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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.

  • How it connects. Connects with an API key. The credential goes into a vault nobody reads back.

  • One address. https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp, the same for every user.

  • 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.

1

In Elaichi

Connect Vast.ai once

  1. Open Connections, choose Add connection, and pick Vast.ai.

  2. Optionally set Share with to give a team access, then press Connect.

  3. 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.

vast.ai
Vast.ai
DocuSign
Egnyte
Google Drive
OneDrive
PandaDoc
2

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

  1. 1

    Open Customize, then Connectors.

  2. 2

    Press Add.

  3. 3

    Name it, paste the MCP server URL, then Continue.

    https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp
  4. 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

  1. 1

    Open Plugins, then press the + button.

  2. 2

    Name it and paste the endpoint into Server URL.

    https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp
  3. 3

    Leave Authentication on OAuth, then tick the risk acknowledgement.

  4. 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

  1. 1

    Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

  2. 2

    Add the endpoint under mcpServers.

    https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp
  3. 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

  1. 1

    Add the endpoint as a remote MCP server.

    https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp
  2. 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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”

See all 89 Vast.ai tools below

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.

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.

ElaichiMCP clients
Claude ChatGPT Cursor

Copy the endpoint

https://api.elaichi.ai/mcp
Client Connected by Status Last used
Claude
E

Emma Laurent

• Connected 4 minutes ago
Cursor
S

Sofia Ricci

• Connected 2 hours ago
ChatGPT
C

Clara Nowak

• Connected Yesterday

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
ElaichiTools
Tool Action Description
Create a Vast.ai network disk Create Add a network disk in vast to be used for creating network volume offers, or add machines to an existing network disk. Returns: success, disk_id. Required: mount_point.
Create a Vast.ai instance SSH Create Attach an SSH key to a vast instance, granting SSH access using the provided key. Returns: success, msg. Required: id, ssh_key.
Delete a Vast.ai instance SSH by ID Delete Detach an SSH key from a vast instance, removing SSH access for that key. Returns: success, msg. Required: id, ssh_key_id.
List all Vast.ai instance sshes List List SSH keys associated with a vast instance. Returns: success, ssh_keys. Required: instance_id.
Update a Vast.ai commands copy direct by ID Update Initiate a remote copy operation in vast to transfer data from one instance to another or between an instance and the local machine. Returns: success, msg. Required: src_path, dst_path.

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
ElaichiToolboxes
Name Source template Tools Created

ML Research toolbox

Vast.ai · training instances and network disks

Vast.ai starter 18 Mar 4, 2026

Platform Engineering toolbox

Vast.ai · machines and maintenance windows

9 Mar 2, 2026

MLOps toolbox

Vast.ai · instance provisioning and rclone commands

24 Feb 27, 2026

Data Engineering toolbox

Vast.ai · network disks and copy jobs

Vast.ai starter 6 Feb 19, 2026

Security toolbox

Vast.ai · api keys and ssh keys

31 Jan 30, 2026

Finance toolbox

Vast.ai · bid prices and instance spend

12 Jan 22, 2026

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
ElaichiConnections
Connection Scope Status Access
VA

Vast.ai (ML Research)

Connected by Emma Laurent

Personal • Active 1 team · 6 members
VA

Vast.ai (Platform Engineering)

Connected by James Whitfield

Organization • Active 3 teams · 24 members
VA

Vast.ai (MLOps)

Connected by Sofia Ricci

Organization • Active 2 teams · 11 members
VA

Vast.ai (Data Engineering)

Connected by Daniel Ortega

Personal • Needs re-auth 1 team · 3 members
VA

Vast.ai (Security)

Connected by Clara Nowak

Personal • Active Not shared
VA

Vast.ai (Finance)

Connected by Michael Brennan

Personal • Active 2 teams · 9 members

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
ElaichiAudit log
When Who What happened Type

2 minutes ago

Mar 6, 2026, 3:10 PM

E

Emma Laurent

[email protected]

Restriction Created Access

8 minutes ago

Mar 6, 2026, 3:04 PM

J

James Whitfield

[email protected]

Restriction Updated Access

14 minutes ago

Mar 6, 2026, 2:58 PM

S

Sofia Ricci

[email protected]

Role Assigned Access

20 minutes ago

Mar 6, 2026, 2:52 PM

D

Daniel Ortega

[email protected]

Vast.ai Users Updated MCP

26 minutes ago

Mar 6, 2026, 2:46 PM

C

Clara Nowak

[email protected]

Vast.ai Instances Created MCP

32 minutes ago

Mar 6, 2026, 2:40 PM

M

Michael Brennan

[email protected]

Vast.ai Instances List Toolbox

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

  1. Schedule

    Every weekday at 08:00

    0.2s
  2. Fetch instances

    Vast.ai

    1.4s
  3. Group by owner

    Transform

    0.1s
  4. Draft the digest

    Agent step

    Ran with 4 tools, returned a structured summary

    6.2s
  5. Approve the digest

    Needs approval

    Assigned to Michael Brennan

    Approve
  6. 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

Live

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 my team share one Vast.ai connection?

Yes. One person connects Vast.ai in Elaichi and shares the connection with a team, and nobody else ever handles the API key. Each teammate still signs in to Elaichi as themselves, so the audit log names the actual person who created an instance or deleted a secret.

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.