# Ways to connect your AI

URL: https://docs.xodia.ai/ai
Last updated: 2026-10-22

Xodia works with the AI you already use. Connect it once and it can build, fix and check your sites in Xodia, while you watch the live preview and review every change. Every plan includes it.

_Picture: Xodia's New project dialog on its first step, with Connect your AI opened under Start fresh and Import from GitHub and the From Xodia tab open: open Terminal, install Claude Code, get an Anthropic API key from the Claude Console, start the Xodia helper with Get my command, then ask from the ask box._

## The ways to connect

| Way | How it works | Setup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Xodia helper | Easiest. Send requests from Xodia's ask box; Claude Code on your computer runs them, and every step and approval shows in Xodia. | Claude Code and an Anthropic API key on your computer, and the helper running in a terminal |
| [Claude Code](https://docs.xodia.ai/ai/claude-code) | Claude in your terminal, with Xodia's plugin and short commands. | Xodia's plugin, then sign in with /mcp |
| [Claude app](https://docs.xodia.ai/ai/claude-app) | Claude on the web, desktop or phone, as a custom connector. | A custom connector with Xodia's MCP URL |
| [Cursor, Codex, VS Code and others](https://docs.xodia.ai/ai/other-apps) | Cursor, Codex, VS Code and any other app that speaks MCP. | A remote MCP server with OAuth sign-in |

Not sure? If you have Claude Code, use its plugin. If you'd rather stay in Xodia and type in the ask box, use the helper. Any other AI app connects as a remote MCP server.

## Where to find the setup guide

In a project, open Settings and choose AI agent. The setup guide there has a tab for each way to connect, with the exact commands to copy. New project shows the same guide under Connect your AI, until an AI is connected. Once an app is connected, it's listed under Connected apps, where you can disconnect it at any time.

## The Xodia helper

The helper lets you send requests from Xodia's ask box and have Claude Code run them on your computer. Every step and approval shows in Xodia. You install Claude Code once, create an Anthropic API key, and keep the helper running in a terminal while you work.

1. Open Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows) on your computer. Use your computer's terminal, not a Claude chat: chats run in the cloud.
2. Install Claude Code. Skip this if you already have it, then close and reopen the terminal.

   Terminal on a Mac:

   ```
   curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
   ```

   PowerShell on Windows:

   ```
   irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
   ```
3. Get an Anthropic API key: create one in the Claude Console. The helper asks for it in the terminal the first time you start it. It stays on this computer; Xodia never sees it. Usage is billed to your Anthropic account.

   [Open Claude Console keys](https://platform.claude.com/settings/keys)
4. Start the Xodia helper with your own command from Xodia (Get my command) and leave the window open while you work. The code works for 15 minutes; after the first time, it reconnects on its own.

   Terminal:

   ```
   npx -y --package=https://app.xodia.ai/cli/xodia-0.2.7.tgz xodia agent --connect <code> --server https://app.xodia.ai --api-key
   ```
5. In the ask box under the canvas, choose Your AI and send a request. Steps and approvals show right there.

> **Note:** The helper asks for your Anthropic API key in the terminal the first time you start it. The key stays on your computer and Xodia never sees it; its usage is billed to your Anthropic account. The code in your command works for 15 minutes; after the first time, the helper reconnects on its own.

## What your AI gets

- **26 tools** to read, edit and search files, run checks, read logs, take screenshots, save restore points and test SEO. They're listed in the [MCP server reference](https://docs.xodia.ai/reference/mcp#tools).
- **9 prompts**, ready-made jobs from build to speed. In Claude Code they're the /xodia commands.
- **43 core skills**, short guides your AI loads for the job, plus 30 stack pack skills for your framework, styling, CMS and host.
- **Requests from the editor.** Select an element, say what you want and pick a kind; your AI gets the request with the element's place in your code.

### Request kinds

Every request from the ask box has a kind. Leave it on Auto, or choose one to tell your AI how to approach the change.

- **Auto:** Let the agent decide.
- **Content:** Wording, images, links.
- **Design:** Look and layout.
- **Page:** New or restructured pages.
- **Fix:** Something is broken.
- **Ask:** A question, no changes.

## Built-in AI

When built-in AI launches, on Pro and Agency, choose Built-in in the ask box and Xodia runs Claude for you inside your project, on Xodia's AI tokens. Every step and approval shows in the chat. It isn't part of the free trial. Coming soon

## What your AI can and can't do

- Its changes wait as a draft in Xodia, next to yours, until you save them.
- It saves a restore point only when you ask, and it can't save to the live branch of a site imported from GitHub.
- It can't publish. Publishing is a button in Xodia.
- It runs on your own plan with your AI app; Xodia charges nothing for that work. Your AI app keeps its own login and signs in to Xodia with OAuth.