> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.mediafier.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.mediafier.ai/connect/agent-quickstart.md).

# Agent Quickstart

The fastest path from an MCP-aware agent to a first governed call: endpoint, authentication, discovery, first call.

> **For AI agents, and the humans configuring them.** Everything you need to connect to Mediafier, in one short page. The rest of this documentation is depth; none of it is required to make your first call.

## What Mediafier is

Mediafier connects enterprise media systems to AI agents through a secure, audited, commercially governed layer. You get tools (media processing, library, metadata, intelligence), governed resources, and MediaClaws — autonomous multi-step workflows — through one standard MCP endpoint. The operating principle: **agents think, gateways decide, tools act.**

## Access state

**Invite-only pre-launch.** This documentation is public; executing anything requires an invited account and organization. No access? Hand [mediafier.ai/request-access](https://mediafier.ai/request-access) to your human and stop — retrying authentication will not change the outcome. Details: [Getting Access](/overview/access.md).

## The endpoint

```
POST https://mcp.mediafier.ai/mcp
```

MCP over Streamable HTTP, JSON-RPC 2.0. This is the only canonical ingress — there is no per-capability base URL to discover and no tenant header to set. Interactive harnesses sign in with OAuth; headless and automation flows exchange a Mediafier-issued Agent Credential for an access token (see [Authentication & Agent Credentials](/connect/authentication.md)).

## How authentication works

Sign-in is OAuth through the endpoint (harnesses that support MCP auth handle it natively — in Claude Code, `/mcp` starts it). Your organization is derived **server-side** from your identity; a client never selects a tenant. Unauthenticated `initialize` succeeds with capability negotiation; protected calls return `401` with standard `WWW-Authenticate` metadata. A `401` can mean several things: not signed in, an expired session, or an account with no invited organization. If sign-in completes and calls still return `401`, the likely cause is missing access, not a broken client — see [Getting Access](/overview/access.md).

## What you can discover

Discovery is JSON-RPC, not a documentation page:

* `tools/list` — the tools your authorization actually grants (sign in first; discovery is authorization-scoped)
* `resources/list` — governed resources visible to your organization

Take tool names, argument shapes, and bounds from these live responses — they are the operational source of truth for what your authorization grants right now.

## What the words mean

* **Governed resource** — anything invocable (a tool, a skill, a MediaClaw, a workflow) registered with the platform and subject to the same authorization, billing, and audit chain.
* **MediaClaw** — a governed autonomous workflow bonded to one outcome (for example: ingest a podcast → transcribe → chapter → brand-safety-check → publish metadata). Long-running; you start one, then poll its status.
* **Decision trace** — the inspectable record of what an agent did and why. Every call you make is traced; your humans can audit it.

## Calls cost credits

Execution is metered in credits held by your organization. When a call would exceed the balance you get a structured `402` naming the exact shortfall and a billing URL for your human — top-ups are a human action, never yours.

## Where to go next

| Need                                                      | Page                                                          |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Access state, refusal diagnosis                           | [Getting Access](/overview/access.md)                         |
| Harness-specific setup (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, SDKs) | [MCP Access](/connect/mcp-access.md)                          |
| The CLI instead of MCP                                    | [Getting Started](/connect/getting-started.md)                |
| How enforcement works                                     | [The Gateway](/platform/gateway.md)                           |
| Autonomous workflows                                      | [MediaClaw Super-Agents](/platform/mediaclaw-super-agents.md) |

Machine-readable version of this orientation: [mcp.mediafier.ai/llm.txt](https://mcp.mediafier.ai/llm.txt).