AI Agent
"AI agent" in these docs means an AI app that can call tools: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, Claude Code, or an agent you build yourself. Podwise plugs into those apps in three ways. They expose the same Podwise data and follow the same plan rules; what differs is what you install and where the work runs.
Choose a route
| Route | What you install | Best for | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plugin (skill + MCP server) | The Podwise plugin from the app's directory or marketplace | Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex — start here | Skills & Plugins |
| Hosted MCP server | One URL: https://mcp.podwise.ai/mcp | Any client that supports remote MCP, including web and mobile apps | MCP Server |
| CLI (and its local MCP server) | The podwise command | Scripts, cron jobs, agents that can run shell commands | CLI |
A rule of thumb:
- Start with the plugin. It installs the MCP server and the skill in one step, so the agent knows which tools to chain.
- Use the hosted server directly when your app has no Podwise plugin but accepts an MCP server URL.
- Use the CLI when the job is a command: a scheduled recap, a batch of episodes, a step in a pipeline. It can also run as a local MCP server for desktop apps that launch commands themselves.
What the skill adds
The MCP server gives an agent tools; the skill gives it workflows — an order to call them in and a shape for the result. Without the skill, "catch me up on this week" is a prompt the agent improvises around. With it, the agent recognises the request as the catch-up workflow and follows it.
The workflows are catch-up, weekly-recap, episode-notes, topic-research, episode-debate, language-learning, and discover. Skills & Plugins describes each one, and Recipes shows them in use.
What every route shares
- The same data. Summaries, transcripts, mind maps, Clips, and history are the objects described in Core Concepts. An episode read in the web app is the same episode the agent reads.
- Numeric IDs. Tools take an episode or podcast
seq— the number inhttps://app.podwise.ai/dashboard/episodes/<seq>— not a URL. The skill extracts it when you paste a link. - A plan requirement. The Open API, the MCP server, and the CLI need a Pro or Enterprise plan. Free accounts can connect, but tool calls return a notice that the feature needs a paid plan.
- Credits for processing. Reading existing AI content is free; processing a new episode spends AI processing credits, and the apps ask before doing it.
Which credential each route uses
- The plugin and the hosted server authorize with OAuth in your browser; no key is copied.
- Clients that cannot run OAuth, and anything scripted, use an API access token.
- The CLI saves its own token from
podwise auth.
Related
- Skills & Plugins: install the plugin, and what each workflow does.
- MCP Server: all tools, per-client setup, and example prompts.
- CLI: install, commands, and the local MCP server.
- Recipes: complete jobs built from these pieces.