Skip to main content

Cloud Quickstart

This path takes a specification from your machine to a shareable documentation page and MCP endpoint.

1. Sign in​

From the sign-in page, continue with Google or GitHub. After the OAuth handshake, Powerduck creates its own session and places you in the console. A personal organization is created automatically.

2. Add a specification​

From the dashboard, add a specification using one of the supported sources:

  • File upload — upload an OpenAPI file directly;
  • Git repository — point at a repository and choose a branch and file path;
  • URL — import a specification from a URL.

Existing OpenAPI 3.0/3.1 and Swagger documents are upgraded, and cURL or Postman input can be converted for preview before anything is saved.

How a direct upload works​

Large files are uploaded straight to object storage rather than relayed through the API:

  1. A document is created;
  2. The app requests an upload URL with the content type and size;
  3. The file is uploaded directly to storage via the presigned URL;
  4. The upload is completed, recording the version and its SHA-256.

This keeps the API server out of the data path for large payloads.

3. Choose the exposed operations​

After the specification is in place, select which operations are publicly available. Operations can be toggled individually; the source document is left untouched. Start with everything enabled and narrow the set for internal or administrative endpoints.

The document workspace shows the public addresses once the document is active:

  • Documentation — the rendered API documentation in the public viewer;
  • MCP — the managed Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint;
  • The raw specification data is also served at a stable URL.

By default, documentation is enabled and protected only if you add a password. MCP availability and its access key are configured separately.

5. Protect access if needed​

  • Add a view password and an optional expiry for the documentation;
  • Generate an MCP access key for the MCP endpoint;
  • Pause the document to take both offline temporarily.

6. Iterate with versions​

When the API changes, upload the new content as a new version rather than replacing the old one. Share links can point at the current document or be pinned to a specific version, so a link referencing a version never changes underneath a reader.

Next steps​