Agent Keys
Keys that let your coding agents, scripts and pipelines use the customer portal: how to create and revoke them, what they reach, and the portal's MCP tools.
An agent key lets a coding agent, a script or a pipeline do what you do in the portal without a
browser: download releases, run the installer, read the docs, ask CortexHelper, use Scope Studio and
connect to the portal's MCP server. It starts with cdbk_ and is sent as
Authorization: Bearer <agent key>.
An agent key is for the portal only. Never send it to your CortexDB server: a server refuses it. Your server uses its own credentials (Keys and Credentials).
Create a key
- In the portal, open Agent keys.
- Give the key a name that says who or what uses it (up to 60 characters), for example "Priya's Claude Code" or "CI pipeline", and press Create key.
- Copy the key now. It is shown once and the portal keeps only a hash of it, so it can't be shown again. The page also gives you the two commands below with the key filled in.
Make one key for each person, agent or pipeline, so you can revoke one without affecting the others. An account can hold up to 20 keys at a time. The list shows each key's name, its first characters, when it was made and when it was last used.
A key has exactly your account's access, checked on every request. It stops working when it is revoked or when your account's access ends.
Use a key
Keep the key in CORTEXDB_KEY and send it as a bearer token:
export CORTEXDB_KEY='<your agent key>'
curl -fsS -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORTEXDB_KEY" https://customer.cortexdb.ai/agent/SKILL.mdTo connect Claude Code to the portal's MCP server:
claude mcp add --transport http cortexdb https://customer.cortexdb.ai/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $CORTEXDB_KEY"Other MCP clients (Cursor, Codex and others) take the same address, https://customer.cortexdb.ai/mcp,
with the same header.
What a key reaches
| What | Address | For |
|---|---|---|
| MCP server | https://customer.cortexdb.ai/mcp | Connecting Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other agents (tools below) |
| Agent instructions | https://customer.cortexdb.ai/agent/SKILL.md | How an agent installs and uses CortexDB |
| Agent manifest | https://customer.cortexdb.ai/agent/manifest.json | The newest release, its files and SHA-256, install commands, credentials and client versions, as JSON |
| Docs for agents | https://customer.cortexdb.ai/llms.txt | A short docs index; /llms-full.txt has the full text |
| Downloads | https://customer.cortexdb.ai/d/<version>/<asset> | A release file; <version> can be latest. Assets: linux-amd64, linux-arm64, image-linux-amd64, image-linux-arm64 |
| Installer | https://customer.cortexdb.ai/install.sh?version=latest | Checks the machine, installs and verifies a server (Self-Hosting Quickstart) |
| License | https://customer.cortexdb.ai/api/license | Your company's license (Your license) |
Downloads answer 302 to a short-lived link, so follow redirects (curl -L).
The portal's MCP tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
latest_release | The newest release: version, date, highlights, downloads with SHA-256, and Docker install steps. |
list_releases | Releases newest first, with version, date and title (limit). |
get_release | One release's full notes, downloads and install steps (version). |
get_license | Your company's license, with its plan and last day. |
search_docs | Search the docs for the newest release; returns page paths, titles and snippets (query, limit). |
get_doc | One docs page as text, by path, for example self-hosting/quickstart (path). |
ask | Ask CortexHelper a question (question). |
studio_create_project | Start a Scope Studio project (name). |
studio_add_input | Add a description, document or file to a project: text in text, or a file in base64 with its filename and media_type. |
studio_run | Start designing from the project's inputs (project_id, optional comment). A run takes a few minutes. |
studio_get_design | A project's latest run: its status and, when done, the design as JSON (project_id). Poll it after studio_run. |
The portal's MCP server reads releases, docs and your Scope Studio projects. It holds none of your memories: to give an agent memory, connect it to your own CortexDB server (MCP Server).
If a request is refused
Every answer from the portal carries the header X-CortexDB-Origin: portal and, on an error, a JSON
code: AUTH_REQUIRED (401) for a missing, wrong or revoked key, and NO_ACCESS (403) when your account's
access has ended. A refusal without that header came from the network between you and the portal:
set a User-Agent that names your tool and try again. The full list is in
Keys and Credentials.
Keep keys safe
- Never paste a key into a chat, a ticket, a screenshot or a log, and keep it out of git.
- If a key may have been seen by someone else, revoke it on the Agent keys page (Revoke, then confirm) and create a new one. Revoking one key leaves the others working.
- When someone leaves or a pipeline is retired, revoke its key.
Customer Portal
What the customer portal at customer.cortexdb.ai is for, how you get access, and what each part of it does.
CortexHelper
The customer portal's assistant for installing, configuring and using CortexDB, and for designing memory for your product. What it answers from, its limits, and how to use it from an agent.