Then open Cursor’s MCP settings panel and confirm that apixo is listed and reports a healthy status.

Run claude mcp add from any terminal. The trailing -- separates the wrapper command from the MCP server command:

claude mcp add --env APIXO_API_KEY=your_real_key apixo -- npx -y @apixo/mcp-server

By default this registers the server at user scope (stored in ~/.claude/, available across all projects). Other scope flags:

--scope project writes to a committable .mcp.json in the current repo, so your teammates pick it up automatically.
--scope local keeps it per-user per-project (.claude/*.local.*).

If you already set APIXO_API_KEY as a system environment variable in Step 1, you can drop the --env flag.

Run the codex mcp add command in any terminal:

codex mcp add apixo -- npx -y @apixo/mcp-server

You should see something like Added global MCP server 'apixo'.

If the codex command is not recognized, see Troubleshooting -> CLI not found on PATH.

Most MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Windsurf, Cline, Continue, Zed, …) load stdio servers from a JSON config that uses the same shape. Add an apixo entry under whichever mcpServers block your client expects:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apixo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@apixo/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "APIXO_API_KEY": "your_real_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Common config file locations:

Client	Config file
Claude Desktop (macOS)	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Claude Desktop (Windows)	`%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
Windsurf	`~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`
Cline / Continue / Zed	Configured from each tool’s MCP settings UI

Refer to your client’s docs if a different file path applies; the JSON shape above is the standard MCP server descriptor and will work as long as the client supports stdio servers.

Step 3: Verify the registration

A healthy install exposes five tools under the apixo server:

apixo_list_models
apixo_get_model_schema
apixo_generate_task
apixo_get_task_status
apixo_get_balance

How you confirm this depends on the client:

Cursor
Claude Code
Codex CLI
Other MCP clients

Reload Cursor (or restart it) and open the MCP / Tools panel. The apixo server should report a healthy status and list the five tools above.

List and inspect from the terminal:

claude mcp list
claude mcp get apixo

Or, inside a Claude Code chat session, run the slash command:

/mcp

It shows every connected MCP server and the tools it exposes. You should see apixo and its five tools.

codex mcp get apixo

A healthy install prints command: npx and args: -y @apixo/mcp-server.

You can also list every registered server with:

codex mcp list

Open your client’s MCP / Tools settings panel — most clients show connected servers and their tool lists there. You should see apixo and the five tools above.If your client supports an MCP inspector or /mcp slash command, use that to confirm the server is connected and the tools are loaded.

If the server is registered but no tools appear, see Troubleshooting -> No tools listed.

Step 4: Try it from your agent

Fully restart your client (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, or whichever one you set up) so the MCP server is launched, then run the prompts below. Each one constrains the agent to the apixo tools so you can confirm wiring without other tools interfering.

Test 1: Scaffold integration code (recommended)

This is the primary use case — let the agent write APIXO calls into a small project.

Use only the apixo MCP tools. Build a minimal HTML + JavaScript playground that
calls the nano-banana-2 model through the APIXO API. Look up the model's
parameters yourself, then give me the full code I can run locally.

Expected: the agent calls apixo_list_models and apixo_get_model_schema to discover nano-banana-2’s parameters, then writes working code against https://api.apixo.ai/api/v1/generateTask/nano-banana-2.

Test 1 — agent writes integration code in Codex

Test 2: Submit a task directly from chat

Useful when you want to sanity-check a model before wiring it into code.

Use only the apixo MCP tools. Generate a 16:9 image with the nano-banana-2 model
of a serene Japanese garden at golden hour. Return the final image URL when done.

Expected: the agent calls apixo_generate_task for nano-banana-2, polls with apixo_get_task_status until the task succeeds, and prints the result URL.

Test 3: Check your account balance

Use only the apixo MCP tools. What is the current balance on my APIXO API key?

Expected: the agent calls apixo_get_balance and reports a numeric balance.

Next steps

What APIXO MCP can do

Tool reference and capability overview.

Troubleshooting

Fix common install issues across clients and operating systems.

Generation API reference

The endpoint the MCP server submits tasks to.

Browse models

Find the model ID to pass to apixo_generate_task.

MCP

Documentation Index

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Set your API key

​Step 2: Register the MCP server

​Step 3: Verify the registration

​Step 4: Try it from your agent

​Test 1: Scaffold integration code (recommended)

​Test 2: Submit a task directly from chat

​Test 3: Check your account balance

​Next steps

What APIXO MCP can do

Troubleshooting

Generation API reference

Browse models

Prerequisites

Step 1: Set your API key

Step 2: Register the MCP server

Step 3: Verify the registration

Step 4: Try it from your agent

Test 1: Scaffold integration code (recommended)

Test 2: Submit a task directly from chat

Test 3: Check your account balance

Next steps