Quickstart

From your existing API to a working assistant in your app — in about 90 minutes.

This walkthrough takes you from an existing app to a live Syncanix assistant: discover your API, review what the assistant can do, connect your backend, embed the widget, and promote to production. Most teams get through it in around 90 minutes.

Before you start

A Syncanix workspace — sign up at app.syncanix.com.
Node.js 20 or newer.
An existing HTTP API with at least one authenticated endpoint.
An identity provider for your users — Auth0, Clerk, Cognito, WorkOS, or your own OIDC.
An Anthropic, OpenAI, or AWS Bedrock-EU key — or use managed model access, which is included in your plan.

Set up your workspace and keys

The discovery CLI uploads into a Syncanix workspace, and the widget authenticates with a publishable key — so create the workspace and grab both keys before you run anything.

Create your workspaceSign up at app.syncanix.com. The dashboard is where your catalog, API keys, and widget configuration live.
Store your CLI keyRun npx syncanix login and paste the secret key (gak_…) shown under Settings → API keys. The CLI saves it to ~/.syncanix/credentials so init can upload your catalog.
Copy your publishable keyFrom Settings → API keys in the dashboard, copy your publishable key (pk_live_…). The widget embed snippet uses it as its data-key — it is safe to ship in the browser.

npx syncanix login

Available at launch — this package is not on its public registry yet, so the command above will work the day Syncanix opens.

1. Discover your API

Run the CLI in your project. It detects your framework, reads your routes, writes a capability catalog, and uploads it. Discovery is static by default — it reads your code, never runs it, and no production data leaves your machine.

npx syncanix init

Available at launch — this package is not on its public registry yet, so the command above will work the day Syncanix opens.

Optional AI enrichment (clearer titles and descriptions) runs only after you give explicit zero-data-retention consent at the prompt. You can also skip it and enrich later.

2. Review the catalog

Open the dashboard to see what was discovered. This is where you decide what the assistant can do, and how carefully:

Mark internal endpoints so they stay out of the assistant’s reach.
Set each action’s side effect — read, write, or destructive — which controls how it is confirmed.
Require step-up authentication on sensitive actions, so the user re-confirms their identity before they run.

3. Connect your backend (optional)

When you do add it, install the SDK for the service that owns your API. It boots in a few milliseconds and keeps your catalog fresh with runtime drift detection:

npm install @syncanix/sdk-node

Available at launch — this package is not on its public registry yet, so the command above will work the day Syncanix opens.

import { init } from '@syncanix/sdk-node';

// Resolves your API key from SYNCANIX_API_KEY, ~/.syncanix/credentials,
// or an inline { apiKey } — in that order.
const { environment, bootDurationMs } = await init({ environment: 'development' });
console.log(`Syncanix booted in ${bootDurationMs.toFixed(1)}ms`);

Available at launch — this package is not on its public registry yet, so the command above will work the day Syncanix opens.

You can also register SDK-native tools — actions the assistant can call that aren’t plain HTTP routes. Each runs with the end user’s identity, supplied by your identity provider:

import { createToolRegistry } from '@syncanix/sdk-node';

const registry = createToolRegistry();

registry.tool({
  name: 'refund-order',
  description: 'Refund a customer order. Requires an admin role.',
  handler: async ({ orderId, amountCents }, ctx) => {
    // ctx.userId is the verified end user from your identity provider.
    return payments.refund({ orderId, amountCents, actor: ctx.userId });
  },
});

Available at launch — this package is not on its public registry yet, so the command above will work the day Syncanix opens.

4. Embed the widget

Add one script tag to your app, using your publishable key:

<script
  type="module"
  src="https://cdn.syncanix.com/widget.js"
  data-key="pk_live_..."
></script>

That’s it. The widget loads lazily, runs inside a Shadow DOM so your styles and ours never collide, picks up your brand automatically, and is right-to-left ready.

5. Connect an MCP client (optional)

Each workspace also gets its own MCP server, so your users can reach the same capabilities from Claude Desktop, Cursor, and ChatGPT. Sign-in federates to your identity provider.

6. Promote to production

When you’re happy with how the assistant behaves in development, promote it to production from the dashboard. An evaluation gate runs first and blocks the promote if quality regresses, so production only ever changes for the better.

What you have now

An embedded assistant in your app that answers questions and runs your actions.
A per-workspace MCP server for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and ChatGPT.
An audit trail of every action, promote, and admin change.
Everything hosted in the EU, with your data encrypted at rest.

Next steps

Architecture overviewRequest flow, identity, and where it runs.GlossaryKey terms in one place.