Use BiOS from Claude Code

Terminal coding agent by Anthropic

Works today

Claude Code has first-class MCP support with a built-in command for adding servers. One line in your terminal connects it to BiOS, and from then on you can manage datasets, training jobs, and inference endpoints in plain English.

Before you start

You need a BiOS API key. In your dashboard, open API Keys, click Create API Key, pick a permission preset, and copy the sk_live_ key. It is shown only once.

Node.js 18 or newer must be installed; the server runs with npx, so there is nothing else to install.

Setup

1
Add the server with one command
Run this in any project. It registers the BiOS MCP server for you in the current project:
bash
```
claude mcp add usfbios --env USFBIOS_API_KEY=sk_live_your_api_key -- npx -y @usfbios/mcp-server
```
By default the server is available to you in this project only. Add --scope user to make it available in every project on your machine.
2
Share it with your team (optional)
To check the config into the repo so teammates get it automatically, create a .mcp.json file at the project root. Keep the real key out of git by referencing an environment variable:
.mcp.json
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "usfbios": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@usfbios/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "USFBIOS_API_KEY": "${USFBIOS_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```
Each teammate exports USFBIOS_API_KEY in their shell profile with their own key.
3
Start a session and use it
Open Claude Code and ask it to do something on BiOS. It will pick the right tools on its own and ask for your approval before each call.
text
```
> Import databricks/dolly-15k from HuggingFace and fine-tune
  Mistral 7B on it with QLoRA. Check my wallet balance first.
```

Check that it works

Run claude mcp list in your terminal. The usfbios server should show as connected.
Inside a session, type /mcp to open the MCP panel and see every available BiOS tool.
Ask "What can my BiOS API key do?" The assistant should call introspect_api_key and report your scopes.

Try these prompts

“Search for Llama models under 13B parameters and recommend a GPU for LoRA fine-tuning”

“Upload ~/data/support-qa.jsonl and start an SFT job on Llama 3.1 8B with LoRA”

“What is the status of my running training jobs? Show the loss curve for the latest one”

“Deploy my finished fine-tune and give me the endpoint URL”

Your assistant has 38 BiOS tools in total. The tool reference documents each one.

Troubleshooting

The server never starts, or logs show "npx: command not found"

The MCP server runs on Node.js. Install Node 18 or newer from nodejs.org, restart your client, and try again. Run npx -y @usfbios/mcp-server in a terminal to confirm it starts (it waits for input; press Ctrl+C to exit).

Tools appear but every call fails with an authentication error

Check that USFBIOS_API_KEY is set to a key that starts with sk_live_ and has not expired. Keys are shown only once at creation, so if in doubt create a fresh one under Dashboard, then API Keys.

A tool call fails with a permission error

Your key may be scoped too narrowly. Ask the assistant to call introspect_api_key to see exactly which scopes the key has, then create a key with the preset you need (Read Only, Training, or Full Access).

The server shows in claude mcp list but tools are missing in the session

Start a new session. Servers added while a session is open are picked up on the next one.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work in the Claude Code VS Code and JetBrains extensions?

Yes. The extensions share MCP configuration with the CLI, so a server added with claude mcp add or .mcp.json works everywhere Claude Code runs.

Is my API key sent to Anthropic?

No. The MCP server runs as a local process on your machine and calls the BiOS API directly over HTTPS. The key never passes through the model provider.

Which scope should I use?

Use the default local scope for personal use, user scope to enable it in all your projects, and project scope (.mcp.json) when the whole team should get the connection from the repo.