Introduction · Ody Docs

What each Ody developer surface does — REST API, webhooks, MCP server, SDKs and Switchboard — and how they fit together.

Ody is an AI-native business phone: shared numbers, team calling, a shared SMS/MMS inbox, and Astra, an AI receptionist that answers and places calls. Everything a team does in the Ody app is also available to code, and to AI assistants.

#What does what

Surface	What it is	Use it when	Auth
REST API	HTTPS + JSON endpoints at `https://api.ody.co/v1/api`	Your server or automation needs to read or change the workspace: sync contacts, send texts, buy numbers, configure Astra	API key
Webhooks	Ody `POST`s signed events to your HTTPS endpoint	You want to react the moment a text arrives, a call ends, or a contact changes — without polling	Signing secret (`whsec_…`)
MCP server	A Model Context Protocol server at `https://api.ody.co/v1/mcp` exposing 20 tools	You want Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own agent to work the inbox and the phone line in natural language	API key
SDKs	Zero-dependency TypeScript and Python clients for the REST API	You'd rather call `ody.messages.send()` than hand-roll HTTP, pagination and signature checks	API key
Switchboard preview	An in-app assistant that turns "after 6pm ring the on-call tech, then the AI" into a reviewed, signed plan and builds it	An admin wants to reconfigure call routing by describing it. In-app only, by design — not callable from the API or MCP	Signed-in admin session

The REST API and the MCP server are two doors into the same functions. A text sent with POST /v1/api/messages, by the MCP tool send_message, or from the inbox in the app goes through identical code, billing and rules.

#How the pieces fit

Text

                      ┌──────────────── your code ─────────────────┐
  curl / SDKs ───────▶│  REST API   https://api.ody.co/v1/api/*    │
  Claude, ChatGPT ───▶│  MCP server https://api.ody.co/v1/mcp      │──▶ same domain functions the app uses
  Cursor, agents      └────────────────────────────────────────────┘    (contacts, inbox, numbers, Astra, billing)
                                                                                  │
  your HTTPS endpoint ◀── signed webhook deliveries (message.received, call.completed, …) ◀──┘

  app.ody.co admin ──▶ Switchboard (session only) ──▶ plan → approve → signed build

#Three things that are true everywhere

A key acts as a person. Every API key belongs to the workspace member who created it and can never do more than they can in the app. Scopes narrow it further. See Authentication and Scopes.
Your code changes the real account. There is no separate developer sandbox: a number you buy appears in Settings → Numbers, an AI call you place lands in the shared inbox, and a teammate can take over at any moment. Use test mode keys to simulate anything that spends money or reaches the outside world.
Same billing as the app. Buying a number, filing 10DLC or placing an AI call through the API bills exactly like doing it in the app — no API surcharge.

#Plans

The REST API, webhooks, and the MCP server are included on every Ody plan, starting with Starter. Switchboard is in private preview and turned on per workspace by Ody.

#Where to go next

Quickstart Send your first text in under five minutes.
Core concepts Workspaces, conversations, activities and numbers.
Connect an AI assistant Add Ody to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor.
Agent Phone guide Provision a complete AI phone line from code.