instant

Pick your app

The examples below will be updated with your app ID.

Introduction

Using Instant with LLMs

You can supercharge your Instant experience by using it with LLMs. For best results we recommend doing two things:

  • Use the Instant MCP server to enable LLMs to create and update your apps
  • Add rules or context to your LLM to help it understand how Instant works

To get set up quickly, check out our whirlwind tutorial. Otherwise read on for more detailed setup instructions.

Instant MCP Server

We built @instantdb/mcp to enable creating, managing, and updating your Instant apps. Combine the MCP with our rules file to build full-stack apps directly in your editor.

The easiest way to get started is to use our hosted remote MCP server. Use the instructions below to add the Instant MCP server to your favorite LLM editor or tool.

When you add the MCP server, you'll be sent through an OAuth flow to grant access to your Instant Account.

Cursor

Install MCP Server

Or edit your ~/.cursor/mcp.json directly:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "url": "https://mcp.instantdb.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

If you're on a paid plan, you can add the the server via the command line

claude mcp add instant -s user -t http https://mcp.instantdb.com/mcp

Now you run claude to start Claude Code and then run /mcp to see your list of MCP servers. instant should be listed there. Select it and go through the auth flow to enable the Instant MCP server in your claude code sessions!

Windsurf

You can add the Instant MCP server through the Windsurf UI

  1. Open Windsurf Settings.
  2. Under Cascade, you'll find Model Context Protocol Servers.
  3. Select Add Server and paste the relevant snippet for your OS.

Alternatively you can directly edit your ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

MacOS/Linux

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.instantdb.com/sse"]
    }
  }
}

Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.instantdb.com/sse"]
    }
  }
}

Windows WSL

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": "wsl",
      "args": ["npx", "-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.instantdb.com/sse"]
    }
  }
}

Zed

Use the SSE endpoint for Zed with mcp-remote.

Open your Zed settings and add the following

{
  "context_servers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.instantdb.com/sse"],
        "env": {}
      },
      "settings": {}
    }
  }
}

Other Tools

For other tools that support MCP servers, you can configure Instant using either our streamable HTTP endpoint (recommended if your tool supports it)

https://mcp.instantdb.com/mcp

Or our SSE endpoint

https://mcp.instantdb.com/sse

Instant Rules

We've created a set of rules to help LLMs understand how Instant works. After setting up your MCP server, add these rules to your tool of choice.

You can verify you set up the rules correctly by asking your LLM "How do you make queries and transactions in InstantDB?" If everything is set up correctly, you should see a response with information about db.useQuery and transact

You can also attach .md to the end of any doc page url to get the raw markdown you can copy and paste into your LLM. This can be helpful if you're stuck on particular functionality. For example, here's the docs for using cursors

Cursor

Save these rules at the root of your project in .cursor/rules/instant.mdc You may need to restart Cursor for them to take effect.

When using Cursor we recommend turning off "Auto" and using at least Claude Sonnet 4

Claude Code

Save these instructions at the root of your project in CLAUDE.md and these rules in instant-rules.md. If you already had claude running, restart it for the rules to take effect.

Windsurf

Save these rules at the root of your project in .windsurf/rules/instant.md. You may need to restart Windsurf for them to take effect.

Zed

Save these rules at the root of your project in AGENT.md. You may need to restart Zed for them to take effect.

Other Tools

Use these rules to give context on how to use Instant. If want to manually add in more documentation, you can also append .md to the end of any doc page url to get the raw markdown

Local MCP server

We recommend using our hosted MCP server but we also support running @instantdb/mcp locally via stdio. This will avoid OAuth but requires you to manage your personal access token.

Get your Personal Access Token

If you haven't already, make sure to get a personal access token from your Instant dashboard

Once you have your token, you can set up the Instant MCP server in your favorite editor with MCP support.

Cursor/Windsurf/Cline

You can set up the Instant MCP server in Cursor, Windsurf, or Cline by adding the following configuration to your MCP settings:

MacOS/Linux

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@instantdb/mcp", "--token", "<token>"]
    }
  }
}

Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@instantdb/mcp", "--token", "<token>"]
    }
  }
}

Windows WSL

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": "wsl",
      "args": ["npx", "-y", "@instantdb/mcp", "--token", "<token>"]
    }
  }
}

Replacing <token> with your personal access token. Save the file and reload the editor! You should now see the Instant MCP server active and enabled!

Zed

Open your Zed settings and add the following

{
  "context_servers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@instantdb/mcp", "--token", "<token>"],
        "env": {}
      },
      "settings": {}
    }
  }
}

Replacing <token> with your personal access token. Save the file and reload the editor. You should now see the Instant MCP server active and enabled!

Claude Desktop

You can set up the Instant MCP server in Claude Desktop by following these steps:

  1. Open the file ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  2. Add the following configuration to the claude_desktop_config.json file:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instant": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@instantdb/mcp", "--token", "<token>"]
    }
  }
}

Replacing <token> with your personal access token. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop. You should now see the Instant MCP server active and enabled!

MCP Tools

Below is a list of the current tools we expose

App Management

  • create-app Creates a new InstantDB application with optional schema and permissions.
  • get-apps Lists all apps owned by the authenticated user.
  • get-app Fetches a single app by ID.

Schema Management

  • get-schema Retrieves the schema for a specific app.
  • plan-schema-push Dry-run a schema update to preview changes.
  • push-schema Applies schema changes to an app. Run plan-schema-push first to preview.

Permissions Management

  • get-perms Retrieves permission rules for an app.
  • push-perms Updates permission rules for an app.

Example Conversation

User: Could we add a new projects table with a link to todos for my app id
<app_id>

LLM: I'll help you add a new projects table with a link to todos for your app.
Let me first get the current schema to understand the existing structure.

Tool-call: get-schema

LLM: Now I'll create a plan to add the projects entity and create a link
between projects and todos. Let me first create a dry-run to show you what
changes will be made:

Tool-call: plan-schema-push

LLM: Perfect! The plan looks good. It will:

// .. info about the planned changes

Now let's execute this schema update:

Tool-call: push-schema

Excellent! The schema update has been successfully completed.

// .. info about the pushed changes
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