Pica MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates with Pica, enabling seamless interaction with various third-party services through a standardized interface. This server provides direct access to platform integrations, actions, execution capabilities, and robust code generation capabilities.

Features

🔧 Tools

• list_pica_integrations - List all available platforms and your active connections
• search_pica_platform_actions - Search for available actions for a specific platform
• get_pica_action_knowledge - Get detailed documentation for a specific action including parameters and usage
• execute_pica_action - Execute API actions with full parameter support

Key Capabilities

🔌 Platform Integration

• Connect to 200+ platforms through Pica
• Manage multiple connections per platform
• Access real-time connection status

🎯 Smart Intent Detection

• Execute actions immediately (e.g. "read my last gmail email", "send a message to the slack channel #general")
• Generate integration code (e.g. "build a form to send emails using gmail", "create a UI for messaging")
• Intelligent context handling

🔒 Enhanced Security

• Never exposes secrets in generated code
• Uses environment variables: PICA_SECRET, PICA_[PLATFORM]_CONNECTION_KEY
• Sanitized request configurations for production use

⚡ Direct Execution

• Execute actions directly through the MCP interface
• Support for all HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.)
• Handle form data, URL encoding, and JSON payloads
• Pass path variables, query parameters, and custom headers

🔒 Secure Authentication

• All requests authenticated through Pica's secure proxy
• No need to manage individual platform API keys
• Environment variable configuration for security

Installation

npm install @picahq/mcp

Setup

Required

PICA_SECRET=your-pica-secret-key

Get your Pica secret key from the Pica dashboard.

Optional: Identity Scoping

You can scope connections to a specific identity (e.g., a user, team, or organization) by setting these optional environment variables:

PICA_IDENTITY=user_123
PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE=user

| Variable | Description | Values | |----------|-------------|--------| | PICA_IDENTITY | The identifier for the entity (e.g., user ID, team ID) | Any string | | PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE | The type of identity | user, team, organization, project |

When set, the MCP server will only return connections associated with the specified identity. This is useful for multi-tenant applications where you want to scope integrations to specific users or entities.

Usage

As a Standalone Server

npx @picahq/mcp

In Claude Desktop

To use with Claude Desktop, add the server config:

On MacOS: ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

On Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pica": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@picahq/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PICA_SECRET": "your-pica-secret-key",
        "PICA_IDENTITY": "user_123",
        "PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE": "user"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: PICA_IDENTITY and PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE are optional. Only include them if you want to scope connections to a specific identity.

In Cursor

In the Cursor menu, select "MCP Settings" and update the MCP JSON file to include the following:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pica": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@picahq/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PICA_SECRET": "your-pica-secret-key",
        "PICA_IDENTITY": "user_123",
        "PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE": "user"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: PICA_IDENTITY and PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE are optional. Only include them if you want to scope connections to a specific identity.

Using the Remote MCP Server

The remote MCP server is available at https://mcp.picaos.com.

Using Docker

Build the Docker Image:

docker build -t pica-mcp-server .

Run the Docker Container:

docker run -e PICA_SECRET=your_pica_secret_key \
  -e PICA_IDENTITY=user_123 \
  -e PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE=user \
  pica-mcp-server

Note: PICA_IDENTITY and PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE are optional.

Deploy to Vercel

You can deploy this MCP server to Vercel for remote access:

1. Install dependencies including Vercel adapter:

   npm install @vercel/mcp-adapter zod

2. Deploy to Vercel:

   vercel

3. Configure your MCP client to use the remote server:

   • For Cursor: https://your-project.vercel.app/api/mcp
   • For Claude/Cline: Use npx mcp-remote https://your-project.vercel.app/api/mcp

See DEPLOYMENT.md for detailed Vercel deployment instructions.

Examples for Inspiration

📋 Integration Code Generation

Build Email Form:

"Create me a React form component that can send emails using Gmail using Pica"

Linear Dashboard:

"Create a dashboard that displays Linear users and their assigned projects with filtering options using Pica"

QuickBooks Table:

"Build a paginatable table component that fetches and displays QuickBooks invoices with search and sort using Pica"

Slack Integration:

"Create a page with a form that can post messages to multiple Slack channels with message scheduling using Pica"

🚀 Direct Action Execution

Gmail Example:

"Get my last 5 emails from Gmail using Pica"

Slack Example:

"Send a slack message to #general channel: 'Meeting in 10 minutes' using Pica"

Shopify Example:

"Get all products from my Shopify store using Pica"

API Reference

Tools

list_pica_integrations

List all available Pica integrations and platforms. Always call this tool first to discover available platforms and connections.

Parameters: None

Returns:

• connections: Array of active user connections with platform and key
• availablePlatforms: Array of active platforms with name and category
• summary: Statistics including connected and available counts

search_pica_platform_actions

Search for relevant actions on a specific platform using a query. Returns the top 5 most relevant actions based on vector similarity search.

Parameters:

• platform (string, required): Platform name in kebab-case format (e.g., 'ship-station', 'shopify')
• query (string, required): Search query describing what you want to do (e.g., 'search contacts', 'create invoice', 'send email')
• agentType (enum, optional): Agent context type - either "execute" or "knowledge". Defaults to "knowledge" if not specified
  • Use "execute" when the user wants to perform an action
  • Use "knowledge" when the user wants to get information or write code

Returns:

• actions: Array of up to 5 most relevant actions, each with:
  • actionId: Unique identifier for the action
  • title: Human-readable action name
  • method: HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.)
  • path: API endpoint path
• metadata: Search metadata with platform, query, and result count

get_pica_action_knowledge

Get comprehensive documentation for a specific action. Must be called before execute_pica_action to understand requirements.

Parameters:

• actionId (string, required): Action ID from search_pica_platform_actions
• platform (string, required): Platform name in kebab-case format

Returns:

• Detailed action documentation
• Parameter requirements and structure
• API-specific guidance and caveats
• Usage examples and implementation notes

execute_pica_action

Execute a Pica action to perform operations on third-party platforms. Critical: Only call this when the user wants to execute an action, not when building applications.

Parameters:

• platform (string, required): Platform name
• actionId (string, required): Action ID from search_pica_platform_actions
• connectionKey (string, required): Connection key for the platform
• data (object, optional): Request body data
• pathVariables (object, optional): Variables to replace in the path
• queryParams (object, optional): Query parameters
• headers (object, optional): Additional headers
• isFormData (boolean, optional): Send as multipart/form-data
• isFormUrlEncoded (boolean, optional): Send as URL-encoded form data

Returns:

• requestConfig: Sanitized request configuration
• responseData: Actual API response from the platform

Error Handling

The server implements comprehensive error handling:

• ✅ Parameter validation for all tools
• ✅ Connection verification before execution
• ✅ Path variable validation and substitution
• ✅ Graceful handling of API failures
• ✅ Detailed error messages for debugging
• ✅ MCP-compliant error responses

Security

• 🔐 Required environment variable: PICA_SECRET
• 🔐 Optional environment variables: PICA_IDENTITY, PICA_IDENTITY_TYPE
• 🛡️ All requests authenticated through Pica's secure proxy
• 🔒 No direct platform API key management needed
• 🚫 Secrets never exposed in responses
• ✅ Request configurations sanitized
• 🔍 Sensitive data filtered from logs
• 🛡️ Input validation and sanitization

License

MIT

Support

For support, please contact [email protected] or visit https://picaos.com