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Onboarding for agents

Bitrise is mobile-focused CI/CD and app distribution for iOS and Android, including Flutter and React Native. If you work through an AI agent such as Claude Code, Cursor, or VS Code with GitHub Copilot, it can connect you to Bitrise without leaving the chat, using the Bitrise MCP server. The first time your agent needs access, your client prompts you to authorize it and starts a Bitrise sign-in in your browser. You sign in — or create an account — once, approve the connection, and your agent is authorized. The same sign-in also logs you into the Bitrise website, so there's nothing to set up twice.

When to use thisClick to copy link​

You want to use Bitrise for CI/CD, app distribution, or getting a local build onto devices, and one of the following is true:

  • You don't have a Bitrise account yet, so you create one during the browser sign-in — with GitHub, Bitbucket, Google, another social SSO, or an email and password.
  • You already have an account, so you just sign in and approve the connection.

Either way it's the same flow: your agent points you at a browser page, and you finish there.

If you'd rather not use an agent, you can also sign up for Bitrise in the browser.

Connecting through the MCPClick to copy link​

The MCP server uses OAuth: it tells your client that it needs authorization, and your client runs the browser sign-in for you. You never copy or paste a token.

Step 1: Get an AI client that supports MCPClick to copy link​

You need an AI client that supports MCP. Each step below gives the configuration for the most common clients: Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and Claude Desktop. Bitrise MCP also supports Windsurf, the Google Gemini CLI, AWS Kiro, and other Copilot IDEs. See each install guide for client-specific details.

Step 2: Connect the MCP serverClick to copy link​

Point your client at the remote server with no token. The server tells your client it's OAuth-protected, and your client handles authorization from there. After editing the config, reload the client so the change takes effect (see Reconnecting the MCP client).

claude mcp add --transport http bitrise https://mcp.bitrise.io

Full setup: Claude Applications.

Step 3: Sign in or create your accountClick to copy link​

The server requires authorization, so it won't connect anonymously — your agent can't sign you in on its own. When your client connects (after the reload in Step 2), it detects that Bitrise needs authorization and starts the sign-in in your browser. How you start it differs by client — in Claude Code, run /mcp, select bitrise, and start the sign-in.

On the Bitrise sign-in page:

  1. Sign in or sign up. Choose GitHub, Bitbucket, Google, or another social provider, or use an email and password. You can create a brand-new account right here — there's no separate website sign-up.
  2. Approve the connection. Bitrise shows a consent screen naming the application that's asking for access. Approve it to continue.

When you approve, your browser hands the authorization back to your agent automatically. There's nothing to copy or paste.

Your website session comes with it

Signing in here also signs you in on app.bitrise.io in the same browser, so you won't be asked to log in again when you open the dashboard.

Step 4: Confirm your email (email and password only)Click to copy link​

If you created your account with an email and password, Bitrise sends a confirmation email immediately and shows a "confirm your email" screen. Social sign-ins (GitHub, Bitbucket, Google) skip this step — they're already verified by the provider.

  • Open the email on any device — the computer running your agent, your phone, whatever's handy — and click the confirmation link.
  • The confirmation screen polls for you, so it doesn't matter where you click the link. Once your email is confirmed, the screen detects it within a few seconds, reloads itself, and continues the authorization automatically.
  • You don't need to return to the original window or re-enter anything. When confirmation lands, the flow picks up where it left off.

Step 5: Confirm the connectionClick to copy link​

Once you're authorized, your agent can call any enabled Bitrise tool. Confirm the connection by asking it to run the me or list_workspaces tools. If you're new, a Workspace is created for you automatically. To see how Workspaces organize your apps and team, read the Workspaces overview.

Using a personal access token insteadClick to copy link​

The OAuth flow issues and refreshes short-lived tokens behind the scenes, so you stay connected without managing credentials. If your client ever loses authorization (for example after a long idle period), it simply reopens the browser sign-in.

If you prefer a fixed credential — for CI, scripts, or a client that doesn't support OAuth — create a durable personal access token at Account settings → Security and add it as an Authorization header instead of relying on OAuth:

claude mcp remove bitrise && claude mcp add --transport http bitrise https://mcp.bitrise.io -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

Reconnecting the MCP clientClick to copy link​

Editing the config in Step 2 takes effect only after the client reloads the Bitrise MCP server. Some clients also surface the OAuth sign-in here (for example, Claude Code's /mcp is where you authenticate). How you reload depends on the client:

  • Claude Code (CLI): Run /mcp to view, reconnect, and authenticate the server, or quit and relaunch claude.
  • VS Code (GitHub Copilot): Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P), run MCP: List Servers, select bitrise, and choose Restart, or run Developer: Reload Window.
  • Cursor: Open Settings → MCP (Tools) and toggle the bitrise server off and on, or click its refresh icon. Restarting Cursor also works.
  • Claude Desktop: Quit the app fully (Cmd+Q on macOS, or quit from the system tray on Windows) and reopen it. Closing the window alone doesn't reload it.
  • Other clients (Windsurf, Gemini CLI, AWS Kiro): Restart the client, or its MCP connection if it exposes one.

If something goes wrongClick to copy link​

  • No sign-in prompt appeared: Reload the MCP server in your client (see Reconnecting the MCP client) to re-trigger the authorization prompt — in Claude Code, run /mcp and start the sign-in for bitrise.
  • You closed the page before approving: Trigger any Bitrise tool again and your client restarts the sign-in.
  • You're stuck on the "confirm your email" screen: Click the confirmation link in the email Bitrise sent (check your spam folder). The screen polls every few seconds and continues on its own once your email is confirmed — there's no need to refresh.
  • "This email is already registered" during sign-up: You already have a Bitrise account. Go back and sign in with that provider or email instead of creating a new one.

After your account is createdClick to copy link​

The same MCP connection now drives the rest of Bitrise: creating apps and connecting repositories, configuring bitrise.yml, triggering builds, reading logs, and managing artifacts and distribution. You can also limit which tool groups the server exposes, as described in Tools.

For conventions and a guided walkthrough of connecting your repository and running your first build, install the Bitrise agent skill:

npx skills add bitrise-io/agent-skills

This installs the using-bitrise-ci skill, which loads automatically on Bitrise CI topics. Invoke it explicitly with /using-bitrise-ci, or add --global to install it across all your projects.

New to Bitrise? Start with Getting started and the key Bitrise concepts. To see what else Bitrise can do with AI, see AI features on Bitrise.