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Vendia MCP Gateway Free Tier FAQ

What is the Vendia MCP Gateway Free Tier?

The Vendia MCP Gateway Free Tier lets you connect AI applications to your Amazon S3 buckets, API Catalogs, and remote MCP Servers, without writing code or needing to run your own MCP server.

Popular free AI clients that work with Vendia MCP Gateway include Mistral AI: Le Chat.

What is the Demo Vendia Connection?

The Demo Vendia Connection is a pre-configured Storage Connection included with every Free Tier account. It contains synthetic and real-world sample data and ready-to-use prompts.

Sample data included:

  • Airline Customer Data
  • Charts
  • Images
  • NYC Taxi Data
  • Sample Loan Mortgage Agreement

Ready-to-use prompts:

The Demo Vendia Connection includes ready-to-use prompts for common use cases. These prompts are displayed in the Vendia console under the Demo Vendia Connection. Simply copy a prompt and paste it into your AI application to analyze the sample data.

Example prompt categories:

  • Mortgage Loan Agreement: Summarize contracts, explain terms, list protections
  • NYC Taxi Data: Analyze datasets, revenue trends, driver utilization patterns

How do I use the Demo Vendia Connection?

  1. Sign up for a Free Tier account at Vendia
  2. Copy your MCP Gateway URL from the Vendia console
  3. Add the MCP Gateway URL to your AI application (Claude, Mistral AI: Le Chat, etc.)
  4. In the Vendia console, view the ready-to-use prompts under Demo Vendia Connection
  5. Copy a prompt and paste it into your AI application
  6. The AI will access the sample data and provide insights based on the prompt

No S3 bucket configuration needed to get started with the demo connection.

Who is this offering for?

The Free Tier is ideal for:

  • Individuals looking for connect their S3 buckets, APIs, or remote MCP Servers to AI applications.

What’s included in the Free Tier?

  • Fully managed MCP Gateway that can be used with any MCP-compatible AI client with an easy-to-use UI for for configuration and management
  • Demo Vendia Connection - Pre-configured Storage Connection with sample data and ready-to-use prompts for immediate experimentation
  • Storage Connections - Connect and use Amazon S3 buckets. Learn more about Storage Connections
  • API Catalogs - Add and use OpenAPI/Swagger specifications. Learn more about API Catalogs
  • MCP Servers - Connect up and use Remote MCP servers (both pre-configured integrations and custom servers). Learn more about connecting Remote MCP Servers
  • Per-resource access controls for fine-grained security
  • Read/write receipt logging to track AI agent activities. Learn more about Receipts
  • Single user account (individual only) - See free tier limits for details
  • No expiration – Use it as long as you like, no subscription or credit card required. See account expiration for details

For detailed limits and restrictions, see free tier limits.

Do Free Tier accounts expire?

No. The Free Tier does not expire.

What does “free” mean?

“Free” means you do not need to pay Vendia for operating a managed MCP server on your behalf, connecting to your S3 buckets, fulfilling your AI agent’s file discovery queries or content requests, or logging the agent’s activities.

However, you will still incur Amazon S3 and AI provider charges for using those company’s services, and if you increase your usage you may pay more as a result. Vendia makes no warranty or representation with respect to Amazon or AI client pricing. You may be subject to AWS data transfer charges if your S3 bucket(s) and/or your AI clients are located in regions other than US-East-1.

Technical Details

What cloud region is supported?

Connected S3 buckets may reside in any region. Vendia’s Free Tier MCP service resides in the AWS US-East-1 (N. Virginia). The Free Tier does not support changing the region of the MCP service.

Account Management

Can I upgrade to a paid SKU later to gain more features or capacity?

Yes. As your needs grow, you can upgrade to Vendia Pro or Vendia Enterprise. Contact bd@vendia.com for assistance.

What file types are supported?

Vendia’s managed MCP service enables AI clients to discover, read, and create text, image, and PDF files residing in an S3 bucket up to 5GB in size. However, LLM capabilities vary widely in terms of their support for reading and writing different file types and the actions they can take on them. Consult your AI client’s documentation to understand its support for the file types you intend to use.

