MCP Integration

The Alai MCP Server allows AI agents to generate presentations, manage slides, and export content directly through the Model Context Protocol. Use it with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible tools.

Quick Start

Get Your API Key

Configure Your MCP Client

Add the Alai MCP server to your preferred AI tool using the configurations below.

Start Creating

Ask your AI agent to generate presentations, add slides, or export to PDF/PowerPoint.

Available Tools

The Alai MCP server exposes 9 tools that map to the Alai API:

Tool	Description
`ping`	Verify API key and return user ID
`get_presentations`	List all presentations for the authenticated user
`generate_presentation`	Create a presentation from text content
`get_generation_status`	Poll async operation status
`create_slide`	Add a slide to an existing presentation
`delete_slide`	Remove a slide from a presentation
`export_presentation`	Export to PDF, PPTX, or shareable link
`generate_transcripts`	Generate speaker notes for slides
`delete_presentation`	Permanently delete a presentation

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop supports remote MCP servers via the Connectors settings (Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans).Option 1: Via Settings UI (Recommended)

Open Claude Desktop
Go to Settings → Connectors
Add a new connector with the Alai MCP URL

Option 2: Via mcp-remoteEdit your claude_desktop_config.json:

macOS
Windows

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual Alai API key.

Restart Claude Desktop after saving the configuration.

Claude Code (CLI)

Add the Alai MCP server using the CLI:

claude mcp add alai \
  --transport http \
  https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Or add it via JSON configuration:

claude mcp add-json alai '{
  "type": "http",
  "url": "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
}'

Verify the server is added:

claude mcp list

Cursor

Open Cursor Settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,)
Navigate to MCP section
Click Add new global MCP server
Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, create a .cursor/mcp.json file in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Go to File → Preferences → Windsurf Settings
Select Manage MCPs
Click View raw config to open mcp_config.json

Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alai": {
      "serverUrl": "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

macOS/Linux
Windows

Config location: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

Config location: %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json

VS Code (Copilot)

MCP support in VS Code requires version 1.102 or later.

Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
Run MCP: Edit User Configuration
Add the Alai server:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "alai": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": [
          "mcp-remote@latest",
          "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
          "--header",
          "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Or create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace for project-specific configuration.

Cline (VS Code Extension)

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline extension
Select the Configure tab
Click Advanced MCP Settings to open cline_mcp_settings.json

Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      ],
      "alwaysAllow": [],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

macOS
Windows

Config location: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

Config location: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json

Zed Editor

Add the configuration to your settings.json:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "alai": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "mcp-remote@latest",
          "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
          "--header",
          "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Check the Agent Panel settings to verify the server is active (green indicator).

Zed currently requires mcp-remote for HTTP-based MCP servers. Native streamable HTTP support may be added in future versions.

JetBrains IDEs (AI Assistant)

JetBrains AI Assistant supports MCP servers in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs.

Go to Settings → Tools → AI Assistant → Model Context Protocol
Click Add to configure a new server
Use the following configuration:

{
  "alai": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": [
      "mcp-remote@latest",
      "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
      "--header",
      "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
    ]
  }
}

Refer to the JetBrains MCP documentation for detailed instructions.

Example Usage

Once configured, you can ask your AI agent to create presentations:

Generate a presentation

Prompt: “Create a 5-slide presentation about the benefits of remote work”The AI will call generate_presentation and poll get_generation_status until complete, then provide you with the link to your presentation.

Add a slide to an existing presentation

Prompt: “Add a slide about team collaboration tools to my presentation”The AI will use create_slide with your presentation ID and the new content.

Export to PowerPoint

Prompt: “Export my presentation as a PowerPoint file”The AI will call export_presentation with format pptx and provide the download link.

Generate speaker notes

Prompt: “Create speaker notes for all slides in my presentation”The AI will use generate_transcripts to create detailed speaker notes for each slide.

Workflow

Presentation generation is asynchronous. Here’s how it works:

Most AI agents will handle the polling automatically. You just need to describe what you want, and the agent will manage the async workflow.

Troubleshooting

Server not connecting

Verify your API key is correct
Ensure you have npx installed (comes with Node.js)
Check that your firewall allows outbound HTTPS connections
Restart your MCP client after configuration changes

Authentication errors

API keys should start with sk_
Ensure the Authorization header format is Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Generate a new API key from app.getalai.com if needed

Tools not appearing

Some clients require a restart after adding MCP servers
Check your client’s MCP settings to ensure the server is enabled
Verify the server status indicator (should be green/active)

Rate limits

Maximum 5 concurrent generations per user
If you hit rate limits, wait a few seconds before retrying
Contact [email protected] for higher limits

Security

Never share your API key or commit it to version control. Use environment variables when possible.

For environment variable configuration, you can reference variables in your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote@latest",
        "https://slides-api.getalai.com/mcp/",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer ${ALAI_API_KEY}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALAI_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or set the environment variable in your shell:

export ALAI_API_KEY="sk_your_api_key"

Alai API (Beta)

Quick Start

Available Tools

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Claude Code (CLI)

Cursor

Windsurf

VS Code (Copilot)

Cline (VS Code Extension)

Zed Editor

JetBrains IDEs (AI Assistant)

Example Usage

Workflow

Troubleshooting

Security

Next Steps

API Reference

Examples

Alai API (Beta)

​Quick Start

​Available Tools

​Client Configuration

​Claude Desktop

​Claude Code (CLI)

​Cursor

​Windsurf

​VS Code (Copilot)

​Cline (VS Code Extension)

​Zed Editor

​JetBrains IDEs (AI Assistant)

​Example Usage

​Workflow

​Troubleshooting

​Security

​Next Steps

API Reference

Examples

Quick Start

Available Tools

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Claude Code (CLI)

Cursor

Windsurf

VS Code (Copilot)

Cline (VS Code Extension)

Zed Editor

JetBrains IDEs (AI Assistant)

Example Usage

Workflow

Troubleshooting

Security

Next Steps