AI agent quickstart: MCP setup and your first draft

Start with a connection you can verify. This guide intentionally does not publish a post. It connects an MCP client to your PostSider organization, reads the connected channels, creates one draft only when you approve the content, and checks the saved result.

Prefer screenshots and an interactive client selector? See the visual developer quickstart. This page is the technical reference.

What you need

A PostSider account with at least one connected social channel. Open Channels in the dashboard and complete the provider connection first.
An MCP client that supports remote Streamable HTTP and OAuth, or a local client that can launch npx over stdio.
Node.js only for local stdio. The hosted MCP server does not require installing a package.

Step 1. Connect your client

Claude Code · hosted
Codex · hosted
Cursor · hosted
Local stdio · API key

Uses the PostSider-hosted MCP server and OAuth. No API key is pasted into a command.

claude mcp add --transport http postsider https://mcp.postsider.com/mcp

Complete the PostSider sign-in and authorization flow when your client prompts you.

codex mcp add postsider --url https://mcp.postsider.com/mcp

Verify that PostSider appears in your MCP server list. Complete OAuth sign-in using the client’s supported flow.

Add this in your Cursor MCP settings or your project’s .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postsider": {
      "url": "https://mcp.postsider.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Reconnect the MCP servers, then complete PostSider OAuth sign-in when requested.

Create a key in Settings → API. Keep it outside source control. Add this to your client’s MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postsider": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@postsider/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "POSTSIDER_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Claude Code:

claude mcp add postsider -e POSTSIDER_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY -- npx -y @postsider/mcp

Restart the client if it does not discover the new server.

Never include an organization key in a hosted MCP URL. Hosted MCP uses OAuth, while the local process reads POSTSIDER_API_KEY from its environment. Organization keys currently provide broad access, not independently enforced read-only or per-action scopes.

Step 2. Prove the read connection works

Ask your client:

Use PostSider to list my connected social channels.
Show the channel names, platforms, and IDs it returns.
Do not create, schedule, publish, modify, or delete anything.

Confirm the returned channels match your dashboard. If the list is empty, connect at least one account in PostSider. Never guess an ID.

Step 3. Save exactly one draft

List my connected PostSider channels and ask me to choose one.
Read that channel's publishing rules.
Show me the exact text you propose for a short test post.
After I approve it, create exactly one post with type=draft.
Read it back by its returned post ID. Report the saved content, channel and state.
Do not schedule or publish the post.

Confirm the draft appears in your PostSider dashboard. If a tool reports an error, read and address it before trying again.

A chat instruction to wait for approval is workflow guidance, not an access-control boundary. Keep your client’s write confirmations enabled. Formal team approval workflows start on the Team plan and must be configured separately.

Step 4. Verify the result — not just the tool response

Read the saved post with postsider_get_post by its returned ID. Verify:

The selected channel ID and platform match the intended destination.
The content and any media are correct.
The post is still a draft, not scheduled or published.
The dashboard displays the same record.

Only after those checks should you consider scheduling. A queued post is not proof of eventual publication. After the intended time, check the per-channel result and any error.

Prefer raw REST API?

The same read-first workflow is available without MCP. Organization keys go in the raw Authorization header — no Bearer prefix.

export POSTSIDER_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
curl --fail-with-body --silent --show-error \
  -H "Authorization: $POSTSIDER_API_KEY" \
  https://api.postsider.com/public/v1/integrations

See the posts API reference for a draft payload. Choose one real returned channel ID, include a stable Idempotency-Key on retries, then read the saved post with GET /public/v1/posts/:id. The Node.js draft-and-readback example targets an X channel. Other providers may need different settings.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
OAuth does not complete	The client supports remote MCP OAuth; reconnect in Settings → MCP
MCP tools missing	Confirm the server is enabled; local clients may need a restart
401 from REST	Use the current raw organization key in Authorization, no Bearer
Channel missing	Connect it in the dashboard, then read the list again
429 from REST	Back off using Retry-After
Draft creation error	Read provider rules and correct platform-specific settings
Post not published	Check whether it is a draft, queued, published or in error

See the MCP overview, tools reference, authentication guide, REST API and SDK overview.

Overview

MCP Server

REST API

SDK

AI agent quickstart: MCP setup and your first draft

What you need

Step 1. Connect your client

Step 2. Prove the read connection works

Step 3. Save exactly one draft

Step 4. Verify the result — not just the tool response

Prefer raw REST API?

Troubleshooting

​What you need

​Step 1. Connect your client

​Step 2. Prove the read connection works

​Step 3. Save exactly one draft

​Step 4. Verify the result — not just the tool response

​Prefer raw REST API?

​Troubleshooting

What you need

Step 1. Connect your client

Step 2. Prove the read connection works

Step 3. Save exactly one draft

Step 4. Verify the result — not just the tool response

Prefer raw REST API?

Troubleshooting