Ably for AI agents

Ably is a real-time messaging infrastructure platform for building chat, live updates and data sync into applications. Developers use it to publish and subscribe to channels at scale. Connect it once through Arc0, and your agent, or Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, can use it through one MCP endpoint, limited to what each user approved.

Connect Ably See the 25 actions ↓

Developer toolsAPI keyMCP + RESTably.com

AUDIT LOG · ABLYPOLICY: acme-support

09:41:07 · claude · u_8f2read

ably.list_channels

List Channels✓ allowed · 212ms

09:41:08 · claude · u_8f2read

ably.get_stats

Get Application Stats✓ allowed · 164ms

09:41:09 · claude · u_8f2write

ably.update_push_device

Update Push Device Registration✓ approved · approved by user

09:41:12 · claude · u_8f2destructive

ably.delete_channel_subscription

Delete Channel Subscription✕ blocked · policy: deny

EVERY ABLY CALL, ON THE RECORD

01 · USE CASES

What agents do in Ably.

Check channel presence

See which clients are currently connected to a channel before deciding whether to publish an update.

Publish a message to a channel

Send a message onto a specific channel so every subscribed client receives it in real time.

Send a push notification

Push a notification to registered devices, a write action worth confirming before it reaches end users.

02 · ACTIONS

25 Ably actions, graded by risk.

Every Ably action is tagged read, write or destructive, so one policy covers the whole app and new actions inherit the right default.

read

Look things up. Allowed by default.

ably.get_stats
Get Application Stats
ably.list_channels
List Channels
ably.get_push_device
Get Push Device Registration
ably.get_service_time
Get Ably Service Time
ably.list_push_channels
List Push Channels
ably.get_channel_details
Get Channel Details
ably.get_channel_history
Get Channel History
ably.get_channel_presence
Get Channel Presence
ably.get_message_versions
Get Message Versions
ably.get_presence_history
Get Channel Presence History
ably.list_registered_push_devices
List Registered Push Devices
ably.list_push_channel_subscriptions
List Push Channel Subscriptions

write

Create and change things. Allow, or ask the user first.

ably.update_push_device
Update Push Device Registration
ably.batch_presence
Query Batch Presence
ably.register_push_device
Register Push Device
ably.request_access_token
Request Access Token
ably.batch_presence_history
Query Batch Presence History
ably.publish_batch_messages
Batch Publish Messages
ably.unregister_push_device
Unregister Push Device
ably.publish_push_notification
Publish Push Notification
ably.publish_message_to_channel
Publish Message to Channel
ably.unregister_all_push_devices
Unregister All Push Devices
ably.patch_push_device_registration
Patch Push Device Registration
ably.publish_push_notifications_batch
Batch Publish Push Notifications

destructive

Delete, cancel or archive. Ask first, or deny outright.

ably.delete_channel_subscription
Delete Channel Subscription

03 · HOW IT WORKS

Ably in three steps.

01Your users connect AblyThey add their Ably api key on Arc0 Connect, under your brand. It goes straight into the vault.
02You set the rulesReads run, writes like “update Push Device Registration” can wait for the user, and “delete Channel Subscription” can be denied outright.
03Any agent can actYour agent calls Ably through the Arc0 SDK or MCP, and so can Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor. Every call lands on the audit log.

POLICY.TS

await arc0.policies.set('ably', {
  read: 'allow',
  write: 'ask',        // update_push_device
  destructive: 'deny',  // delete_channel_subscription
})

# Claude Code: the same connection, one URL
$ claude mcp add --transport http arc0 \
    https://mcp.arc0.ai/u/u_8f2

04 · AUTH AND DATA

How Ably connects.

Users add their Ably api key on Arc0 Connect. It is encrypted in the vault, never shown to the model, and each user can rotate or revoke it at any time.

The same Ably connection serves your agent over MCP and your own backend over REST and the proxy, so a user connects once. How Arc0 handles credentials →

AUTH: API key
CREDENTIALS: Per-tenant encrypted vault
MODEL SEES: Results only, never credentials
AUDIT LOG: Every call, on every plan

05 · WORKS WITH

Use Ably from any agent.

Claude

ChatGPT

Cursor

Codex

VS Code

OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Vercel AI SDK

Mastra

LangGraph

06 · RELATED

More developer tools apps.

Addressfinder17 actions

Addresszen2 actions

Alchemy36 actions

Algolia133 actions

ALL DEVELOPER TOOLS APPS →

07 · FAQ

Ably and Arc0, answered.

Q01

Can I use Ably with Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor?

Yes. Connect Ably to Arc0 once, then add your Arc0 MCP URL to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code or any other remote-MCP client. Each assistant only gets the Ably actions you allow.

Q02

How do users connect Ably?

Users add their Ably api key on Arc0 Connect. It is encrypted in the vault, never shown to the model, and each user can rotate or revoke it at any time.

Q03

Which Ably actions can my agent take?

25 in total: 12 read, 12 write and 1 destructive, such as “update Push Device Registration”. Your policies decide which of them each agent may call.

Q04

Can I stop my agent from deleting things in Ably?

Yes. Actions like “delete Channel Subscription” are graded destructive. Set destructive actions to deny, or to ask so the user approves each one, and blocked calls still show up on the audit log.

Q05

Can my own backend call Ably too?

Yes. The same Ably connection is available over REST and through the Arc0 proxy, so your product and your agent share one connection per user.

Get started

Plug Ably into your agent.

Your users connect Ably once, under your brand. Your agent gets 25 actions behind your policies, with every call on the record.

Connect Ably Browse all apps →

Free to build · MCP + REST · Audit log on every plan