Connect Claude or ChatGPT to Shiny Gen
Shiny Gen ships a hosted MCP server at https://mcp.shinygen.ai/mcp. Connect an AI
assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP client) and it can build, edit, and play-test your Shiny
Gen project, live in your browser. There is nothing to install: unlike MCP integrations that
bridge to a desktop engine running on your machine, Shiny Gen's server is remote and operates the
project in your open browser tab.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants use external tools. Shiny Gen exposes its editors and generation models as MCP tools.
Connect
- Claude (web or desktop): add a custom connector in Settings and paste the
server URL:
https://mcp.shinygen.ai/mcp - Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http shinygen https://mcp.shinygen.ai/mcp - ChatGPT or any other MCP client: add the same URL wherever your client configures connectors or MCP servers.
- Approve access: your browser opens a Shiny Gen consent page. Sign in and approve. Authorization uses OAuth, and you can disconnect at any time.
- Open your project: keep shinygen.ai open in a tab: the assistant operates your live session, so the app must be running.
If the connection fails
- No sign-in window appeared, and the client says the connection failed: your browser is almost certainly blocking the pop-up. Clients open the Shiny Gen sign-in page in a new window, and a blocked pop-up usually surfaces as a generic connection error. Allow pop-ups for your AI client's site and connect again.
- Check the URL includes the path: the server address is
https://mcp.shinygen.ai/mcp. The host on its own is not the endpoint. - "Authorized, but the server returned an error": sign-in worked, but agent access is switched off for your account. The consent page offers to turn it back on; you can also flip it in the app under agent settings.
Permissions
| Scope | What it allows |
|---|---|
projects.read | See your project: what is on screen, the focused document, and its current state. |
projects.write | Write and edit game code and asset documents. Code edits are free. |
assets.generate | Run AI generation (images, 3D models, audio); this spends your gems, and a daily gem cap limits how much a connected assistant can spend in one day. |
What a connected assistant can do
- Read what is on screen and which document is focused.
- Write or patch the game's GDScript; the game compiles, runs, and reports errors back with line numbers.
- Start a new game for you, list the games in your account, and open any one of them — so you can say “go back to the platformer” and it will.
- Take screenshots to see what you see, including frame bursts to check motion.
- Press keys and actions on the running game to play-test what it built, including whole input timelines when a game needs two controls at once.
- Generate images, 3D models, and audio with Shiny Gen's generation models, browse and restore earlier versions of an asset, and remove an image's background.
- Build and edit 3D models and 2D art as code, and render views of a model to check it.
- Get a share link for the game it has been working on.
What it costs, and the limits
Connecting is free, and writing code is always free — only AI generation spends gems. Two separate limits apply to an assistant working in your project:
- A daily gem cap. Caps how many gems a connected assistant can spend in a single day, so an assistant left running cannot drain your balance. Every paid result reports your gems before, spent, and remaining.
- A weekly action allowance on the free tier. Your first connection starts a 30-day full-connector trial. After that, free accounts get an allowance of assistant actions that change something (writing code, generating, running the game) per week — currently about 10,000, reset weekly. Reading is never limited, and paid members are not subject to this allowance at all. The connector reports your current status and when the allowance resets.
The AI agent built into the app
You do not need an outside assistant at all: Shiny Gen has its own AI agent built into the app, with the same abilities described on this page — it reads your project, writes game code, generates assets, and play-tests what it builds. Connect Claude or ChatGPT when you would rather drive from a tool you already use; otherwise the in-app agent is right there.
Both work the same way where it counts: code editing is free, generation spends gems, and the daily gem cap and the free-tier weekly allowance apply to both.
The docs travel with the connector
Once connected, the assistant automatically receives Shiny Gen's language references and the exact API surface for game code, served through the connector itself. You do not need to teach your assistant anything or paste documentation; it looks up the contract as it works.
Safety
- Permissions are scoped and revocable; disconnect at any time.
- Everything the assistant does happens in your open tab; you watch edits live and can pause or stop it from the app.
- Writing code is free; only AI generation spends gems, with a daily gem cap for connected assistants. Every generation reports your remaining balance.
Questions? See the MCP section of the FAQ or contact support.
Last updated: August 10, 2026