Getting started

Remote endpoint

Connect over Streamable HTTP with no local process: the hosted MCP endpoint runs the same four tools as the stdio server, authenticated with your API key.

2 min read · Updated Jul 31, 2026

Clients that speak MCP's Streamable HTTP transport can skip the local npx process entirely and talk to the hosted endpoint at https://www.pastepile.com/api/mcp. It runs the exact same dispatcher as the stdio package, so the four tools, their parameters, and their answers are identical; only the transport differs.

The remote endpoint requires a free API key for tool calls, sent as Authorization: Bearer <key> or X-API-Key: <key>. Discovery (initialize, tools/list) works without one. The stdio server remains fully usable anonymously.

Connect a client

One command

claude mcp add --transport http pastepile https://www.pastepile.com/api/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer pk_live_..."

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json:

.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pastepile": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.pastepile.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer pk_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Add .vscode/mcp.json. Note VS Code uses servers:

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "pastepile": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://www.pastepile.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer pk_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

The transport is one JSON-RPC message per POST:

Handshake

curl -s https://www.pastepile.com/api/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{}}'

Save a paste

curl -s https://www.pastepile.com/api/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pk_live_..." \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"pastepile_save","arguments":{"content":"hello from the remote endpoint"}}}'

Transport shape

Behavior	Detail
Requests	POST one JSON-RPC 2.0 message; the response returns as `application/json`.
Notifications	Messages without an `id` are acknowledged with `202` and an empty body.
Sessions and streams	Stateless by design: no `Mcp-Session-Id`, and GET returns `405` (no server-initiated streams).
Batching	Not supported, matching MCP protocol 2025-06-18.
Limits	120 requests per minute per IP at the transport, then your key's plan limits apply.

stdio or remote?

stdio (npx -y @pastepile/mcp): works anonymously, ideal for local assistants and air-gapped config; requires Node.js 18+.
Remote: nothing to install and nothing to keep updated, ideal for clients on machines without Node or for hosted agents; requires a free key for tool calls.
Both hit the same REST API with the same per-key isolation, so you can switch transports at any time without moving data.

Connect a client

Transport shape

stdio or remote?

Related documentation