Compatible with every major AI agent and IDE
What is the Ably MCP Server?
Connect your Ably account to any AI agent to orchestrate real-time communication infrastructure through natural language. This server provides full access to the Ably REST API for robust pub/sub messaging and presence management.
What you can do
- Messaging — Publish messages to single or multiple channels, retrieve message history, and update or delete existing messages.
- Presence Tracking — Monitor real-time member status and history within specific channels to see who is online.
- Push Notifications — Send direct push notifications to devices or client IDs for mobile and web engagement.
- Channel Management — List active channels, fetch metadata, and monitor usage statistics across your application.
- Security & Tokens — Revoke tokens before expiry to maintain tight control over your real-time infrastructure access.
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Enter your Ably API Key
- Start managing your real-time streams from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
Who is this for?
- Backend Developers — Debug real-time message flows and check channel states directly from the terminal or IDE.
- DevOps Engineers — Monitor application stats and manage API key security without leaving the command line.
- Product Engineers — Test push notification payloads and presence logic during feature development.
Built-in capabilities (14)
Get presence for multiple channels
Publish messages to multiple channels at once
Publish batch push notifications
Get metadata for a specific channel
Get a specific message by serial
Retrieve message history for a channel
Get current presence members for a channel
Get presence history for a channel
Retrieve application usage statistics
Enumerate all active channels
Publish a message to a specific channel
Publish a direct push notification
Requires revocableTokens: true on the API key. Revoke Ably tokens before their expiry
Update, delete, or append to a message
Why Windsurf?
Windsurf's Cascade agent chains multiple Ably tool calls autonomously. query data, analyze results, and generate code in a single agentic session. Paste Vinkius Edge URL, reload, and all 14 tools are immediately available. Real-time tool feedback appears inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor.
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Windsurf's Cascade agent autonomously chains multiple tool calls in sequence, solving complex multi-step tasks without manual intervention
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Purpose-built for agentic workflows. Cascade understands context across your entire codebase and integrates MCP tools natively
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JSON-based configuration means zero code changes: paste a URL, reload, and all 14 tools are immediately available
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Real-time tool feedback is displayed inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor without switching contexts
Ably in Windsurf
Ably and 4,000+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Ably to Windsurf through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 4,000+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for Ably in Windsurf
The Ably MCP Server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS — a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts. All 14 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in Windsurf only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
How Vinkius secures
Ably for Windsurf
Every tool call from Windsurf to the Ably MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see who is currently active in a specific channel?
Yes. Use the get_presence tool with the target Channel ID to retrieve a list of all members currently connected and their status.
How do I send a single message to multiple channels at once?
You can use the batch_publish tool. Provide a comma-separated list of channel IDs and the data payload to broadcast to all of them in one request.
Is it possible to retrieve the history of messages sent to a channel?
Absolutely. Use the get_messages tool to fetch the message history for any channel, with options to filter by timestamp or limit the number of results.
How does Windsurf discover MCP tools?
Windsurf reads the mcp_config.json file on startup and connects to each configured server via Streamable HTTP. Tools are listed in the MCP panel and available to Cascade automatically.
Can Cascade chain multiple MCP tool calls?
Yes. Cascade is an agentic system. it can plan and execute multi-step workflows, calling several tools in sequence to accomplish complex tasks without manual prompting between steps.
Does Windsurf support multiple MCP servers?
Yes. Add as many servers as needed in mcp_config.json. Each server's tools appear in the MCP panel and Cascade can use tools from different servers in a single flow.
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