# Quickstart

Connect ZenCreator to your AI client and generate something in about two minutes.

ZenCreator's MCP server is **hosted and remote**, secured with OAuth 2.1. Connecting means adding **one URL** and logging in once in your browser. There are no API keys to paste, nothing to install, and no local process to run — your client stores the token and refreshes it automatically.

The single URL your client connects to:

```
https://mcp.zncr.pro/mcp
```

## Prerequisite

A ZenCreator account at [https://app.zencreator.pro](https://app.zencreator.pro). You log in with it during the OAuth step below. Generation spends credits, so make sure you have a balance — top up at [https://app.zencreator.pro/billing](https://app.zencreator.pro/billing).

## Step 1 — Add the connector

You only ever paste one URL: `https://mcp.zncr.pro/mcp`.

**Claude.ai (web) or Claude Desktop** — the most common path:

1. Open **Settings → Connectors**.
2. Choose **Add custom connector**.
3. Paste `https://mcp.zncr.pro/mcp` and save.

**Claude Code (CLI)** — one line:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http zencreator https://mcp.zncr.pro/mcp
```

Using another client? See the per-client connect guides:

- [Claude.ai](./connect/claude-ai.md)
- [Claude Code](./connect/claude-code.md)
- [Cursor](./connect/cursor.md)
- [ChatGPT](./connect/chatgpt.md)

## Step 2 — Log in

The first time your client uses the connector, it opens your browser to log in at ZenCreator. You approve a consent screen that grants the scopes `mcp.read` and `mcp.generate`, and the client stores the resulting token — refreshing it automatically from then on. **No API keys.**

You log in once. You will not be asked again unless you disconnect or your client needs to re-authenticate.

## Step 3 — Your first generation

Ask your agent in plain language. For example:

> Use ZenCreator to generate an image of a red fox in a snowy forest at dawn. Check my credits and the price first.

A well-behaved agent will run roughly this chain:

1. **Check credits** — calls `zencreator_get_me` to read your balance (and whether you are out of credits).
2. **Estimate price** — calls `zencreator_estimate_price` for the exact credit cost of this generation, and states it to you before committing. (If cost matters, it may call `zencreator_compare_prices` to shop models cheapest-first.)
3. **Generate** — calls `zencreator_create_task` (or `zencreator_run_and_wait`, which submits and blocks until the image is ready) with a generation tool such as `by_prompt` or `image_editor`.
4. **Show the result** — fetches the generated asset and shows you a preview inline in the chat.

That is the standard rhythm for every job: check credits, estimate price, generate, show the result. For full step-by-step recipes (editing with references, face-swap, upscale, video, templates), see [Workflows](./workflows.md).

## What next

- [Concepts](./concepts.md) — tasks, calls, assets, templates, credits, and the two tool layers (MCP tools vs. generation tools).
- [Workflows](./workflows.md) — copy-paste recipes for common jobs.
- [Generation tools reference](./tools/generation.md) — `zencreator_create_task` and the lifecycle tools in detail.
- [Troubleshooting](./troubleshooting.md) — connection, login, out-of-credits, and NSFW gating fixes.