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Vast.ai MCP connector
The Vast.ai connector lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and any MCP client rent and manage GPU instances, network disks, SSH keys, worker groups, endpoint jobs and secrets in Vast.ai, with every action running under the person who signed in.
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How it connects. Connects with an API key. The credential goes into a vault nobody reads back.
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One address. https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp, the same for every user.
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Their own access. An agent never gets more than the person it acts for.
How to connect
How to connect Vast.ai to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor
Two steps, about a minute.
In Elaichi
Connect Vast.ai once
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Open Connections, choose Add connection, and pick Vast.ai.
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Optionally set Share with to give a team access, then press Connect.
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Paste a Vast.ai API key. One person generates a token in Vast.ai and pastes it once. Everyone else works through Share with, and never sees it.
The credential is vaulted. Nobody reads it back, not even the AI.
Add connection
Choose a connector.
Egnyte
In your AI client
Point it at one endpoint
Everyone in the organization uses the same address, and each person only ever reaches what their own account allows.
Connect Vast.ai to Claude
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1
Open Customize, then Connectors.
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2
Press Add.
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3
Name it, paste the MCP server URL, then Continue.
https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp -
4
Sign in and approve.
On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds it once. Everyone else turns it on for themselves.
Connect Vast.ai to ChatGPT
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1
Open Plugins, then press the + button.
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2
Name it and paste the endpoint into Server URL.
https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp -
3
Leave Authentication on OAuth, then tick the risk acknowledgement.
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4
Press Create, then sign in and approve.
Works on the web today. The plugin directory lives at chatgpt.com/plugins.
Connect Vast.ai to Cursor
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1
Open
~/.cursor/mcp.json. -
2
Add the endpoint under
mcpServers.https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp -
3
Reload Cursor, then sign in and approve.
~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"elaichi": {
"url": "https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp"
}
}
}
Set up per machine, so repeat it on each computer you work from.
Connect Vast.ai to any MCP client
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1
Add the endpoint as a remote MCP server.
https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp -
2
Sign in and approve.
{
"mcpServers": {
"elaichi": {
"url": "https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp"
}
}
}
The Elaichi Agent already has these tools, with nothing to set up.
Use cases
What teams do with Vast.ai through Elaichi
Every one of these runs inside the access the person already has, and lands in the same audit log.
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Machine learning
Spin up a GPU box for training
Ask for a new instance with the right disk and SSH access, then adjust the bid price if the job needs to keep running through a busy hour.
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Data engineering
Move datasets onto a network disk
Create a network disk for a project and queue a copy of training data onto it with an rclone command, then clear the command when the transfer is done.
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Platform
Keep worker groups and endpoint jobs in shape
List the worker groups serving a model, change the settings on one, and add or retire endpoint jobs as traffic changes.
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Security
Rotate API keys and secrets without a console
See which Vast.ai API keys exist, create a fresh one for a new pipeline, and delete keys and secrets that are no longer needed.
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Finance
Trim spend on running instances
Review what is running, lower the bid price on instances that can wait, and remove SSH access from boxes that are being wound down.
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Hosting
Take a machine in and out of maintenance
Cancel scheduled maintenance on a host machine when the fix lands early, or run a cleanup on a machine before it goes back into the market.
Try asking
- “List every running Vast.ai instance and its bid price”
- “Which Vast.ai machines are in maintenance right now”
- “Show network disks attached to instances in Research”
AI tools
Vast.ai tools for your AI agents
89 tools are ready to call through Elaichi's MCP endpoint the moment you connect Vast.ai, governed by the same roles, restrictions, and audit log as everything else in Elaichi.
No tools match your search.
See it in Elaichi
What connecting Vast.ai gets you
6 screens from the product, each doing one job for your Vast.ai account.
The agent
Ask about Vast.ai instances in plain language.
Answers come from live Vast.ai instances, machines and network disks, not stale exports.
- instances
- machines
- network disks
- api keys
Ask Elaichi to work across your apps.
List every running Vast.ai instance and its bid price
Which Vast.ai machines are in maintenance right now
Show network disks attached to instances in Research
Also runs in Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor
MCP clients
Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor reach Vast.ai here.
One org MCP endpoint over OAuth, no SDK and no shared API key.
