MCP Server

The Plik CLI includes a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, allowing AI coding assistants to upload files to Plik directly.

Quick Start

1. Configure Plik CLI

Make sure your ~/.plikrc has a valid server URL:

URL = "https://plik.example.com"

If the server supports/requires authentication (feature_authentication: enabled or forced), make sure to authenticate:

plik --login

2. Add to Your Editor

Add the following MCP server configuration to your editor:

Editor	Config file
Cursor	.cursor/mcp.json
VS Code	.vscode/mcp.json
Claude Desktop	claude_desktop_config.json
Antigravity	.gemini/antigravity/mcp_config.json

{
  "servers": {
    "plik": {
      "command": "plik",
      "args": ["--mcp"]
    }
  }
}

To use a separate configuration file, set the PLIKRC environment variable:

{
  "servers": {
    "plik": {
      "command": "plik",
      "args": ["--mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PLIKRC": "/path/to/mcp-plikrc"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Tool	Description
upload_text	Upload inline text content (code snippets, logs, etc.) as a named file
upload_file	Upload a single file by absolute path
upload_files	Upload multiple files by paths in a single upload
server_info	Get server version, configuration, and capabilities
list_profiles	List available profiles from ~/.plikrc with their server URLs

Common Parameters

All upload tools accept these optional parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
ttl	int	Time to live in seconds (0 = server default)
one_shot	bool	Delete file after first download
removable	bool	Allow anyone to delete the file
stream	bool	Don't store the file, stream directly to downloader
extend_ttl	bool	Extend expiration by TTL on each access
comments	string	Markdown comment to attach to the upload
login	string	HTTP basic auth username
password	string	HTTP basic auth password
token	string	Authentication token (overrides ~/.plikrc token)
profile	string	Profile name from ~/.plikrc (supports composition: "work,zip")

NOTE

Some parameters may not be available depending on server configuration. Use server_info to check which features are enabled.

Using Profiles

If you have profiles defined in ~/.plikrc, the MCP server can target different servers per upload:

// Upload to the "work" server
{"tool": "upload_file", "input": {"path": "/tmp/report.pdf", "profile": "work"}}

// Compose profiles: work server + zip archive settings
{"tool": "upload_file", "input": {"path": "/tmp/report.pdf", "profile": "work,zip"}}

Use list_profiles to discover available profiles and their URLs. Omitting profile uses the default server (from startup config or DefaultProfile).

Tool Response

Upload tools return the full upload metadata (as defined by the Plik API) enriched with computed URLs for the upload page and each file's direct download link.

Prompts

Prompt	Description
upload_guide	Instructions on how to use the Plik upload tools

Configuration

The MCP server reuses your existing ~/.plikrc configuration. No additional setup is needed beyond the editor integration.

Configuration is loaded from (in order):

1. PLIKRC environment variable
2. ~/.plikrc
3. /etc/plik/plikrc

Example

Here is an example of an AI assistant uploading multiple files in a single operation using the upload_files tool:

Troubleshooting

Server won't start: Ensure plik is in your PATH and ~/.plikrc exists with a valid URL.

Authentication errors: Run plik --login to get a fresh token, or verify your token is valid.

Debug mode: Set Debug = true in ~/.plikrc to see request/response details on stderr.