---
title: "Keep your agent. Hand the software work to Ara."
description: "Ara is a public REST API and universal remote MCP. Ask from Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, or your own service; Ara runs the work in the cloud and returns the session, evidence, and pull request to the workspace you selected."
url: "https://ara.so/product/api"
section: "Developers"
---

# Keep your agent. Hand the software work to Ara.

Ara is a public REST API and universal remote MCP. Ask from Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, or your own service; Ara runs the work in the cloud and returns the session, evidence, and pull request to the workspace you selected.

## A connector that behaves like a teammate, not a backdoor.

### Universal remote MCP

Add one HTTPS URL in the client you already use. Browser OAuth discovers Ara automatically, then asks you to choose exactly one workspace and the public API scopes it may use.

### REST for unattended work

Use a scoped ara_ key only in CI or a service that cannot complete OAuth. Every key is pinned to its minting workspace.

### Default-deny permissions

Tools are advertised and executed only when the granted scope allows them. The MCP bridge rechecks the matching public API permission and workspace binding on every call.

### Evidence comes back

Search and steer sessions, create guarded automations, and bring the final transcript, checks, and pull request back into your current workflow.

## The same handoff from every coding surface.

No generic Ara CLI to learn. Your existing agent calls Ara as a remote MCP tool; direct REST remains available for CI and service-to-service automation.

### Claude or ChatGPT

Paste Ara's remote MCP URL, sign in to Ara, and select the workspace. The client receives a rotating OAuth grant — never a copied API key.

### Codex or Claude Code

Add the remote endpoint once. Ask the agent to inspect recent sessions, start a focused cloud task, manage write-only secrets, or configure a scoped environment recipe.

### CI and internal services

Use a narrowly scoped key in your secret manager. The public REST API resolves the single workspace from the key, so a path or prompt cannot switch organizations.

## One request, a durable Ara session.

### Connect the client

A remote MCP client discovers Ara's OAuth endpoints, shows the requested permissions, and lets you choose the workspace it may act in.

_OAuth for people · keys for headless jobs_

### Hand Ara the bounded task

Ask your local agent to search sessions, create a focused cloud session, configure a permitted environment, or draft a disabled automation. Scope checks happen before each tool runs.

_Least privilege by tool_

### Keep the proof

Ara records the session, tool activity, audit trail, checks, and pull request in the workspace. Continue or steer the same work from any client.

_Sessions, logs, and PRs stay together_

## Security and access

### Can a connected client read another workspace?

No. OAuth access is bound to the workspace chosen during consent. API keys are pinned to the workspace where they were created. Ara checks that binding and the user's current membership before every MCP call.

### Do I have to paste an Ara API key into Claude or Codex?

No. Use the remote MCP URL and complete browser OAuth. API keys are only for headless CI or service-to-service jobs that cannot open a browser.

### What can the connected agent change?

Only the public API actions represented by the scopes granted to that connection. Read-only session access does not unlock automations, secrets, environment changes, organization administration, or future capabilities. Secret values remain write-only.

### How do I remove access?

Disconnect the client or revoke its OAuth token; Ara revokes the full grant. For headless jobs, rotate or delete the scoped API key. Removing a member also invalidates their OAuth grant.

## Bring Ara into the agent you already use.

Connect with OAuth in a minute, then hand off the next task that deserves a real cloud session.