I don’t want the AI agent to see everything in my S3 bucket. Can I limit what it has access to?

Yes. When you grant Vendia’s managed MCP server access through the AWS IAM cross-account role, you can decide which directories (or files) you want to be visible. You can change these settings by creating a new role and replacing the existing one in the Vendia console at any time.

I don’t want the AI agent to create files in my bucket; can I prevent that?

Yes. When you grant Vendia’s managed MCP server access through the AWS IAM cross-account role, you can decide whether or not to grant write (“PUT”) permission.

How can I be sure that the AI client won’t damage my existing files?

Vendia’s free tier product prevents AI clients from overwriting existing files, even if write permission is granted. You can also use AWS IAM policies to segregate the directories you want AI clients to read from versus the directories where you want it to create new files, to provide another degree of control over the impact of AI client-created content.

How can I track what files my AI agent is seeing and doing?

You can use the Vendia UI console provided with the Free Tier to view Receipts that track all AI agent activities. Receipts provide complete visibility into which files are being accessed, API calls being made, and all other operations performed by your AI clients. For more information, see Receipts.

API Catalogs

What are API Catalogs?

API Catalogs allow you to upload OpenAPI or Swagger specification files to enable AI applications to discover and interact with your APIs. Once you add an API specification, AI agents can automatically explore available endpoints, understand parameters, and make informed API calls.

How do I start using API Catalogs?

To use API Catalogs, add your OpenAPI or Swagger specifications through the Vendia console. The Free Tier allows you to add and use up to 2 API Catalog entries.

What API specification formats are supported?

API Catalogs support OpenAPI and Swagger specifications in the following formats:

  • JSON (.json)
  • YAML (.yaml, .yml)

Both OpenAPI 3.x and Swagger 2.0 specifications are supported. Maximum file size is 5MB per specification. Each API catalog is limited to 25 operations in the Free Tier.

How do I add authentication to my API Catalogs?

When configuring an API Catalog, you can add custom headers to include authentication credentials such as API keys, bearer tokens, or other required headers. These headers will be included in API requests made by AI agents.

Can I add and use API Catalogs with third-party APIs?

Yes. API Catalogs work with any API that has a valid OpenAPI or Swagger specification, including:

  • Internal microservices and APIs
  • Third-party services like Slack, JIRA, Snowflake, and others
  • Public APIs
  • Custom APIs you’ve developed

For more information, see the API Catalogs documentation.

Remote MCP Servers

The Vendia MCP Gateway that lets you connect remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) Servers alongside your Storage Connections and API Catalogs. All tools become accessible through your single Vendia MCP Gateway endpoint. You can connect both pre-configured integrations (such as Notion, Atlassian, Sentry, Neon, and Fireflies) and custom MCP servers.

How many remote MCP servers can I connect in the Free Tier?

The Free Tier allows you to connect up to 2 external MCP servers. These connections count toward your overall MCP call limit of 100,000 calls per month.

What external MCP servers can I connect?

You can connect any MCP-compliant server, including:

  • Pre-configured integrations: Vendia provides ready-to-use connections for popular services like Notion, Atlassian, Sentry, Neon and Fireflies
  • Custom MCP servers: Connect any custom or self-hosted MCP server by providing its URL and authentication details

How do I start using remote MCP Servers?

Connect external MCP servers through the MCP Gateway section in your Vendia workspace. Once connected, your AI application automatically gains access to the external server’s tools through your existing Vendia MCP Gateway endpoint — no reconfiguration needed.

What authentication methods are supported?

MCP Gateway supports multiple authentication methods:

  • OAuth 2.0 (Auto-configure): Automatic OAuth setup for supported services
  • OAuth 2.0 (Use app credentials): Use your own OAuth application credentials
  • None / Headers: API keys or custom authentication headers

For more information, see the remote MCP Server documentation.

Additional Resources

For more information about configuring and using Vendia MCP Gateway: