Here’s what I currently “remember” that might be relevant about you: - Your name is Nate - You’re a Prefect maintainer - You’ve worked with ECR for container images - You’re interested in container-based deployments - You’ve had concerns about flow run container startup latency - There’s also a note that if you ask questions here, it may be to test a new implementation of this assistant A small caveat: these are lightweight support notes, not a durable profile, so I treat them as possibly relevant context rather than hard truth unless your current question confirms them. For the second part — getting started with MCP so you can have your own “personal Marvin” in your terminal — I want to make sure I point you at the right thing. MCP can mean a few adjacent setups depending on what you want: 1. An MCP server that exposes Prefect-aware tools/context to a terminal AI client 2. Using a local coding assistant/client that speaks MCP and wiring it to your own tools 3. Using Prefect itself inside an MCP-style workflow/server Can you clarify which direction you mean? If you want, I can do either of these next: - give you a practical quickstart for running an MCP-compatible assistant in your terminal - or give you a Prefect-specific MCP setup for a “personal Marvin” experience with actual tool wiring and example config

Yep — the Prefect MCP server is the thing you want. In short: it gives an MCP-compatible assistant read-only access to your Prefect environment so it can inspect deployments, flow runs, task runs, logs, work pools, and docs context. Think “Marvin in my terminal, but backed by live Prefect context.” Docs and repo: - Use the Prefect MCP server - prefect-mcp-server repo - Security FAQ Fastest quickstart If you already have a Prefect profile configured locally, the server can usually just inherit that config. Run it directly with:

bash
uvx --from prefect-mcp prefect-mcp-server

That launches the MCP server over stdio, which is what terminal clients usually want. Using it with a terminal MCP client For example, with Claude Code:

bash
claude mcp add prefect -- uvx --from prefect-mcp prefect-mcp-server

Or with explicit Cloud credentials:

bash
claude mcp add prefect \
  -e PREFECT_API_URL=<https://api.prefect.cloud/api/accounts/[ACCOUNT_ID]/workspaces/[WORKSPACE_ID]> \
  -e PREFECT_API_KEY=your-cloud-api-key \
  -- uvx --from prefect-mcp prefect-mcp-server

For Codex CLI:

bash
codex mcp add prefect -- uvx --from prefect-mcp prefect-mcp-server

For Gemini CLI:

bash
gemini mcp add prefect uvx --from prefect-mcp prefect-mcp-server

Cursor uses config instead of a CLI add command. In `.cursor/mcp.json`:

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "prefect": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "prefect-mcp", "prefect-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

If you need explicit auth, add env vars there too:

json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "prefect": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "prefect-mcp", "prefect-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PREFECT_API_URL": "<https://api.prefect.cloud/api/accounts/[ACCOUNT_ID]/workspaces/[WORKSPACE_ID]>",
        "PREFECT_API_KEY": "your-cloud-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

How auth works You have a few options: 1. Use your local Prefect profile - easiest path - the MCP server reads from

~/.prefect/profiles.toml

2. Set Cloud env vars

bash
export PREFECT_API_URL=<https://api.prefect.cloud/api/accounts/[ACCOUNT_ID]/workspaces/[WORKSPACE_ID]>
export PREFECT_API_KEY=your-cloud-api-key

3. Use self-hosted server auth

bash
export PREFECT_API_URL=<http://your-server:4200/api>
export PREFECT_API_AUTH_STRING=your-auth-string

What it can do The MCP server is primarily read-only. It can help your assistant: - inspect deployments - inspect flow and task runs - read logs - check work pools and related infra context - pull in current Prefect docs context for better guidance So it’s very good for: - “why did this deployment fail?” - “show me recent runs for this flow” - “inspect logs for the last failed run” - “what work pool is this deployment using?” - “what’s the right current Prefect 3 way to do X?” Important caveat The MCP server is read-only, but your client assistant may also have shell access. So even if the MCP tools are safe, the assistant could still do write actions through your terminal if you allow it. The security FAQ is worth reading: - Security FAQ If you want to keep it tight, use a read-only Prefect API key. A simple “personal Marvin” setup If I were doing the minimal terminal setup, I’d do: 1. Make sure Prefect auth already works locally 2. Add the MCP server to your terminal client 3. Ask it questions like: -

show me the last 10 failed flow runs

-

inspect logs for the latest failure in deployment X

-

which work pool is deployment Y using?

-

look up the current Prefect 3 docs for deploying from source

So for Claude Code, the whole thing is basically: ```bash

claude mcp add prefect -- uvx --from prefect-mcp prefect-mcp-server ``` Then inside Claude Code, ask it Prefect-aware questions. If you want, I can next give you a copy-paste terminal setup for one specific client — e.g. Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex — plus a few good starter prompts for a real “personal Marvin” workflow.