Boat House
Deploy and share small apps with team login, persistent data, versioned updates and domains.
Install
Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).
claude mcp add --transport http boat-house 'https://mcp.boathousecloud.com/mcp' --header 'Authorization: <Bearer followed by your Boat House account key. Use the account page advanced MCP settings; never publish this value.>'{
"mcpServers": {
"boat-house": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.boathousecloud.com/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "<Bearer followed by your Boat House account key. Use the account page advanced MCP settings; never publish this value.>"
}
}
}
}Documentation
From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.
Contents
Boat House
Open-source infrastructure for small software built with AI agents.
Boat House gives a tool a live HTTPS address, sign-in, a database, persistent files, and sharing by email. Editors use the app in a browser. Developers with Admin access can use their own agents to fetch its source and publish versioned updates to the same address.
The software is licensed under Apache 2.0. You can run it on your own infrastructure or use Boat House managed hosting.
| Self-host | Managed hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Free under Apache 2.0 | Same open-source foundation |
| Infrastructure and operations | You provide and maintain them | Boat House operates them |
| Price | Your server, domain and provider costs | $10 per organization per month for up to five lightweight tools; domain purchases are separate |
| Getting started | Self-hosting guide | Sign up, confirm email, copy the connection into your agent |
What is included
- A FastAPI control plane and Caddy HTTPS gateway.
- Account sign-in, email invitations, per-tool Viewer / Editor / Admin access, and signed identity passed to apps.
- Per-tool PostgreSQL databases, persistent file volumes, container resource limits, and saved source releases.
- Deployment, source checkout, updates, rollback, export, and backup/restore commands.
- The
bhCLI, an MCP endpoint, and an agent skill for Claude Code, Codex and other compatible agents. - Optional email, domain registration, and prepaid billing integrations. Self-hosters configure their own providers; metering can be disabled.
Admin is full control of a tool, including its source, secrets, sharing and deletion. Software collaboration uses source checkout and versioned publication. App code enforces its own record-level access rules.
Start with managed hosting
Create an account at boathousecloud.com, confirm your email, then choose Copy connection and paste the message into your coding agent. Ask it to put a tool online or share it by email. Add credit before deploying. No separate hosting, database or sign-in project is needed.
Install the agent skill in Cursor, Codex or Windsurf:
npx skills add allenzhangyiteng/boathouse-skillsFor Claude Code, add /plugin marketplace add allenzhangyiteng/boathouse-skills, then /plugin install boathouse@boathouse. See the skill and plugin repository and installation guide.
The CLI can create a working app before you connect an account:
bh init my-app --template team
cd my-app
python3 app.py --localUse --template static for an HTML website. boathouse is an alias installed alongside bh when available. The starter format is ordinary source plus boathouse.json; no proprietary runtime is needed. See the runnable guides, llms.txt and complete agent docs.
Run your own installation
See the self-hosting guide for a Linux host with Docker, DNS and HTTPS. The public release contains no accounts, credentials, database snapshots, hosted customer tools or production configuration. All examples use placeholders; generate your own secrets.
This is infrastructure for trusted teams and trusted app builders. The control plane manages the host Docker daemon. Resource limits and container networks do not make it a secure sandbox for hostile code. Read the security model before exposing an installation.
Development
Python 3.12 is used by the container image. In a virtual environment:
python -m pip install -r control/requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt
python -m pytest -q
python scripts/check_public_tree.pyTests create temporary local state and use fake providers. Do not point tests at production credentials or state. CI runs the tests, publication hygiene checks, and Gitleaks.
Repository layout
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
control/app/ | API, account UI, gateway authorization, deployment and providers |
control/site/ | Public-site source and static assets |
cli/bh | Standard-library Python CLI |
skill/boathouse/ | Agent instructions |
caddy/, docker-compose.yml | Gateway and services |
deploy/ | Host installation, synchronization and backup scripts |
examples/hello/ | Minimal app that checks signed identity |
tests/ | Regression tests with synthetic data |
Contributions are welcome; see CONTRIBUTING.md. Report vulnerabilities using SECURITY.md.
Frequently asked questions
What is Boat House?
Deploy and share small apps with team login, persistent data, versioned updates and domains.
How do I install Boat House?
It runs as a remote server. In Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http boat-house 'https://mcp.boathousecloud.com/mcp' --header 'Authorization: <Bearer followed by your Boat House account key. Use the account page advanced MCP settings; never publish this value.>'. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.
Does Boat House need an API key?
Yes. It expects Authorization, which you set in its configuration.
Is Boat House open source?
Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the Apache-2.0 license.
Who maintains Boat House?
It is published by allenzhangyiteng. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.
From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.