From signup to your first shareable app
openserve isn’t a page where you write code — you describe what you want to your own AI assistant, and it calls openserve over MCP to generate the backend cloud functions, database, and frontend, then deploys everything to a dedicated link. Walk through the five steps below and you’ll have your first app — one you can open in the Pane browser and share with anyone.
Sign up and get your MCP key
First, create a free account (personal projects are free forever). After logging in you land on the "Get started" page — one click issues your MCP key, which lets an AI client connect to openserve as you. The key is shown only once, so save it.
Connect openserve to your AI client
Pick the client you use, copy the config in, then replace os_xxx_YOUR_KEY with your real key:
Run this command in your terminal (from your project directory). Claude Code remembers the MCP connection.
Tell your AI what you want
Once connected, paste a sentence into your AI client (edit it to match what you actually want). For example:
Use openserve to build me a little "daily water tracker" app: it should log how many cups I drink each day, show this week's trend, and reward streaks with a fun animation. When it's done, publish it and hand me a shareable link.
Wait for the pipeline, then grab the link
The AI runs openserve’s generation pipeline for you (design → data model → cloud functions → frontend → deploy). Along the way you’ll see a "making" progress page; once it’s done, the same link becomes the app itself — something like <your-project>.app.openserve.dev. Just tell the AI to "publish it and give me the link" to get the final shareable URL.
Share it, or open it in Pane
Send the link to anyone — it works right in a browser. With Pane (the immersive full-screen browser) installed, set it as your home page for a native-app-like full-screen experience; once it’s listed on the App Home at home.openserve.dev, others can search for and discover it too.
Stuck? Common failures
Client reports 401 / Unauthorized
Cause: The key is missing, wrong, or has been revoked.
Fix: Check that the X-API-Key value is your full key; regenerate one under "Get started" in the console and paste it in.
Can’t connect / timeout / connection refused
Cause: api.openserve.dev is unreachable, or a corporate network is blocking streamable-http.
Fix: Try a different network; confirm the endpoint is https://api.openserve.dev/mcp; allow that domain through any local proxy or firewall.
429 / Too Many Requests mid-generation
Cause: You hit a quota or rate limit (the free tier caps calls per account).
Fix: Wait for the Retry-After seconds in the response, then let the AI continue; break the work into smaller pieces, one at a time.
The AI says it can’t find the openserve tools
Cause: The MCP server isn’t connected, or the client wasn’t restarted.
Fix: Confirm the config landed in the right file, restart the AI client, and ask it to "list the available MCP tools" as a self-check.