Shatale MCP Server

MCP server for Shatale — AI-native payment infrastructure. Give your AI agents the ability to make purchases, issue virtual cards, and manage spending within delegated budgets and policy controls.

60-second demo, no API key required

See the whole agent payment lifecycle before you sign up. Guest mode makes no real API call and no payment.

1. Run it:

npx shatale-mcp-server

2. Point your IDE at it (Claude Code shown — see Configure your IDE for Desktop/Cursor/Windsurf):

claude mcp add shatale -- npx shatale-mcp-server

3. Ask your assistant:

Use Shatale to simulate an AI agent buying a $25 developer tool subscription with a $100 monthly budget. Show the policy check, approval decision, virtual card step, and final timeline.

You'll see the policy evaluation, the approve / decline / requires-approval decision, the (simulated) virtual card step, and a trace — all in guest mode, with no key.

Tip: call explain_shatale first. It reports the current mode, the tools available to you, and the recommended first prompt.

Run the same flow in sandbox

No code changes required. Add a sandbox key and re-run the same prompt. The guest simulation becomes a real sandbox integration — onboarding, purchase requests, approval, credential issuance, status and audit — against Shatale Sandbox APIs, with no real money.

SHATALE_API_KEY=sk_sandbox_xxx npx shatale-mcp-server

…or just add the key to the env block of your IDE's MCP config (see below) — same prompt, no other changes.

Free sandbox key, no card required → admin.shatale.com/register?ref=mcp

Guest = explore (3 simulation tools + catalog). Sandbox = build (full 17-tool lifecycle). Production keys (sk_live_*) are blocked in this MCP server by design — a local IDE/agent is not a trust boundary for live payment credentials; integrate via your backend.

Configure Your IDE

Omit the SHATALE_API_KEY env entirely to run in guest mode (60-second demo). Add a sk_sandbox_* key to unlock the full sandbox.

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shatale": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["shatale-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SHATALE_API_KEY": "sk_sandbox_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add shatale -- npx shatale-mcp-server

Cursor / Windsurf

Add to .cursor/mcp.json or ~/.windsurf/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shatale": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["shatale-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "SHATALE_API_KEY": "sk_sandbox_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

Discovery & Setup (no API key required)

Tool	Description
explain_shatale	Start here. Reports the current mode (guest/sandbox/blocked production), the tools available to you, and the recommended first prompt
simulate_purchase_flow	Simulates the Shatale agent payment lifecycle in guest mode — policy check, approve/decline/requires-approval decision, virtual card step, timeline. No real API call or payment is made
generate_policy_template	Generates and validates a spending policy for your use case — returns risk level, warnings, and recommended controls (never a silently unsafe policy)
list_mcc_codes	Browse merchant category codes for policy design
list_capabilities	See all available tools and capabilities

Purchase Flow

Tool	Description
request_purchase	Request a purchase on behalf of a user — starts the full flow
get_purchase_status	Check the status of an existing purchase request
cancel_purchase	Cancel a pending purchase

Merchant Catalog

Tool	Description
search_merchants	Search for merchants by name, category, or country
get_merchant_details	Get detailed info about a specific merchant (MCC, country, limits)

User Onboarding (Cold Start)

Tool	Description
register_user_profile	Pre-register a user with email, name, country — before any purchase
get_onboarding_status	Check if a user has completed verification and onboarding

Card Credentials

Tool	Description
request_temporary_credentials	Get temporary virtual card credentials (PAN, CVV, exp) for a purchase
get_credential_status	Check the status of issued credentials

Sandbox Testing

Tool	Description
sandbox_simulate_authorization	Run the policy engine on a simulated authorization — side-effect-free (no ledger, no money). Returns approve/decline + explanation. Test cards: 4242… approve, 4000…0002 decline, neutral → real policy
sandbox_complete_onboarding	Instantly complete user onboarding (skip verification)
sandbox_approve_purchase	Approve a sandbox purchase that is pending approval

Note (v0.4.0, SHAT-1488): the sandbox surface now maps 1:1 to the routes the backend actually deploys. request_purchase is disabled when a sandbox key is set (it is not sandbox-gated on the backend and would create real ledger state) — use sandbox_simulate_authorization instead. The previous sandbox_create_test_user, sandbox_decline_request, sandbox_reset and sandbox_approve_request tools have been removed/renamed.

Example Prompts

Try these with your AI assistant:

• "Search for electronics merchants in Germany"
• "Request a purchase of $49.99 at Amazon for user john@example.com"
• "Check the status of my last purchase"
• "Register a new user with email alice@startup.io and country US"
• "Run a sandbox authorization for a $49.99 charge at MCC 5732 and explain the policy decision"
• "What merchants are available in the travel category?"
• "Generate a spending policy for a procurement bot with $5000 monthly limit"

How It Works

AI Agent → MCP Server → Shatale Sandbox API → issuing partner → virtual card

1. Agent requests purchase via request_purchase with merchant and amount
2. Shatale evaluates policy — checks delegation scope, amount limits, MCC rules
3. User verifies (if new) — opens personalized onboarding URL, confirms identity
4. Virtual card issued — the issuing partner provisions a card locked to the merchant and amount
5. Agent receives credentials — PAN, CVV, expiry via request_temporary_credentials
6. Agent completes purchase — uses card at the merchant

In guest mode none of this hits the network — simulate_purchase_flow walks the same steps deterministically so you can see them before registering for a sandbox key.

Resources

Built-in documentation available as MCP resources:

• shatale://guides/quickstart — 5-minute quickstart guide
• shatale://guides/policies — Policy engine and skills reference
• shatale://guides/verticals — Use case examples (shopping, travel, procurement, expense)

Security

• Only sandbox keys (sk_sandbox_*) are accepted — production keys (sk_live_*) are rejected
• Card credentials are encrypted (JWE) and delivered only to authorized agents
• Local stdio transport — no network server exposed
• See SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting

Privacy & telemetry

This server has no telemetry: no analytics endpoint, no beacons, no install ID, no fingerprinting.

• Guest mode (no API key) sends no attribution headers and no telemetry. The simulation tools (simulate_purchase_flow, generate_policy_template) run fully offline and make no network calls. Guest activity is intentionally not measured remotely.

• Sandbox mode (sk_sandbox_*) already authenticates to the Shatale Sandbox API. Those requests carry three static attribution headers so we can understand aggregate adoption of the official client:

  • User-Agent: shatale-mcp-server/<version>
  • X-Shatale-Client: shatale-mcp-server
  • X-Shatale-Client-Version: <version>

  These add no new transport, endpoint, or payload — they only label calls you are already making. Analytics are derived server-side from your authenticated activity.

• Never collected: API key values, prompts, policy contents, merchant/customer/card data, PAN, and no machine identifiers (OS, hostname, username, file path, or persistent install ID).

Links

• Shatale Website
• Publisher Admin
• Sign Up
• GitHub

License

MIT