# Quickstart

This takes a few minutes. You need a machine running macOS, Linux or Windows and an MCP server you already run locally.

## 1. Install the daemon

```
npm i -g @proticom/webmcp
```

npm works on macOS, Linux and Windows and needs no compiler: the package carries prebuilt binaries. On Linux the GitHub release tarballs also work: `curl -fsSL https://github.com/proticom/webmcp/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh`. The macOS tarballs are unsigned, so use npm on a Mac. To try it without installing, run `npx @proticom/webmcp up` in place of step 2.

## 2. Bring the machine online

```
webmcp up
```

It prints one link. Open it, sign in with the 6-digit code emailed to you, pick a handle if you have none, and approve the device. There is no password. `webmcp up` also lists MCP servers it found in your Claude, Cursor, Codex and VS Code configs and offers to attach them.

## 3. Attach a server

A stdio server, by its command:

```
webmcp attach files -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/Documents
```

Or a server already listening on localhost:

```
webmcp attach notes --http http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp
```

A running daemon picks the change up within seconds. `webmcp detach <alias>` removes it.

## 4. Keep it online

```
webmcp service install
```

`webmcp service install` keeps the daemon running in the background: a launchd agent on macOS, a systemd user unit on Linux (run `loginctl enable-linger $USER` so it survives logout). Windows has no service; run `webmcp connect` under your own supervisor there. `webmcp service status` shows it, and `webmcp service uninstall` removes it.

## 5. Connect an agent

Your server's address is:

```
https://<handle>.webmcp.fast/<device>/<server>/mcp
```

Add it as a custom connector (remote MCP server) in Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Cursor or any harness that takes a remote MCP URL. The harness opens a sign-in window, you sign in with the emailed code, the consent screen names that one endpoint, and you click Allow. For a harness without OAuth, create a connector token on the [dashboard](https://webmcp.fast/app) and send it as `Authorization: Bearer`.

## Limits on the free tier

1 handle, 1 device, 1 server, 1 connector. See [pricing](https://webmcp.fast/pricing). Requests are limited to 1 MB. A relayed call may run 30 minutes when streamed, 5 minutes as a single JSON response.

## Next

[Agent-driven setup](https://webmcp.fast/docs/agents) if you would rather have a coding agent do this, and the [security model](https://webmcp.fast/docs/security-model).