Vercel Connect expert guidance — securely obtain scoped OAuth tokens for third-party services (Slack, GitHub, MCP servers, OAuth, Snowflake) on behalf of apps or users via Vercel OIDC. Use when wiring up third-party API access, connecting to MCP servers, sending Slack messages, or accessing GitHub APIs.
Vercel Connect expert guidance — securely obtain scoped OAuth tokens for third-party services (Slack, GitHub, MCP servers, OAuth, Snowflake) on behalf of apps or users via Vercel OIDC. Use when wiring up third-party API access, connecting to MCP servers, sending Slack messages, or accessing GitHub APIs.
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Vercel Connect Skill
Overview
Vercel Connect enables to securely obtain scoped tokens for accessing third-party services on behalf of apps or users. It uses Vercel OIDC tokens to authenticate and exchange for Vercel Connect tokens via the Vercel API.
When to Use Vercel Connect
Use Vercel Connect when you need to:
Send messages via Slack (as a bot or on behalf of a user)
Access GitHub repositories or APIs
Connect to any third-party system that requires OAuth tokens or API credentials
Obtain tokens for authenticated API calls
Modes of tokens
The SDK supports three subject types — pick based on what's acting:
user — actions performed on behalf of a specific end user (e.g., post a Slack message as the user). Requires a user id and optional issuer.
app — actions performed as the app itself (e.g., post as a Slack bot, app-level GitHub access). No consent flow — fails terminally if the connector is not installed.
jwt-bearer — RFC 7523 JWT-bearer exchange for connectors that accept a caller-minted assertion. Pass sub (required), plus optional iss, aud, and additionalClaims. Use when the third-party expects you to vouch for the subject via a signed JWT rather than an interactive OAuth grant.
Available Tools
All tools have --format=json option for machine-readable output.
1. Vercel Connect CLI (for Bash/Shell)
Use the vercel connect CLI for command-line operations. Use vercel connect --help to get available commands. The user needs to be authenticated to the Vercel CLI and the commands work within the scope of the user's currently selected Vercel team. For eg it will create & list Connect connectors created within the currently selected Vercel team.
Important! Always run vercel connect commands from the project or agent folder that will consume the connection (the directory containing package.json / vercel.json). Vercel Connect reads the local project context to auto-configure the connection — for example, picking a sensible connector name and uid, setting up project access to the connection, configuring webhooks and triggers. Running from the repo root or an unrelated directory skips this auto-configuration and you'll have to wire things up by hand. If the user invokes a command from elsewhere, into the closest matching project/agent folder first (or pass ).
vc connect
cd
--cwd <DIR>
Example commands:
# Create new Connect connector
vercel connect create <service>
# List existing Connect connectors
vercel connect list
# Get token
vercel connect token <connector> --subject user|app
Important! The vercel connect create and vercel connect token commands may open the browser for the user if there's a manual registration required (for eg completing the OAuth consent or installing a slack app to a workspace). The user must visit the browser to complete the process while you wait for the process to complete.
Available Services
Service
Modes
Description
slack
user, bot
Slack API access
github
user, app
GitHub API access
MCP servers
user, app
Any MCP server (mcp.<host>/<path>)
snowflake
user
Snowflake data access
Generic OAuth provider
user, app
Any OAuth 2.0 server registered via vercel connect create
For MCP servers, pass the full endpoint URL when registering (e.g. vercel connect create https://mcp.linear.app/mcp). The connector ID then takes the form mcp.<host>/<name> (for example mcp.linear.app/myagent).
For JavaScript/TypeScript code, use the @vercel/connect package directly:
import { getToken } from"@vercel/connect";
// Get a token for Slack botconst token = awaitgetToken("scl_abc123", {
subject: { type: "app" }, // If sending as a bot, or else use "user"
});
// Use the tokenconst response = awaitfetch("https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
channel: "C1234567890",
text: "Hello from Vercel Connect!",
}),
});
The SDK uses the user's Vercel OIDC token to authenticate. The user should have run vc env pull to pull the OIDC token env variables locally (or vc link pulls it automatically)
3. HTTP API (for other languages)
For other languages, make HTTP requests directly to the Vercel Connect server. The request must be authenticated with the project's Vercel OIDC token (VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN env var — pulled by vc env pull or injected at runtime):
# Get a token via HTTP
POST https://api.vercel.com/v1/connect/token/<connector>
Authorization: Bearer <VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN>
Content-Type: application/json
{ "subject": { "type": "user", "id": "user_123" } }
The response is JSON with a token field (plus expiresAt, connector, and other metadata).
Python Example
import os
import requests
# Get token from Vercel Connect
connect_response = requests.post(
"https://api.vercel.com/v1/connect/token/slack1234",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN']}"},
json={
"subject": {"type": "app"},
"scopes": ["chat:write"],
},
)
token = connect_response.json()["token"]
# Use the token
slack_response = requests.post(
"https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"},
json={"channel": "C1234567890", "text": "Hello from Vercel Connect!"}
)
Workflow
All tools have --json option for machine-readable output.
Before running any vercel connect step below, make sure your shell cwd is the project or agent folder that will use the connection (see the CLI section above). Vercel Connect uses that context to auto-configure the project, so running from the right directory removes follow-up wiring work.
Check existing Connect connectors: See if a required Connect connector is already present
vercel connect list
vercel connect token <connector>
Important! If more than one connector found, allow user to make the choice between them, or ask to create a new one
Register: If the provider you need is not registered of if the user asked to create a new connector / app / bot, follow the instructions to register it (this may involve setting up credentials on browser in the third-party service and then registering them with Vercel Connect).
Important! Provide the most precise server URL for the service, including the complete connection URL (e.g. https://mcp.linear.app/mcp rather than just linear). Short service aliases may resolve to a default endpoint that does not match the transport or path the user actually wants. When in doubt, run vercel connect create --help to confirm which service names and URL forms are accepted before picking one.
Important! This command will give you a URL or directly open it to complete the registration process. User must visit that URL and follow the instructions to link their third-party account with Vercel Connect. The command will not complete until they finish the registration. The agent must clearly show the URL to the user and prompt them to complete the registration.
Important! Once vercel connect create completes, it will print a successful message. You must capture that connector ID for the next step.
Important! The vercel connect create command may open the browser so it's better to get the user approval before running it.
Get token: Obtain a token for the provider you need:
On CLI, you can get the token via
The default subject is user. Use app for getting app scoped tokens. It's recommended to run this command with the --yes in case an re-authorization or installation is required. This will trigger the reauthorization flow for the user.
Important! Always put the token value into a variable and use the variable in the subsequent commands to avoid accidentally echoing the token in the terminal or logs. Avoid combining this command with other commands using &&. For example:
TOKEN=$(vercel connect token)
Important! Try to reuse tokens as much as possible. If you already have a token with the required scopes, use it instead of requesting a new one, even when fewer scopes are needed. This will reduce friction for the user and avoid unnecessary authorization prompts.
When working with a JavaScript/TypeScript code, use the @vercel/connect package directly:
Use token: Use the token to authenticate with the third-party service.
For example:
