Private Servers & Sharing

By default, Shredly MCP servers are public — any caller can connect and use your tools as long as they supply a valid API token for your upstream service. Private servers flip this: only you and the users you explicitly invite can access them.

Private servers are a Pro feature.

Public vs. Private

	Public	Private
Who can connect	Anyone with a valid upstream token	Only you and users you've shared with
Upstream API key	Caller supplies their own token	You store one key; it's used for everyone
Use case	APIs where every user has their own account	Internal tools, shared databases, team data

How private servers work

When a server is set to Private, Shredly stores your upstream API key securely. Callers authenticate using their Shredly API key — not a raw upstream token. When a call comes in:

1. Shredly validates the caller's Shredly API key and checks that they have access to the server.
2. If authorized, Shredly replaces the caller's key with the stored upstream key before forwarding the request.

The upstream API key is never exposed to callers.

Setting a server to private

Use the Shredly MCP Builder to set a server to private:

Set my "acme-internal" server to Private with api_key sk-...

Sharing a private server

To give another Shredly user access:

1. Get the recipient's person ID — have them connect to the Shredly MCP Builder and ask: "What is my Shredly person ID?" The AI calls getMySession and returns their ID.

2. Grant access — you (the server owner) call shareServer with the server ID and the recipient's person ID:

   Share my "acme-internal" server with person ID abc123...

3. Recipient connects — they point their MCP client at your server's endpoint and use their own Shredly API key as the Bearer token. Shredly validates access and injects your stored upstream key.

To revoke access, call unshareServer with the same person ID.

Shredly MCP Builder tools for sharing

The Shredly MCP Builder (gateway.shredly.io/mcp/shredly) includes four tools for managing private server access:

Tool	Description
getMySession	Returns your Shredly person ID, name, and email
shareServer	Grants a user access to one of your private servers
unshareServer	Revokes a user's access
listSharedWithMe	Lists private servers other users have shared with you

There's also a guided Share a Private Server skill — just invoke it and the AI walks you through the full flow.

Connecting to a shared server

If someone has shared a private server with you, point your MCP client at:

https://mcp.shredly.io/mcp/{slug}

Set your Shredly API key as the Bearer token in your client configuration. The server will validate your key and grant access automatically.

Use listSharedWithMe in the Shredly MCP Builder to see all servers currently shared with you.

Security considerations

• The upstream API key is stored encrypted and is never returned to callers.
• Access checks happen on every request — revoking a user's access takes effect immediately.
• Callers who are not authorized receive a 404 Not Found response, so private server existence is not leaked.