Copy the endpoint
Tool catalog
89 Vast.ai tools ready with no custom code.
Instances, SSH keys, machines, network disks, bid prices and rclone commands, all callable.
- Create a Vast.ai network disk
- Create a Vast.ai instance SSH
- Delete a Vast.ai instance SSH by ID
- List all Vast.ai instance sshes
Toolboxes
Each team gets its own Vast.ai toolbox.
Curate one toolbox of Vast.ai tools per team and expose only that.
- ML Research
- Platform Engineering
- MLOps
- Data Engineering
Shared connections
Teammates use Vast.ai accounts without seeing keys.
Every connection shows who connected it and which teams and members share it.
- ML Research
- Platform Engineering
- MLOps
- Data Engineering
Audit log
Every Vast.ai call is written down.
When, who, what happened, type and resource, appended for each instance and disk.
- When
- Who
- What happened
- Type
Launching soon
From answering questions to doing the work
A person no longer has to ask. A trigger starts the work, inside the same permissions and the same audit log as everything else. Automations and live dashboards are launching soon, on the Black plan.
Automations
A schedule starts real Vast.ai work.
Fetch instances, group them, draft a digest, get approval, post back to Vast.ai.
Vast.ai digest
Run 418 · started 2 minutes ago · on behalf of Emma Laurent
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✓
Schedule
Every weekday at 08:00
0.2s -
✓
Fetch instances
Vast.ai
1.4s -
✓
Group by owner
Transform
0.1s -
✓
Draft the digest
Agent step
Ran with 4 tools, returned a structured summary
6.2s -
Approve the digest
Needs approval
Assigned to Michael Brennan
Approve Deny -
Post the digest
Vast.ai
Queued
Collections and dashboards
Vast.ai numbers land before anyone asks.
Four metrics, 14 days of instances created and a team breakdown, refreshed on schedule.
Vast.ai health
Refreshed 4 minutes ago · every 15 minutes · from the instances collection
Instances
1,284 ↓ 12%
Machines
96 ↓ 8%
Needs attention
3 ↑ 2
Updated this week
412 ↑ 9%
Instances created
Last 14 days
By team
Share of activity
ML Research 34%
Platform Engineering 27%
MLOps 21%
Data Engineering 18%
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I connect Vast.ai to Claude?
First connect Vast.ai in Elaichi by pasting an API key from your Vast.ai account, then in Claude go to Customize, then Connectors, then Add, and paste https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp. Vast.ai signs in with an API key, so there is no OAuth application to register and no client ID or secret to generate. Once both steps are done, Claude can work with your Vast.ai instances, disks and keys as you.
Does Vast.ai work with ChatGPT and Cursor as well as Claude?
Yes. Vast.ai is connected once in Elaichi, and the same endpoint, https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp, is pasted into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, any other MCP client and the Elaichi Agent. There is nothing extra to set up for each client.
What can an AI agent actually do with my Vast.ai account?
An agent can create Vast.ai instances and network disks, add or remove SSH access, change the bid price on a running instance, and queue copy or rclone commands to move data. It can also list, create, update and delete worker groups, endpoint jobs, API keys and secrets, and take a host machine out of maintenance or run a cleanup on it. Short, concrete asks such as "lower the bid on instance 4821" work better than long paragraphs.
Does connecting Vast.ai give the AI access to everything in my account?
No. Every call to Vast.ai runs under the API key the signed-in person provided, so the agent can only reach the instances, disks, worker groups and secrets that key can already reach. Elaichi can narrow that further by blocking specific actions, and it never widens what the key allows.
Can I stop an agent from deleting or changing things in Vast.ai?
Yes. Restrictions in Elaichi work per action, so you can allow listing Vast.ai instances and worker groups while blocking deletion of instances, API keys or secrets. A blocked action is never shown to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor at all, so no prompt can reach it.
What happens to a Vast.ai connection when someone leaves?
Offboarding that person in Elaichi ends their access to Vast.ai through every client at once. If they had shared a Vast.ai connection, it keeps working for everyone else on the team. Disconnecting Vast.ai once in Elaichi removes it from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and every other client together.
Put Vast.ai in front of your team
Fourteen days on Gold, no credit card. Connect it once and pick what each team can call.